Travis Wood spent six years at Prologis, working his way up from property management to leasing on a small team covering 15 to 16 million square feet in the Baltimore and DC market. Then he and his wife made the leap: a new city, a brand new Lee & Associates office in Charlotte, and straight commission. Two and a half years later, Lee Charlotte has grown to 17 people and Travis is part of the four-person JGPT team.

We get into what the owner side teaches you about brokers, how the JGPT team formed (the name is a play on AI, but it's all human intelligence), and the day-to-day mechanics of building a pipeline: four hours a day of prospecting, why he skips the voicemail on the first call, the handwritten note that got a callback, picking a CRM as a team, and why every call should bring a piece of information.

We finish with the Charlotte industrial market: growth, new supply, the flight to quality, tight flex and small bay product, owner-user pricing, and how to price industrial outdoor storage.

Key Takeaways

• Every successful career has an inflection point where you take a risk. Travis left a salaried Prologis seat for commission in a city where he knew almost no one.
• Seeing every brokerage shop from the owner side teaches you what works. Borrow the best approach from each.
• Prospecting is not optional. The JGPT team blocks four hours a day for calls, texts and emails, because not every deal in the pipeline closes.
• Casual and direct beats scripted. And when an owner won't take your call, a teammate with a different style might get through.
• Skip the voicemail on the first call. Send a short, vague text instead. In the AI age, a real text proves you're a real person.
• Never make a truly cold call. Bring a piece of information and it becomes a lukewarm call.
• Luck is a numbers game. Put yourself in position more often and more deals hit.
• Charlotte is growing fast: roughly 135 new residents a day, heavy new supply, positive absorption, and a flight to quality as new 32-foot buildings compete with older 24-foot product.
• Small bay and flex are tight. Owner-user sales run around $200 a foot, and flex rents have reached about $17 for 5,000 to 10,000 square feet.
• IOS pencils because outdoor storage costs a fraction of storing the same equipment inside. The gap between the two is where the value is.

Guest: Travis Wood, Senior Associate, Lee & Associates Charlotte

Host: Justin Smith, SIOR, Lee & Associates Irvine

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/TqA0Xk-Nx3M

What happens when a manufacturer or data center finds a site but cannot get connected to the grid for five or six years? Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, joins Justin Smith to explain why electric demand caught utilities off guard, what is slowing new connections, and how power is becoming part of industrial site selection.

We discuss rising utility bills, the culture clash between fast-moving tech firms and reliability-focused utilities, the race for AI power, regional differences from Northern Virginia to Texas and Ohio, and practical ways to get more out of the grid we already have. Rob also explains the three Ps of transmission (planning, permitting and paying) and why a willingness to pay for a project does not make the cost-sharing decision simple.

Key Takeaways

• Utilities are telling some large new customers they cannot connect them for five or six years. Grid capacity, not land, now sets many start dates.
• The five-year U.S. load growth forecast rose from 2.6% to 4.7% in a single year (Grid Strategies, December 2023).
• Rising bills have many causes: new demand, expensive equipment, rebuilding after wildfires and storms, and replacing aging equipment.
• Big loads chase grid capacity, then move on once it is used up.
• Wind-cooled lines, smarter charging and batteries can all get more out of the existing grid.
• For power-intensive site searches, bring grid expertise onto the site selection team early.

Recorded September 30, 2026. Later that day, the Senate released the bipartisan permitting bill Rob mentions, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. Rob had not reviewed the bill text on air.

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7I6DC9lJzU

Guest: Rob Gramlich, President, Grid Strategies
Host: Justin Smith, SIOR, Lee & Associates Irvine

I sat down with Jack Cline, President of Lee & Associates Downtown Los Angeles, to talk about the buildings he holds, the market he knows and the brokerage business he is still building.

We cover Vernon and Commerce, power for data centers, a changing choice of buildings for sale, Bill Lee's broker-owned model, using Claude to work through office economics, building young brokers and the books Jack gives away. I also share what ownership and a loan rate reset taught me about the questions I ask on somebody else's deal.

Recorded Oct. 2, 2026. Jack's investment figures, office economics and market observations are his account in this conversation. His comments about rates, cold-storage demand and development reflect his views as of the recording.

• Why Jack says the deals he regrets are the buildings he sold
• How partnership and cash flow shape his approach to ownership
• Vernon and Commerce, sale supply and slower price adjustment
• Why he sees power as central to data-center site decisions
• Bill Lee's broker-owned office model and recruiting economics
• Four runners, a learning curriculum and the next generation
• A prescription pad for books and the danger of getting comfortable

• 00:00:00 Youth Champions and mindset
• 00:03:27 LA industrial: Downtown, Vernon and Commerce
• 00:04:45 Data centers and power in Vernon
• 00:07:25 Vernon housing and local government
• 00:09:50 Cold storage in Vernon
• 00:13:15 A sales overhang and slower price correction
• 00:14:40 Where interest rates settle
• 00:15:39 LA City, Prologis and Measure ULA
• 00:17:55 Property rights
• 00:19:28 Opening Lee's Downtown LA office
• 00:22:27 Building young brokers
• 00:23:31 The next generation at Lee
• 00:26:03 Growing the pie and investing with clients
• 00:27:26 Bill Lee and the broker-owned model
• 00:29:51 Recruiting with AI and the office flywheel
• 00:31:36 Presidents meetings
• 00:32:52 Strategic Coach, EOS and personal growth
• 00:34:40 Owning buildings
• 00:39:51 Books he prescribes
• 00:43:31 Complacency and a bigger life

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oz13DErJIU

Full transcript: https://smithcre.com/podcast/jack-cline/

Renew or relocate? Get the free Industrial Relocation Guide: https://smithcre.com/market-reports/industrial-insights-industrial-relocation-guide/

Guest: Jack Cline, President, Lee & Associates Downtown Los Angeles. Host: Justin Smith, SIOR.

