The Maine Real Estate & Development Association Spring Conference held at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center, was a hit for both MEREDA and the audience, who got a chance to ask questions and meet the panelists one-on-one, including former Maine Governor, Angus King, noted Futurist and keynote speaker, Dr. Susan Wachter, Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Commissioner of Transportation David Bernhardt, Laurie Lachance, President and CEO of the Maine Development Foundation and Gunnar Hubbard, architect and principal of Fore Solutions.
The conference, which broke past attendance records, focused on the future of real estate in Maine and what the state and residents can do now to promote responsible growth in the future.
“Hearing the keynote speaker paint the picture for the trends that will impact commercial real estate in Maine and to a certain extent in the country allows me to really think about how I can use that information to help my clients invest,” said Roxane Cole, a former MEREDA president and commercial real estate business owner.
Dr. Wachter discussed what the future of development would look like in Maine. She explained it was a good news/bad news situation; while Maine is the least dense state this side of the Mississippi, that open space will one day turn into a gold mine and could be developed for a portion of the 100 million more people expected to populate America by 2030.
After the conference many members and attendees stayed after to take advantage of the networking opportunity and to talk with Shelly Clark, MEREDA Business and Operations Manager, about upcoming events and membership benefits.
