Commercial Real Estate News Hour Archives -

The CRE News Hour is going on hiatus. We had a great run of 26 feature-packed episodes in our first season, and depending on listener and sponsor support, we hope to return in the New Year with more news and features about the commercial real estate industry.

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In this episode of the CRE News Hour, we’ll speak with Matt Harding and Melissa Sievwright of retail shopping center firm Levin Management about their pre-holiday survey of retail sentiment, and we’ll have a conversation with Jim Berry, leader of Deloitte’s US real estate practice, about the firm’s 2020 Commercial Real Estate Outlook.

About the Guests

Matthew K. Harding, CCIM, has been affiliated with Levin Management since 1986. He originally handled leasing of the Levin portfolio as Executive Vice President at Paul Lawrence Realty Associates for 10 years. Matt joined Levin’s in-house team in 1996 as Senior Vice President/Deputy Chief Operating Officer, overseeing leasing operations while supervising company management and administration. He was named President/COO in 2001, assumed his current title in 2019 and continues to guide Levin Management’s strategic growth and operations. He also serves as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors, and is a director of Provident Financial Services Inc. and Provident Bank. A Certified Commercial Investment Manager (CCIM), he maintains memberships in the ICSC and the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. Matt earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hamilton College.

Melissa Sievwright joined Levin’s marketing department in 2010 and was promoted four times in just over four years to her current management position as Vice President of Marketing. With a strong background in graphic design and marketing, she heads the company’s corporate branding efforts, implements promotional campaigns for select client properties, and supports the firm’s leasing team in marketing vacancies within the company’s shopping center portfolio. Her current “big picture” goal centers on helping Levin leverage opportunities resulting from the rapid evolution of online marketing and the increasing technological savvy of the commercial real estate community – to project an image that marries the firm’s rich traditions with its modern approach to doing business.

Jim Berry leads the US Real Estate (RE) sector for Deloitte. Prior to assuming the US RE sector leader role, he served as the head of Deloitte’s Audit practice for the RE sector. During his more than 30 years of experience, Jim has worked with public and private companies across many segments of the RE&C sector including REITs, and private equity companies. Jim has extensive experience in initial public offerings, private placements, and SEC filings, as well as advising clients in all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and due diligence activities. Jim is a frequent speaker and instructor on industry and other technical subject matters at the national level with Deloitte. Living in Dallas, Jim has been heavily engaged in several real estate and community organizations including The Real Estate Council and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.

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The post Holiday Retail Sentiment Survey from Levin Management and 2020 CRE Outlook from Deloitte – CRE News Hour 11/8/2019 appeared first on .

A major merger in the CRE world this week. In the November 1, 2019 CRE News Hour, we’ll chat with stock analyst John Guinee of Stifel about Prologis’s 12 billion dollar acquisition of Liberty Property Trust. We have excerpts from a “Meet The Developers Panel” held Thursday by the Philadelphia Center City Proprietors Association (you can purchase a podcast of the full panel here), and we speak with Jim Lapides and Caitlin Walter from the National Multifamily Housing Council about its objections to rent control around the country, which they say puts a damper on affordable multifamily development. (Read the NMHC study here.)

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The post CRE News Hour 11/01/2019: Prologis acquires Liberty Property Trust; Rent Control; Meet the Developers Panel in Philly appeared first on .

In this episode of the CRE News Hour, we’ll chat with Stroock attorneys Chris Griner and Tatiana O. Sullivan about proposed regulations on foreign investment in commercial real estate; CommercialCafe writer Patrick McGregor will report the results of a ten-year study of office growth across the US, and we’ll talk with SGBlocks CEO Paul Galvin about building commercial and residential properties out of marine cargo containers.

As Chair of Stroock’s National Security/CFIUS/Compliance Practice Group, Chris Griner helps foreign and domestic companies negotiate the maze of government regulations involved in acquiring or investing in companies considered U.S. national security assets. He is widely recognized as a leader in the field of national security/CFIUS and played a key role in the development of the Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (“FOCI”) mitigation arrangements used by the U.S. government today.

Foreign and domestic companies across diverse industries turn to Chris for advice on all phases of the CFIUS process, from assessing potential areas of national security concern to preparing filings and working with the government to achieve favorable outcomes. He has handled transactions worth millions to multiple billions of dollars involving CFIUS or other national security obstacles and is renowned for structuring mitigation arrangements to obtain successful results.

Prior to joining Stroock, Chris served as an attorney advisor in the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Defense and is a Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, Retired. He is a certified pilot and enjoys flying his own plane on the weekends.