Justin Smith sits down with Bill Shopoff, President and CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments, to discuss land entitlement, master-planned development, and industrial market cycles across Southern California and the Inland Empire.

Topics covered include:

• How the Sierra Club and CVAN CEQA lawsuit delayed the I-10 Logistics Center into the peak 2021 market
• Selling the 1.83M SF I-10 facility for $329 million to Brookfield
• Mesa Verde in Calimesa: keeping 3,650 homes under SB 330 while unlocking 4.2M SF of big-box industrial
• Why power availability and substation capacity have become an asset class in site selection
• Repurposing industrial sites to residential, including 281 homes at the former Amway facility in Buena Park
• Entitling industrial on Agua Caliente tribal land at the I-10 and Highway 111
• Using AI for rapid site diligence and how AI will reshape the entry-level real estate analyst role

Recorded October 7, 2026. Figures, project details, and market statements are Bill's account in the interview.

Watch the full video conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gKPOlDuZQqA

Download the free Industrial Relocation Guide: https://smithcre.com/market-reports/industrial-insights-industrial-relocation-guide/

Full episode transcript and show notes: https://smithcre.com/podcast/bill-shopoff/

What does a company's delivery promise mean for the warehouse it needs? Patrick Van Hull and I discuss inventory, distribution, and the operating decisions behind industrial real estate. Patrick taught my supply chain strategy class at the University of Arkansas, and this conversation explores the industry experience behind his teaching.

We talk about the decisions behind a warehouse requirement, what companies can learn from other industries, and how working professionals bring classroom lessons straight back to their jobs. Patrick also explains why AI has brought him back to the industrial engineering questions he started with: how work gets done, where it gets stuck, and what can be improved.

In this conversation:
• How factory layouts, inventory, and financial performance connect
• The link between industrial minerals and iPhone screens
• When an outside distributor may serve customers better than an in-house operation
• What teaching working professionals has taught Patrick
• How everyday processes affect working capital and performance
• Why knowing how to find an answer matters

Hosted by Justin Smith. Recorded October 23, 2026.

Chapters
00:00 How delivery requirements shape warehouses
00:15 Patrick's career and the experience behind his teaching
03:46 From a mine to an iPhone screen
05:26 Industrial engineering in the AI era
07:53 Inventory, delivery, and the warehouse requirement
10:11 Forecasting demand when the signals change
11:50 Executive advisory at SCM World and Gartner
16:50 Build in-house or work with a distributor?
18:23 Joining Arkansas and keeping the program current
21:19 Teaching lessons working professionals can use
24:37 Network design and human judgment
27:59 Salesforce and the workarounds inside everyday processes
30:25 Working capital and underlying processes
33:56 Raising the floor and learning to find an answer
36:39 Mentoring and owning your perspective

More freight does not automatically mean more warehouse space.

Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves, joins Justin Smith to explain why large importers can handle more volume without expanding their real estate footprint—and why freight data needs to be read by customer, transportation mode and location.

We discuss the pickup in warehouse leasing, industrial activity moving inland, the differences between rail, flatbed and dry van, and Craig's views on AI data centers, defense spending and energy as drivers of industrial demand.

For owners, occupiers and advisors, the question is which activity creates a need for additional space and which can run through a network that already exists.

Guest: Craig Fuller, Founder and CEO, FreightWaves
Host: Justin Smith, SIOR, Lee & Associates Irvine
Recorded October 23, 2026. Market assessments and forecasts reflect the speakers' views at the time of recording.

FreightWaves

00:00 Why more freight can use existing warehouses
00:15 Craig Fuller and FreightWaves
01:16 Consumer demand versus industrial demand
02:25 The pickup in warehouse leasing
03:24 Freight activity and the shift inland
04:14 More volume through existing warehouse networks
05:30 Rail, flatbed and dry van
06:49 Busy ports and Southern California leasing
08:18 Orderly freight, rates and carrier capacity
10:07 Working through excess warehouse supply
11:23 Craig's case for AI, defense and energy
12:45 Energy access and industrial location
15:13 How long can the industrial cycle last?
16:39 Political risk to the buildout
17:12 Closing

Troy Wisse, Partner at Lee & Associates - WBE, joins Justin Smith to discuss growing an industrial brokerage team in Northern New Jersey, developing the next generation of brokers, and serving clients through the Lee platform. His path from intern to partner provides the foundation for a conversation about leadership, learning, and team growth.

They discuss earning a mentor, mentoring the next broker, balancing landlord and tenant representation, Class A and Class B leasing, client service across the Lee network, practical AI, and prospecting.

Guest: Troy Wisse, Partner, Lee & Associates - WBE
Host: Justin Smith, SIOR, Lee & Associates Irvine

Watch the full conversation on YouTube
Troy Wisse's firm bio

Recorded October 15, 2026. Market views are the speakers' observations at recording.

00:00 Introduction and the cross-coast relationship
01:55 Northern New Jersey roots
03:23 The cold call that led to Lee
07:01 Becoming a partner
08:42 Earning a mentor
11:40 What new brokers should ask
12:56 Mentoring Eddie
15:46 A new marketing lane
17:03 Building confidence in public
19:52 A landlord-led practice
21:19 Class A demand and the construction pipeline
24:05 Class B leasing and concessions
26:18 The lasting value of location
28:40 Southern California comparison
33:01 Growing through tenant representation
33:44 Owning the client problem
35:33 AI in the brokerage back office
42:18 Call screening and accessibility