What's in a name? That question is prompting some rebranding for commercial real estate trade groups.
One of the industry's most prominent trade groups said it's changing its name to appeal to a broader constituency. Herndon, Virginia-based real estate trade group NAIOP will become CREDA, standing for the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, for all 55 chapters in July 2026.
The new name aims to make the 21,000-member association's goals and purpose clearer and more memorable in the legislative advocacy and political engagement arenas, said Tim Jemal, CEO of NAIOP SoCal, in a letter to members announcing the change. It also reflects the broader range of professionals involved in today's commercial real estate sector, he said. NAIOP originally stood for the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks but dropped the words and kept just the acronym more than a decade ago.
"While opinions about the name may differ, the reality is clear. This is a moment of inflection, and there is no choice but to embrace it," Jemal wrote. "In the world of nonprofit associations, change has been slower to take hold. Too often, risk-averse cultures stifle entrepreneurship and limit progress. That is no longer sustainable."
It comes as an alphabet soup of other commercial real estate advocacy groups are renovating their titles to reflect new strategies and appeal to a broader range of members.
ICSC rebranded in 2021 from the International Council of Shopping Centers to represent the wider “marketplaces industry," keeping the letters, just not the words they once stood for. BOMA, previously the Building Owners and Managers Association, once focused on office properties but now touts itself as an organization for "owners, managers, professionals, and service providers of all commercial building types," as commercial landlords diversified their revenue streams from the hard-hit office sector in the wake of the pandemic.
Other groups — including the Urban Land Institute, which goes by ULI, and SIOR, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors — have launched programs to attract younger talent and bring in earlier-career professionals from sectors such as technology, capital and adjacent roles.
What became NAIOP was founded in 1957 as the National Association of Industrial Parks by a group of nine industrial property developers before adding the office element.
The membership-based group, a provider of educational and advocacy services that organizes regular events focused on the commercial real estate industry, dropped all the words behind the NAIOP acronym in 2009.