As the Department of Defense (DoD) lead for Foreign Investment Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) negotiations and regulatory implementation, Tatiana was responsible for developing DoD recommendations relating to foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). She conducted numerous, substantive evaluations of CFIUS transactions to identify critical technologies, supply chain, co-location and product integrity risks while engaging with stakeholders, the intelligence community and the private sector.

Tatiana crafted mitigation strategies to resolve national security risks including working closely with the authorities related to Export Administration Regulations (EAR), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), International Emergence Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as well as negotiating CFIUS national security agreements. Under the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA), she represented DoD at the Operating Committee and prepared senior leadership positions on licensing matters before the Advisory Committee on Export Policy (ACEP). Tatiana also served as primary support for a myriad of national security compliance programs.

Tatiana’s experience and insight into federal regulation and enforcement matters allows her to provide unique counsel and practical solutions to clients’ legal challenges. Her focus on national security reviews of foreign investments, U.S. technology transfer and export control policy allows her to bring creative and cost-effective solutions to regulatory issues involved in international business transactions.

Paul M. Galvin was appointed as a director and the Company’s Chief Executive Officer upon consummation of the reverse merger among CDSI Holdings Inc., CDSI Merger Sub, Inc., SG Blocks, and certain stockholders of SG Blocks on November 4, 2011 (the “Merger”). Mr. Galvin is a founder of SGBlocks, LLC, the predecessor entity of SGB. He has served as the Chief Executive Officer of SGB and its predecessor entity since April 2009 and as a director of such since January 2007. Mr. Galvin has been a managing member of TAG Partners, LLC (“TAG”), an investment partnership formed for the purpose of investing in SGB, since October 2007. Mr. Galvin brings over 20 years of experience developing and managing real estate, including residential condominiums, luxury sales, and market rate and affordable rental projects. Prior to his involvement in real estate, he founded a non-profit organization that focused on public health, housing, and child survival, where he served for over a decade in a leadership position. During that period, Mr. Galvin designed, developed, and managed emergency food and shelter programs through New York City’s Human Resources Administration and other federal and state entities. From November 2005 to June 2007, Mr. Galvin was Chief Operating Officer of a subsidiary of Yucaipa Investments, where he worked with religious institutions that needed to monetize underperforming assets. While there, he designed and managed systems that produced highest and best use analyses for hundreds of religious assets and used them to acquire and re-develop properties across the U.S. Mr. Galvin holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from LeMoyne College and a Master’s Degree in Social Policy from Fordham University. He was formerly an adjunct professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Welfare. Mr. Galvin previously served for 10 years on the Sisters of Charity Healthcare System Advisory Board and six years on the board of directors of SentiCare, Inc. In 2011, the Council of Churches of New York recognized Mr. Galvin with an Outstanding Business Leadership Award. Mr. Galvin’s pertinent experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills include his managerial experience and the knowledge and experience he has attained in the real estate industry.

Patrick McGregor is a senior writer at COMMERCIALCafé, covering the commercial real estate industry and overall economic trends in the United States. He also holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Before joining COMMERCIALCafé, Patrick was a senior writer at PropertyShark and a commercial real estate analyst at Yardi Matrix for five years.

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Correction, 10/26/2019, 7:27 a.m.: Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this story misspelled the name of one of the guests. She is Tatiana O. Sullivan, not Tatiana O’Sullivan.

The post CRE News Hour 10/25/2019: Foreign CRE Investment, 10 Year Office Trends, and Marine Container Construction appeared first on .

In this week’s episode of The CRE News Hour, we present a special edition, a panel discussion sponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of the Urban Land Institute, “From Liability to Asset: Rethinking Commercial Property.“

The panelists are:

Moderating the panel is Susan Bass Levin, former Cherry Hill mayor and President and CEO, The Cooper Foundation.

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The post CRE News Hour 10/18/2019: Special Edition, Urban Land Institute Panel, “From Liability to Asset: Rethinking Commercial Property” appeared first on .

In this episode of the CRE News Hour, we’ll take a deep dive on the critical factor of energy consumption in commercial real estate, with Alec Manfre, CEO of Bractlet, which models building energy consumption for clients; and a chat with Scott King, CEO of Brut Lighting, about the advantages of LED lighting in industrial property, and we’ll look at suburban multifamily development attracting millennials in the Philadelphia suburbs, with Brandon Segal from LCOR.

