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 Ashley Hoffman, director of business development, Layton Construction.

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Ashley Hoffman, director of business development, Layton Construction

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

Ashley Hoffman: I’ve been a member of NAIOP for 14 years. I started off my career in commercial furniture, and my focus was finding new business. Where do you find those people that are going to be occupying office buildings? The natural landing place was NAIOP, so I started off like most people — not knowing anyone and trying to figure out how everything works. I quickly discovered just how connected everybody is within the association and why it was so meaningful to them. 

I dove right in and ended up serving on all the different events committees, then sat on the steering committee for the Developing Leaders program, which helps professionals age 35 and under grow. In 2016, I was named Developing Leader of the Year, which was so great. I’ve since aged out of Developing Leaders, but now I feel like my calling is to help the younger folks get more involved in the organization when they show an interest in it. 

AZRE: Life gets busy for all of us, both in our personal and professional lives. Why invest so much time into NAIOP? 

AH: My answer now might be a little different than it would’ve been 14 years ago. When I was younger, I knew I just needed to be there and the rest would follow, since I was more focused on building business relationships than anything else. 

Now I show up because I want to, but I also feel like when I attend an event, I’m helping an organization that has given so much to me for so long. I can’t overstate just how deep the roots run in NAIOP. I’ve had relationships that started off with a handshake grow into lifelong friendships. I’m still doing business with some of the people I met at my first NAIOP mixer 14 years ago.

AZRE: Are there any trends in the market you’d like to share with readers? 

AH:Electrical gear is still driving the schedule, which is important to know. When we start on a job, we always ask when the client wants to open their doors so we can order that equipment in time. Otherwise, construction costs continue to be more favorable. Even with all the talk around tariffs, those headlines don’t seem to be affecting prices much. 

We’re also seeing more interest in million-square-foot-plus industrial in the West Valley. A lot of them are build-to-suits, meaning these businesses really want to sink their teeth into the region. The East Valley, however, is overbuilt with small bay and multitenant flex industrial in my opinion, so I expect that area will cool off for a bit, but there are still people who want to be in the West Valley.