Lot Lines: The Commercial Real Estate Council (CREC) of OKC

Listen to this article

The Commercial Real Estate Council (CREC) of Oklahoma City is an organization whose membership is comprised of more than 250 professional men and women with a common interest in the integrity and success of the commercial real estate industry. Members of CREC represent Oklahoma City’s largest and most well-respected real estate, property management, financial, and development corporations.

The organization exists to unite people engaged in, or interested in, the development of commercial real estate projects. Members develop a better understanding of the business and markets they serve. The goal is to promote higher standards in the field and provide opportunities for members to increase their knowledge and capabilities.

Last week, I had the opportunity to facilitate a panel at the monthly CREC luncheon. The panel consisted of Matthew Myers, Switchgrass Capital; Peter Grabell, Sr. VP Market Development CPACE; and Bert Belanger, Market Director CPACE. The purpose of the program at the luncheon was to explore some of the more innovative ideas for development and financing in today’s challenging commercial real estate environment.

Matthew began the conversation by telling the members how he used Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Opportunity Zones (OZs) to get dense, urban developments such as The Lark and The Ember off the ground and made them a reality during a high inflation and high-interest rate environment.

Peter gave the history of the creative and innovative CPACE program. Being a regional VP, he has the opportunity to see this program work in several markets and sees OKC as a very important market for the company. Bert has been marketing the CPACE program in this region for a few years now and has some successful case studies to demonstrate the value of CPACE in completing the finance stack. He also has extensive experience in affordable housing and has some interesting ideas for implementing CPACE in those situations.

As for me, I just felt blessed to facilitate a panel sharing a platform with experts and friends. It is my hope that my readers and the CREC members now have a better understanding of the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Opportunity Zones (OZ), and CPACE. CREC is a great organization and I hope we gave attendees some concrete ideas in dealing with today’s commercial real estate financing challenges. Thanks for having us, Allan Meadors and CREC!

Dr. J. David Chapman is Professor of Finance & Real Estate at The University of Central Oklahoma ([email protected])