Rob Barresi, Senior Vice President at Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage joins the Pod to share best practices around insurance for development and construction. We begin with a high level discussion around the different types of policies and then dive into the details of proper risk transfer in

owner/developer/GC/subcontractor relationships, indemnification and hold harmless agreements, waivers of subrogation, additionally insured endorsements, what to look for when reviewing a certificate of insurance and completed operations coverage which is extremely critical. This topic isn’t always glamorous but, it’s certainly critical to understand and get right.

In this episode we are joined by Joe Kriesberg, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Community Development Corporation (MACDC). We discuss community development issues and trends in Massachusetts and around the country. We cover the fundamentals like what a Community Development Corporation does, how an organization can become recognized as a CDC and the benefits which may accrue to an organization that does. Specifically, we touch on Gateway Cities, Chapter 40B laws, low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and Community Investment Tax Credits (CITC). Finally, we discus the benefits of civic participation and perhaps certain limitations of this worthwhile goal. We hope you enjoy this episode as Joe explains these topics in a way which is easy to understand and appreciate.

The Real Estate Addicts are joined by Mat Picheny, Managing Partner at MJP Property Group. With an investment portfolio of over 2,000 units, Matt shares the ins and outs of acquiring and repositioning multifamily communities. Matt has over 14 years of experience in property analysis, financing, acquisition, construction, and operations. The conversation focuses on syndication which is a way for investors to pool their financial resources to invest in properties and projects much bigger than they could afford on their own. We hope you enjoy and thanks for sharing the podcast with a friend and for your reviews!

We hope you and your families are doing well and you are weathering this uncertainty. We are grateful to be joined again by one of our favorite guests, Juline McMullen of Dale Carnegie Training for a special discussion on managing stress during uncertain times. Juline brings us through the “5 C’s” which are tools to help us through these daunting times. Juline holds a master’s in psychology and is certainly an expert on this subject. We took a lot out of our conversation and we hope you will too!

Ben is native Bostonian and co-founder of ZeroEnergy Design Architects who now spends his time focused on his own developments and on design within the maker space at his business HomeMade Modern. Ben is a BIG thinker and shares his portfolio and work on his YouTube channel which has 1.2 million subscribers! In this episode, Ben explains why the HGTV model for television focused on flashy before & afters & peppy personalities is not viewers actually want (7:30). We continue talking about how Ben has looked to the food industry to draw design inspiration (11:30). We admire Ben’s remarkable talent in creating memorable design moments which tactically employ labor thereby reducing costs. Ben explains how he deliberately designs his development budgets such that costs are asymmetrical (18:35). Lastly, should we cater our developments to the broadest possible segment of the population or focus on a niche segment of buyers where there may be far less supply of product (24:00).

In this episode, Marc, Dan & Ray discuss taking the leap from gut renovations to new construction. The guys share experience (& mistakes), covering a lot of ground (pun intended), discussing soil and site classification, foundation options, demolition, engineering & civil engineering concerns, surveying as well as many of the “trip wires” or “landmines” to look out for along the way. We appreciate your reviews and shares and welcome feedback ([email protected]) to keep the podcast interesting and entertaining!

Real Estate Addicts is excited to share this conversation with Ann Ehrhart, owner of the retail real estate firm Boston Urban Partners, and its newly formed sister company Boston Urban Places. Together, the firms help their clients substantially increase the value of their buildings by creating vibrant and sustainable retail, while fostering a sense of community for tenants living there.

Listen in as Ann discusses what’s really going on with brick & mortar retail and the threats she sees, both real and exaggerated. She shares her insight on what landlords and developers can do to avoid the dreaded “dark, empty storefront,” and thoughts on where the industry is heading. Don’t miss this candid overview about real estate’s most rapidly changing sector.

In this 2nd part of our 2-part episode with Juline McMullen, Director of Client Strategy at Dale Carnegie Training we take on a wide-ranging discussion on Leadership. Juline explains how effective leaders recognize the potential in others and enable them to perform at their best. We discus the importance of responding instead of reacting, how to be assertive without appearing aggressive and the difference between feedback and criticism. We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast!

The power of presentation and public speaking makes a huge difference in our success or failure in many professions but, especially as real estate developers. In this episode Juline McMullen, Director of Client Strategy at Dale Carnegie Training joins us to offer her best advice on mastering public speaking and making effective presentations. We start with the basics like getting to know your audience and planning your speeches; then we dive into using your voice, gestures, and ideas to create impact presentations. Other topics covered include, communicating with clarity and conviction, engaging audience participation and using storytelling to improve effective communication. We hope you enjoy the episode and thank you for rating, reviewing and sharing the Real Estate Addicts Podcast!

The Real Estate Addicts are joined this week by Michael LeBlanc, principal at Utile, a Boston based“design firm built like a think tank”. Utile has grown from their founding in 2002 to a 64-member team that consistently produces some of the smartest and most innovative approaches to design and urban planning in the City. In this episode Michael shares his perspective on design, why Utile has no one “signature style” and how Utile’s urban planning work influences and improves their design work. Michael walks our listeners through Utile’s very involved client-driven design process and explains how this process yields the right design at the right budget. Finally, Michael shares a “case study” on the Gerard, a 160-unit apartment building which presented a number of challenges during design which Utile did a masterful job of resolving. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. We appreciate your feedback ([email protected]) and your reviews and thank you for sharing!