Couldn’t make it to the NAIOS 2026 Industrial Outdoor Storage Summit in Atlanta? We’ve got you covered. In this recap, we break down the biggest takeaways from the panel — including capital markets trends and what’s next for IOS investors.
Let’s dive in.
NAIOS SUMMIT
Insights
Spencer Levy’s keynote shared broader macro and economic insights shaping the IOS landscape and more! Some key takeaways from his keynote below:
Operate Differently, or Get Left Behind
Why the next cycle in commercial real estate belongs to operators, not collectors — and where the smart money is already moving.
Spencer referenced a Buc-ee's story when he was in San Antonio with his family in tow. His family wanted the gas station instead of other activities planned in the trip. He bit into a brisket sandwich and called it the best he'd ever had.
Takeaway: gas stations are one of the oldest, sleepiest industries imaginable — and Buc-ee's reinvented it by operating differently. That was the through-line of the entire talk. Any real estate asset class can be reimagined the same way.
"You can no longer underwrite a tenant based on the name on the door. Underwrite based on how productive the space is for them."
REITs Are on Sale
Public REITs are trading at 10–40% discounts to NAV. But the bigger point was about who's on the other side of the deal now: the market used to be moms and pops. Today you're often negotiating with institutions, and REITs in particular may care more about occupancy than top-of-market rent.
Know your counterparty and you'll find deals.
Productivity Is the New Frame
Real estate is a revenue generator, not a cost center, when done right. Don't fight tenants for the last dollar of rent. Make their space more productive (more power, EV chargers, whatever fits their business). Productive tenants drives inelastic demand for the site.
Follow the Infrastructure
Where infrastructure goes, opportunity follows. A few specifics worth circling:
Kansas City. Airport renovations. Sits on the new Mexico–Canada rail line. Institutional money is rushing in — Spencer did three corporate events there in the last year alone, after zero in the prior decade.
Portugal and Brazil. Undersea data cables terminate there. Great infrastructure, almost no data centers yet. Watch this space as the infra is already in place for growth.
Richmond and New Albany. Where data centers land, everything else follows — chip plants, industrial, then housing. Richmond is building the biggest US data center right now.
"New is the New New."
His T-shirt slogan for the conference. Labor and materials are expensive, so genuinely new product is scarce — and commands premium rents.
Bet Against Perfection
Horse racing analogy: 150+ years of perfect data, 200+ PhD dissertations on it. The favorite is always mathematically overbet. Bet the favorite all day and you go home broke.
This is why he doesn't recommend grocery-anchored retail — it's priced to perfection. Look for things priced to imperfection or overlooked, then make them work.
Our Takeaway
The biggest change in real estate isn't a sector — it's that everything is operational now. Set-it-and-forget-it ownership is over.
But operational doesn't mean cost-cutting. It means growing the top line — making tenants more productive and owning the adjacencies that keep them there. IOS has that stickiness built in.
Panel Takeaways
This panel featured major players actively building and acquiring some of the largest IOS portfolios in the country. Moderated by Justin Horowitz of Cooper-Horowitz, the conversation brought together:
Adam Seyfarth, Managing Director at Dayton Street Partners
Preston Smith, Director of Development at Alterra IOS
Scott Arnoldy, Founder at Triten Real Estate Partners
Mackenzie Berman, Managing Director at Blackstone
James Mashni, Managing Principal at First Houston Properties
Get the local jurisdiction on your side before you buy. Sellers are sitting on properties because buyers underwrite a business plan, then get shot down at city hall. Front-load those conversations or pay the price later.
Win deals on execution and process, not price. When you're one of 5, 10, or 20 bidders, what separates you is a clearly defined due diligence process, certainty of close, and a real track record — communicated cleanly to the seller.
What inning are we in? Most say the third inning. IOS popped out of industrial four or five years ago, institutional capital is flooding in, and panelists see a lot of runway left.
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