AZRE magazine sat down with eight NAIOP Arizona members to learn more about their relationship to the association, how they’ve grown their careers from getting involved, the benefits of networking with competitors and what trends they’re seeing in the market. Responses have been edited for clarity and length. Meet Chuck Carefoot, president of Southwest Region, Ryan Companies US.

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Chuck Carefoot, president of Southwest Region, Ryan Companies US

AZRE: How long have you been a member of NAIOP?

Chuck Carefoot: I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with NAIOP for around 29 years. I remember the first luncheon I attended — there were about 50 of us representing the whole industry. I was only six months into my career at Ryan Companies, and I’ve been going ever since. I’ve really enjoyed my years with NAIOP, and I hope to have many more — maybe not another 29, but certainly 10 or so. 

AZRE: How has NAIOP supported your professional growth?

CC: NAIOP has something to offer at all stages of your career. At the beginning, it’s a place to grow your confidence and learn from those around you. After you gain some experience, there are educational programs that expand your skills and help develop relationships with your industry peers. Once you’re a more tenured professional, you get to meet people earlier in their career through NAIOP, which is a great mentoring opportunity and a way to give back some of what you received from others. There’s also the perk of interacting with new businesses when they come to town and join the organization. 

AZRE: Are there any benefits to being in an association with companies who may be your competitors in the market? 

CC: Absolutely. At the end of the day, we’re all competitors to a certain extent, but NAIOP helps us all build relationships with one another. That creates a healthy alignment where there’s a willingness to learn from each other and make our collective marketplace stronger. 

AZRE: What is a trend you think readers should be aware of? 

CC: Since the Phoenix Metro is still a new marketplace, we don’t have the kind of real estate blight that exists in some older communities across America. 

That said, we need to be diligent and not allow that to happen. The biggest thing Ryan is doing today that we weren’t as much 20 years ago is the redevelopment of our city. Instead of continuing to build further out, there’s a emphasis on redeveloping existing sites into new, vibrant properties. That helps avoid the blight that could come to a community if we let an old, non-functioning building just sit there. 

Generally, jurisdictions welcome the redevelopment of difficult assets. I think we’re in a great position to improve infill sites through good, constructive redevelopment. We need to focus on that here in the Valley — if we drag our heels and don’t allow this work to happen, we could end up in a situation where blight starts to compound as it has in other cities in the U.S.