Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks and California Lutheran University joined forces Feb. 8 to present the 2019 Economic Outlook Forecast Breakfast at the university’s Sports Center in Thousand Oaks. The event’s centerpiece was a panel featuring Matthew Fienup, executive director of Cal Lutheran’s Center for Economic Research and Forecasting; Larry Green, executive vice president of U.S. development for shopping center owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield; land-use consultant Brad Rosenheim of Woodland Hills-based Rosenheim & Associates; Westcord Commercial Real Estate President Rick Principe; Philip Denlea, regional vice president of Logix Federal Credit Union; and Regina Biddings-Muro, vice president of university advancement at Cal Lutheran. After opening remarks by Rotary Club Chairman Patrick McCoy, the philanthropic organization chapter’s Lois Curran-Klein, owner of Westlake Village-based title consulting firm LCK Enterprises, moderated the panel. Green and Fienup served as keynote speakers. With his Center for Economic Research freshly minted as one of 60 economic think tanks polled by the Wall Street Journal, Fienup dissected some “very exciting and very troubling” economic headwinds and tailwinds affecting the region. The economy of California, a state blessed with natural resources, ports and creative industries, has traditionally grown faster than that of the rest of the nation. Nevertheless, Fienup foresees a slowdown, and in Ventura County, where not many permits were issued for real estate development, a continued 0 percent growth for 2018 and 2019. “We simply don’t build enough,” said Fienup, who nevertheless praised Thousand Oaks’ approach to stimulating development. Green, whose company is investing $1.5 billion into overhauling the Promenade in Woodland Hills, said that while baby boomers have stopped spending, he believes millennials and younger generations will keep patronizing vital tenants such as Apple Inc., AMC Theatres and Amazon.com Inc.-owned Whole Foods. Plus having a Costco on site in Woodland Hills drives traffic to other businesses. “We embrace Amazon,” Green said. “We want Amazon in our centers.” Both Rosenheim and Principe noted that the three-to-six-year window of time for developers to obtain permits puts a drag on local development. “We have some challenges ahead; the entitlements process is broken,” Principe said. Looking beyond 2019, Rosenheim remained optimistic, pointing to some thriving sectors of development: multifamily, mixed-use, hospitality and senior housing, which frees up housing for others. “From Calabasas to Newbury Park and Camarillo, things look very well,” Rosenheim said, while recognizing hardship in the industrial submarket. “Finding that space is very challenging today.” He concluded that the runway for businesses to seek expansion is key as is “a variety of types of housing, that’s a very important element to a healthy economy and a healthy community. We must create good relationships in the community to create good public policy that will allow business in the community to grow.” Strong Fundamentals Despite short-term volatility, the U.S. economy’s underlying fundamentals are strong — that was the takeaway from City National Bank’s Economic & Investment Forum, held at Four Seasons Westlake Village, where CNBC and MSNBC contributor Ron Insana served as keynote speaker and City National Rochdale Managing Director Paul Single, who delivered the financial markets update, also moderated a panel. The panel included the bank’s Vice President of Foreign Exchange Andrew Kositkun; Vice President of Real Estate Banking Kelly Russell; International Banking Vice President Carmen Sanchez; and Senior Portfolio Manager Simon Chapman of City National Rochdale, the bank’s investment management operation. At the Feb. 7 symposium, on a day when the Dow Jones fell more than 200 points, there was much discussion about economic anxiety revolving around China as a meeting on trade issues between the U.S. and China loomed in early March. Russell discussed current trends in the regional real estate market and how the exception to a dismal residential market nationwide is California. She spoke about pre-leasing of buildings with local rental rates exceeding a projected $3 a square foot, up to $3.75 “in a tight market in Burbank where you don’t have a whole lot of new supply there. There’s also strong demand for industrial; they’re getting swooped up by tenants.” Staff Reporter Michael Aushenker can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or [email protected].