Real Roundtable.

• Author: Hess, Teresa Browning
• Position: Utah - Panel Discussion

Eavesdrop on the state's top commercial real estate brokers as they take on Mayor Rocky Anderson, blast office parks that resemble prisons, and claim impact fees are "the chicken way out" for politicians to avoid raising taxes. But it's not all sour grapes. They applaud Utah's new and improved image, top-notch workforce and influx of new restaurants.

One early fall morning, Utah Business magazine conducted its first-ever round table forum with principals in Utah's largest commercial real estate brokerage firms. Their candid and lively discussion centered on Utah's commercial real estate market in the past, what's happening in the market today, and what issues the state will be facing in the years to come.

UB: The 1990s were a decade of dramatic change for the Wasatch Front commercial real estate market. An influx of new retail, office and industrial tenants and growth in existing businesses led to record-breaking levels of absorption and new construction. What fueled such remarkable growth, and do you expect it to continue?

McKAY: Overall, you saw California having some problems with its economy, and the in-migration to Utah spurred the housing market. California has recovered now, but we did benefit from that -- a lot of people discovered this is a good place to live and do business.

BIESINGER: It was a supply and demand-related issue for years. We would go to conventions to drum up business, and we couldn't get it -- the income was stronger in other states. Now those markets have filled up and most of their (retail) growth is done. There was a demand in Salt Lake, so we have seen a lot of those retailers coming in -- it was an open market.

UB: Hasn't the perception of Utah changed over the years as well? There was a time when retailers, in particular, seemed to view the state as too provincial and insulated to merit expansion here.

BOGDEN: When we did our first Limited store at Trolley Square, the misperception among retailers was that 10 percent of the population's income was going to the LDS Church, so there wouldn't be as much disposable income to spend on clothing and other goods. Until that store opened, that was a misconception for everyone.

BIESINGER: Retailers talk to each other. They will ask about their experience in a state, and they are sharing sales volume figures. No one is knocking them dead here. This market is perceived as a discount market, and there's a lot of pressure on disposable income. We have a lot more kids, and a certain percentage of income goes to the LDS Church. Retailers aren't used to seeing this.

LONGAKER: We've overcome a hurdle of sophistication -- we now have the same kinds of services, fashion, food and entertainment as the rest of the country, and we have more disposable income than we've had before.

BOGDEN: The Salt Lake International Airport is now one of the busiest in the country, national and international in scope. The Sundance Film Festival is a big deal (in bringing exposure to Utah). And they're (developers) going into Deer Valley with $3 to $5 million homes. Deer Valley is the hot thing right now. You also have to think about how the image of the LDS church has changed. They've spent millions of dollars to help change public perception, to be viewed as more progressive. We all have to hitch our wagons to that star. The Olympics are part of it, too -- they bring an atmosphere that is new.

WILMARTH: The change is more fundamental to our employment and our economy. In the early '90s, we were a two-pronged economy -- oil and gas -- we were not diversified. By the late '90s, wage rates had gone up and people had more disposable income, the product of a more diversified economy. These things played together to bring retail facilities here.

ANDERSON: Delta Air Lines establishing a hub here was a real catalyst as

well. It's important for large companies to be able to book direct flights into a city. Delta helped us move past being viewed as an outpost -- the diversification came after that.

LIGHT: Tourism has elevated our image -- people who come here to ski see what it's like and some have moved on to develop here. Our resorts over the...