About the Guests

Brandon Segal, Vice President – Philadelphia Metro Development: Mr. Segal serves as Vice President – Philadelphia Metro Development of LCOR. His responsibilities include overseeing the full life cycle of the development process including sourcing, underwriting, entitling, designing, financing, and managing the construction process in the Philadelphia metro area. Mr. Segal joined LCOR in 2014 and played an integral role in the development of 1919 Market Street, a 321 unit, $148 million project in Center City Philadelphia. In addition to his responsibilities for 1919 Market Street, he leads the design, entitlement, and development process for a 244 unit, $60 million multifamily project in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Mr. Segal has more than 14 years experience in the real estate industry, most recently focusing on land development and vertical construction in the commercial and single-family sectors. Mr. Segal holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance, Real Estate and Strategic Management from Villanova University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Pennsylvania State University. Outside of the office, Mr. Segal is a guest lecturer in Villanova University’s Real Estate Department, volunteers as a mentor to Villanova’s undergraduate population and serves on the inaugural Nova Next Real Estate Council and Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Next Council for Emerging Leaders.

Scott Kent, CEO, Brut Lighting: Bio to come

Alec Manfre is CEO and co-founder of Bractlet, a smart building software company that empowers building owners to make more informed decisions about building investments. Through its digital energy twin technology, Bractlet analyzes buildings holistically and provides owners with tailored, actionable solutions to enhance building performance and reduce energy use and operating costs. A mechanical engineering graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Alec was named in 2016 to Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 in Energy.

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The post CRE News Hour 10/11/2019: Energy Consumption, LED Lights, and Millennial Multifamily in Suburban Philly appeared first on .

In this episode of the CRE News Hour, we speak with William and Stephen King, founders of Imbrex Corporation, which is developing blockchain-based tools for commercial and residential real estate professionals; we have a conversation with Clark Machemer, who is celebrating his first year leading Crow Holdings Industrial’s northeast operations after being recruited from Rockefeller Group; and Kathy Craft of Nelson Worldwide shares insights into the urban shift changing the industrial real estate design market.

Kathy Craft, Principal, National Industrial Practice Area Leader, Nelson Worldwide

On the wall above Kathy’s desk is a print of Rosie the Riveter— sleeves rolled up, a determined look on her face, with a caption that reads, “We Can Do It!” With 24 years experience in client service, project management, and team/build, Kathy a driving force behind design and architecture. She has proven that, yes, “We CAN do it!” by establishing a solid reputation with local and national developers, end users, brokers, and general contractors for delivering as promised.

Stephen King, Founder and President, Imbrex

A commercial real estate veteran and next generation innovator, Stephen King is the founder and president of imbrex, the first property marketplace to syndicate on the Ethereum blockchain. Prior to launching imbrex, he served as Principal at King Interests, a full-service real estate firm based in Princeton, New Jersey. Stephen has launched several technology-related startups in the real estate space in his career and began participating in the blockchain community in 2013. A graduate of the University of Denver, Stephen holds a dual degree in real estate and international business.

William King, CEO

As CEO of imbrex, William King advances key corporate objectives, including capitalization and fundraising; ongoing refinement of product offerings and development; and continued market advancement, both domestic and abroad. A successful entrepreneur, William was the founder and CEO of Zephyr Health where he pioneered and deployed a cloud-based solution that uses data and analytics to help predict and segment potential healthcare providers, specialists, or organizations. The service’s technology combines machine-learning algorithms that create predictive insights for every major treatment area using thousands of connected data sources. Purchased in 2018 by Anju Software, Zephyr Health continues to create healthcare solutions and function as a service leader.

Clark Machemer, Senior Managing Director, Crow Holdings

Clark Machemer leads Crow Holdings Industrial’s business in the Northeast, overseeing site selection and acquisition, team building, securing project entitlements, project design, construction, and project capitalization. Prior to joining Crow Holdings Industrial, Clark was previously with Rockefeller Group, where he was responsible for sourcing and executing on new developments in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Throughout his 20-year career Clark has been involved in the leasing and development of more than 13.5 million square feet of industrial space, 1 million square feet of office space, and 250 residential units. Clark began his career at Andersen Consulting. Clark earned a B.S. degree in Finance and Law & Public Policy from Syracuse University and an M.S. degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University. Clark is a member of NAIOP NJ where he serves on the Executive Committee as Past President. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of CPNJ and has been recognized by NJBIZ Magazine as a member of its “Real Estate Power 50” the past three years.

