NAIOP Arizona Chapter

Arizona’s future depends on responsible, long-term water management. Despite decades of responsible planning, significant investment, and sound management, Friday’s announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior places Arizona in an unfair and untenable position regarding the future of the Colorado River.

The proposal is fundamentally imbalanced. Arizona has already absorbed substantial reductions in its Colorado River allocation, invested billions of dollars in water infrastructure, prioritized conservation, and today uses less water than it did in the 1950s despite tremendous population and economic growth. That record proves Arizona has successfully decoupled economic growth from water use. No state along the Colorado River has been more proactive or more responsible in managing its water resources than Arizona.

We are grateful to Arizona Governor Hobbs, House Speaker Montenegro, Senate President Petersen, Arizona’s congressional delegation, CREDA Arizona’s members, and the business community for their continued leadership and commitment to protecting our state’s water future. Now is not the time to let up.
CREDA Arizona and our partners will continue working across party lines to ensure Arizona is treated fairly. We will continue pressing the federal government to recognize Arizona’s leadership, protect our water future, and support the continued economic strength Arizona has achieved through conservation, innovation, and responsible growth.

◤ Cheryl Lombard
President & CEO
Commercial Real Estate Development Association (CREDA) Arizona

Congratulations to Thomas Maynard on being named one of Consultant Connect’s 2026 North America Top 50 Economic Developers! 👏

This recognition celebrates Thomas’ leadership, dedication and continued impact on economic growth throughout Greater Phoenix.

CREDA Arizona is proud to have Thomas serve on our Board of Directors as the Developing Leaders Representative, where he helps champion the next generation of commercial real estate leaders.

Please join us in congratulating Thomas on this well-deserved honor!

“We want to be partners. There may be differences of opinion at times, but there are areas where we need to be rowing in the same direction. If we spend all our time fighting each other, we’ll never get to where we need to be.” — Jim Pratt, general manager and CEO of SRP.

“The anti-infrastructure mindset out there is not helpful to any of us. While there’s a right place for these projects, it’s necessary for us to serve our communities. We have to make sure people feel heard and explain why it needs to be built — but we can’t be the only ones telling that story. We need your help.” — Ted Geisler, president and CEO of APS.

Today marks a new era for our organization as NAIOP Arizona officially becomes the Commercial Real Estate Development Association Arizona (CREDA Arizona).

This transition reflects the work of our 22,000+ members across North America who power economic growth and strengthen communities. From multifamily housing and retail destinations to industrial facilities, logistics hubs, office buildings, mixed-use developments, healthcare campuses, data centers, and beyond, our members deliver the spaces where people live, work, shop, connect, innovate, and thrive. Our new name better reflects the work of our members and the impact they have on communities across Arizona and North America.

While our name has changed, our mission remains the same. Here in Arizona, we remain committed to advocacy, research, education, and connections that help our members succeed and strengthen Arizona's commercial real estate industry.

As part of this transition, you will begin seeing our new CREDA Arizona branding across our website, email communications, and social media channels. Existing NAIOP Arizona web links will continue to work and automatically redirect to our new website.

We are excited about what lies ahead and grateful to our members, partners, and supporters for being part of this new chapter.

How do we continue Arizona's incredible growth while ensuring we have the water, energy, and infrastructure needed to support it?

Yesterday, NAIOP Arizona President & CEO Cheryl Lombard joined Arizona Horizon's Ted Simmons to discuss exactly that.

One of the biggest takeaways: Arizona didn't get here by accident.

For decades, Arizona has intentionally diversified its economy, planned for growth, and invested in long-term solutions. But with the rapid rise of AI, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and data centers, the pace of growth is accelerating, and the need to execute on those plans has never been more important.

Water, energy, and infrastructure require collaboration at every level. The solutions will come from bringing utilities, business leaders, policymakers, and industry partners together to plan, invest, and execute on the future Arizona has been preparing for.

Commercial real estate has an important role to play in that future, helping deliver the projects, infrastructure, and investment that will support Arizona's next chapter of growth.

Watch the full interview below. ⬇️
https://youtu.be/M22Oj-IEKDk?si=VATYVbfbfUj5VHqD

Cheryl Lombard Discusses Arizona’s Growth Future on Arizona Horizon How do we continue Arizona's incredible growth while ensuring we ha...

Congratulations to longtime NAIOP Arizona members and industry leaders Rob Schramm and Kevin Miller on their new leadership roles with Kitchell.

Rob has been promoted to Chief Strategy Officer for Kitchell Corp., while Kevin will step into the role of President of Kitchell Development. Both have played an important role in shaping commercial real estate and development across Arizona, and we’re excited to see their continued impact in these expanded positions.

Please join us in congratulating Rob, Kevin, and the entire Kitchell team on this exciting announcement.

Read more from the Phoenix Business Journal:

Thank you to everyone who attended NAIOP Arizona’s Energy & Economic Forecast luncheon last week.

As Arizona continues to see major investment in development, advanced manufacturing, data centers, and infrastructure, the conversation around energy has never been more important.

Our panelists shared valuable insight into the demand, reliability, supply chain, and infrastructure challenges that will shape Arizona’s ability to continue growing in the years ahead.

Thank you to Ted Geisler, Jim Pratt, Justin Lee Brown, Cheryl Lombard, special guests, members, and the entire commercial real estate community for making this signature event a success.

A special thank you to our supporting sponsors: McCarthy Building Group, Suntec Concrete, Hawkeye Electric, and our Media Sponsor AZRE

Join us in congratulating Ryan Companies on being named NAIOP's 2026 North American Developer of the Year, our association's highest honor.

This one hits close to home for us. Ryan's Southwest Region has been building in the Valley for over 30 years, from 17 North Corporate Center near TSMC to Innovate48 and Schrader Farms, shaping the industrial landscape that's made Phoenix a national player.

Add a net-zero by 2040 commitment and decades of NAIOP involvement at every level, and the honor makes sense.
Congrats to the local team and everyone across the company.

Read the press release here: https://loom.ly/aE65r1s