ATLANTA (May 19, 2013) - Why Should a Freelance Writer Come to NAREE 2013?

Recently a freelancer covering the broad field of real estate wrote into the NAREE office asking what could she get out of attending's NAREE's 47th Annual Real Estate Journalism Conference in Atlanta June 5-8 -- especially since travel budgets are so tight.

Here are some good reasons: Of the freelancer writers already registered for NAREE13 from Austin, Houston, Chicago, Salt Lake City, the Washington DC area and New York -- each has been to several NAREE conferences in a row. Editors from Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal Digital, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Unique Homes, MSN Real Estate, Inman News, Design New England magazine, Commercial Property Executive, Senior Housing News, Student Housing Business, Southeast Real Estate Business, Northeast Real Estate Business, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, National Real Estate Investor, World Property Channel, Vendome Group, and others are also registered for NAREE's conference at the Hilton Atlanta downtown.

Plus plenty of industry blog sites now use the work of bonafide freelancer journalists and many of the folks who run those blogs are coming to NAREE as are an amazing group of industry experts who will speak at the NAREE conference -- providing new story ideas for months to come. Only at NAREE13 can you interview experts under one conference roof on topics as diverse as -- net-zero homes, online real estate, new urbanism, home price forecasts, QRM and hard to get loans and trends in office design and building.

Opening day, Wednesday, June 5 at 4:30 PM there is a session specifically for freelancers in the digital age, plus networking time at NAREE's Opening Reception at 5 PM, the walk over to the W high-rise tour/reception from the Hilton at 6:15 and NAREE's President's Hospitality Suite which opens at 9:00 PM. NAREE president Kris Hudson, Wall Street Journal, and vice president Daniel Taub, Bloomberg, will welcome the group.

On Thursday morning, June 6 at 8 AM, NAREE Board Secretary Mary Shanklin of the Orlando Sentinel will talk on the new dawn of entrepreneurial journalism during her panel on "Digital Journalism: Covering New Ground." Lots of networking time for freelancers and editors is also built into the afternoon tours (beginning at 2:30 PM) and receptions and, of course, the NAREE President's Suite at 9 PM.

NAREE's Meet the Press (MTP) on Friday at 3:45 PM at the Hilton is an excellent vehicle for freelancers to see most of the editors mentioned above for three-minute one-on-one sessions. And to get to know them better after MTP, freelancers can attend the TGIF Reception, Journalism Awards Reception and the NAREE Suite at 8:30 PM at the Hilton. Here's a list to date of journalists who have agreed to have tables at NAREE's Meet the Press, chaired by past president Sue Doerfler, Arizona Republic: Alyssa Abkowitz, Wall Street Journal; Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times; Jerry Becker, MSN Real Estate; Ralph Bivins, RealtyNewsReport.com; David Bodamer, National Real Estate Investor; Andrea Brambila, Inman News; Steve Brown, Dallas Morning News; Harold Bubil, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Oshrat Carmiel, Bloomberg; Matt Carter, Inman News; Steve Cook, Real Estate Economy Watch; Polyana da Costa, Bankrate.com; Daniel DiClerico, Consumer Reports; Candy Evans,CandysDirt.com; John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg; Matt Goldstein, Reuters; Dion Haynes, Washington Post; Matt Hudgins, Freelance writer - New York Times; Kris Hudson, Wall Street Journal; Michelle Jarboe McFee, Plain Dealer; Valerie Kellogg, Newsday; David Levitt, Bloomberg; Lily Leung, San Diego Union-Tribune; Camilla McLaughlin, freelance writer – Unique Homes; Mark Moffa, Unique Homes; John Nelson, Texas Real Estate Business; Lynn Peisner, Student Housing Business; Gail Ravgiala, Design New England; Doug Sams, Atlanta Business Chronicle; Jarred Schenke, Bisnow; Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel; Randy Shearin, Shopping Center Business; Lew Sichelman, Syndicated Columnist; Daniel Taub, Bloomberg; Scott Trubey, Atlanta Journal Constitution; Mary Umberger, Columnist - Chicago Tribune; Matt Valley, Seniors Housing Business; Alicia Wallace, Boulder Daily Camera; Lois Weiss, NY Post and others. (Complete list at MTP Sign-up Desk.) Make your reservations at the Hilton Atlanta today! NAREE's room block expires Monday May 20 at the close of business. Call 800-hiltons or visit www.hilton.com and ask for "NAREE's $119 rate." Register for the NAREE conference at www.naree.org. NAREE's Atlanta conference is just two weeks away.

Don't miss this chance to meet colleagues covering residential real estate including mortgage trends and commerical real estate including retail, hospitality and mixed-use with multifamily, senior housing and student housing. Contact Mary Doyle-Kimball Executive Director NAREE 561-391-3599 madkimba@aol.com.

ATLANTA (May 16, 2013) - Kevin Riley, editor of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, will discuss Newspaper Survival Tactics at the 47th Annual NAREE Spring Journalism Conference June 7. The conference will be held June 5-8 at the Hilton Atlanta.

The timing of the Q-and-A with Riley is perfect because this week, the AJC stopped giving away all its content for free and launched its paid myajc.com. Of course, payment for content is the key survival tactic for major newspapers.

Riley (shown in photo with Katie Couric) will be joined by Matt Kempner, longtime AJC Business page reporter and editor. Riley's talk, part of NAREE University, starts at 8 a.m. Suzann Silverman, editor of Commerical Property Executive will moderate the Q-and-A with the AJC's top newsman.

On the conference's opening day, June 5, AJC commercial real estate/economic development reporter Scott Trubey will offer his observations of the Atlanta skyline from atop the W Downtown Atlanta Hotel & Residences.

Just before the event at the W, longtime business columnist Maria Saporta will discuss "The Different Atlantas" at the conference's opening reception at the Hilton Atlanta. Saporta, who covered business and wrote an influential column at the AJC, now writes for Atlanta Business Chronicle and Saporta Report.

For more information or to register for the National Association of Real Estate Editors Spring Journalism Conference, click here.

The Wilbert Group is providing pro bono communications for the conference, and President Tony Wilbert is co-chairing the Host Committee and will be on a panel focused on real estate and Twitter (of course).

 

 

ATLANTA (April 22, 2013) - An Atlanta-based hospitality development firm just filed plans for a large hotel at the former Georgia Power property on East Bay Street in Savannah.

North Point Hospitality Group, which has several hotel properties in Savannah, plans to develop a 470-room hotel with 42,000 square feet of retail and commercial space at 600 East Bay St., according to a filing with the Georgia Departmet of Community Affairs. North Point would develop the mixed-use building as managing member of East River Street LLC, the property's owner.

North Point Hospitality is led by JK Patel and S. Jay Patel. Early this year, North Point Hospitality opened the first dual-branded Hilton hotel in Georgia (Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites) in Midtown Atlanta.

Georgia Power listed the property (shown in photo by former colleague Steve Bisson) for sale in 2009, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The new hotel, which would be adjacent to the Marriott property that housed Olympic athletes who participated in water sports during the 1996 Summer Games, will be completed by 2019, the filing shows.

Hendon Rocks, Atlanta developer Charlie Hendon's big bash at ICSC's RECon show in Vegas, is back at The Joint at the Hard Rock Cafe and better than ever. And he's got MTV star Jenny McCarthy in tow.
Check out this lineup. It's reminiscent of the rocking go-go days of past and a good sign retail is rebounding.