Market surge

Amid continued demand and a relative shortage of supply, the region's commercial real estate industry should flourish for at least the next few years, according to industry leaders who gathered for an annual Urban Land Institute conference Jan. 28 in Tampa.

Hotels, apartment complexes and downtown office towers should do especially well, the experts contend, because new inventory has not kept up with anticipated demand.

“There has never been a better time to be in the hotel industry,” says Kent Schwarz, an executive vice president with commercial brokerage firm Colliers International Tampa Bay, who focuses on the lodging industry.