“Office is for morons”: Retail brokers live high life at ICSC

The shadow of slowing deal volume hasn’t taken the sparkle out of the parties that surround ICSC, retail real estate’s annual bash in Las Vegas.  

Whether to nurture client relationships that have become more important than ever — or to show that they can still afford luxury in the lean times — investors, brokers and developers descended on Sin City in search of connections and intel at the three-day conference famed for its cocktail get-togethers and poolside parties.

“I think people are a little bit more motivated,” said Glen Kunofsky, CEO of New York commercial brokerage NNN Pro Group. “I think people that are serious about being in the market want those interactions in real-time.”

The conference, which drew more than 24,000 registrants, began in earnest on Sunday evening, but brokers were already poolside at the Wynn Resort that afternoon. Meridian Capital Group rented a cabana — a yearly tradition for the New York-based brokerage — among others. 

After sundown, attendees swapped their bathing suits for business ones and swarmed the hotel’s restaurants and event spaces for parties hosted by law firms and brokerages. Many used the time to gorge on free wine and tiny tuna tacos before heading to their arranged dinners. 

Some, including Jordan Metzger, an attorney at Cole Schotz in New York, said slowing deal flow meant more time to socialize and meet people outside his circle of clientele. 

“I have more time on my hands,” he said. 

The banking turmoil that consumed Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank was on the forefront of many minds — though it didn’t stop anyone from partying. 

The general sentiment: It’s tough out there for any commercial real estate owner, given rising rates and a tightening in lending. 

Still, some retail specialists reveled in the fact that for the first time in decades, offices are faring worse than storefronts. 

“Office is for morons,” said Pat Paladino, a Boston-based retail broker at Newmark.

If retail is king, the main event of the night was certainly fit for one. Marcus & Millichap hosted the brokerage’s annual party at the glitzy XS nightclub at Wynn — more often a venue for electronic music stars like The Chainsmokers and Diplo than for professional conferences. 

Brokers hailing from Laredo, Texas, to New York and L.A. conversed in leather booths or circled the poolside bar as upbeat dance music played and women in two-piece costumes adorned with flashing lights danced on platforms. 

Marcus & Millichap is a $1B company

They’re a commercial real estate brokerage with 2,000 agents around the county

They’re hosting a big party tonight in Vegas

One item on my “party” agenda:

Leave with at least 20 new broker relationships, and one new deal.

Will report back

— StripMallGuy (@realEstateTrent) May 22, 2023

The Sunday night debauchery didn’t keep people away from the exhibition halls across multiple floors of the hulking Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday morning, filled with expensive booth build-outs by brokers, tenants and landlords. McDonald’s, Chipotle and Planet Fitness built out booths that resembled their storefronts, while real estate firms shelled out carpeted and wood-paneled “offices.”

At the Jimmy John’s booth, more than 20 people stood in line for a small, free sandwich. 

While it’s a rare opportunity to rapidly meet with hundreds of commercial real estate professionals, some saw this year’s conference as a way to offer niche knowledge or set the tone for a long-term relationship with a client face-to-face amid the challenges facing the industry. 

After a slower first quarter, Kunofsky said his firm, which specializes in single tenant, net-leased properties, was using the event to offer advice on specific areas of the industry and iron out deal specifics with potential tenants. 

“There are a lot of people that meet to meet, for no reason,” he said. “Young people come here to goof off and get nothing out of that.”

Lee Shapiro at Kennedy Wilson Brokerage in L.A. said he comes to ICSC every year to close deals and meet new tenants. In an environment where fewer deals are happening, Shapiro said brokerage services are more important than ever and ICSC is a place to showcase that.

“Everyone says, ‘Here comes Vegas again,’” he said. “You’re excited to come and then excited to leave.”

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