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In this week’s edition of The CRE News Hour, we go on-site at the NAIOP I.CON East conference in Jersey City to chat with Jeff Milanaik of Bridge Development Partners about multistory industrial properties, including Sunset Industrial Park, which Bridge is developing in Brooklyn, New York. We talk with Bruce Schanzer of Cedar Realty Trust about how to build mixed-use properties that address the urban food desert problem in some of the country’s economically challenged cities, and we introduce Aleksandra Scepanovic, who started Ideal Properties Group after immigrating to the United States from the former Yugoslavia, where she had a prior career as a journalist covering the war between Serbia and Bosnia.

Jeff Milanaik, Partner, joined Bridge Development Partners in 2014 when he opened Bridge’s New Jersey office. Jeff is responsible for Bridge’s acquisition and development activities throughout the Northeast Region. Since joining the company, he has successfully completed transactions on nearly 9 million square feet of industrial real estate with a value in excess of $2 billion.

Jeff previously served as President/Partner of Heller Industrial Parks Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately held owner/developers of industrial real estate and holds over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate. In addition to developing the long-term vision and direction of the company, he was responsible for running its day-to-day operations. Jeff increased Heller’s industrial development activities to grow the portfolio by over 10 million square feet to a total of 16 million square feet in 6 states.  Jeff left Heller in 2013 to start his own firm, CrownPoint Group LLC, a privately held real estate investment and development firm focused on the acquisition/development/repositioning of industrial and multi-family assets.

Jeff holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and received degrees from several real estate programs at Harvard University. He currently serves on the National Executive Board of NAIOP and is a member of the Board of Trustees of NAIOP-NJ, and is past President of NAIOP-NJ. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Boards of the DiLella Real Estate Center at Villanova University, Rutgers Center for Real Estate, and the New Jersey School of Architecture – NJIT. Jeff is also a member of SIOR and IOREBA.

ALEKSANDRA SCEPANOVIC

Aleksandra Scepanovic is Managing Director of Ideal Properties Group, a leading residential real estate firm specializing in premier Brownstone Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods including Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and Brooklyn Heights, as well as Williamsburg, Gowanus, Chelsea and other sought-after locations.

The firm was founded in 2007 by Scepanovic and her partner Erik Serras, who identified a need to build a technologically innovative infrastructure for sales and rentals in key Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Scepanovic is responsible for business development at Ideal. Since founding the company, she has helped develop its foundation and technological edge, set its mission and implement a clear vision. Today, Scepanovic continues to formulate Ideal’s strategy, identifies and monitors the markets, works at upholding the company’s values, oversees hiring and marketing, and assists her partner in setting Ideal’s direction and building its culture by creating an exciting and supportive environment for brokers to work.

Earlier in her career, Scepanovic worked as an editor and media analyst in her home country of former Yugoslavia. Her firsthand experience of reporting from the war zones of the Balkans robbed of their beauty, and the country’s horizons riddled with broken “Swiss cheese-like” buildings, left her not only longing for peace, but also with a belief in architecture as a symbol of perseverance and the human need to rebuild and move on.

She came to New York with a strong desire to design and create, which led her to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. The program awakened her inner eye for detail, and invigorated her passion for architecture and interiors. She incorporates this experience into the real estate industry, and continuously utilizes her project management skills and designer’s eye to take her business to the next level.

With offices in Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Williamsburg and Chelsea and a staff of over 250 highly-trained real estate brokers and salespeople, Ideal is rapidly expanding across Brooklyn and Manhattan.

BRUCE J. SCHANZER

Schanzer has been President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Cedar Realty Trust since June 2011. Prior thereto and since 2007, Bruce was employed by Goldman Sachs & Co., with his last position being a managing director in their real estate investment banking group. From 2001 to 2007, he was employed by Merrill Lynch, with his last position being vice president in their real estate investment banking group. Earlier in his career, Bruce practiced real estate law for six years in New York.  Bruce received a B.A. from Yeshiva College, where he is now a member of its Board of Trustees, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review.

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In this week’s edition of The CRE News Hour, we’ll talk about a new study by CBRE about the correlation between college football prowess and student housing value with CBRE’s Jaclyn Fitts; we’ll talk about a new emphasis on creative partnerships by coworking companies with Brock Strasbourger of coworking company Convene, and we’ll look at the latest performance trends in the data center market space with Bo Bond of Jones Lang LaSalle.

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In this week’s edition of The CRE News Hour, anchor Steve Lubetkin and his guests cover these topics:

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