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Event Host

929 Building at Lee + White

929 Building at Lee + White

Featuring more than 100,000 square feet of creative office space, the 929 Building at Lee + White is the place to be for companies seeking an inspiring environment for their growing businesses. A model of adaptive reuse development, the 929 building is a refurbished warehouse building that was previously part of the West End’s “Warehouse Row” of food distributors. Providing creative offices in a variety of flexible space configurations, the 929 Building features spaces directly overlooking the Westside Atlanta BeltLine and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in abundant natural light. The building also offers newly created, directly accessible parking. The amenity-rich environment of Lee + White – all of it conveniently walkable from the 929 Building – includes a food hall, three breweries, unique retail offerings (including a variety of container retail spaces), and unmatched access to the hugely popular BeltLine trail via four direct entrances. The state-of-the-art office space of the 929 Building combined with the varied amenities of Lee + White provide an added incentive for employees to come to the office or join your organization. Read more about the space here

Speakers and Panels

Top Conversion Success Stories

Lessons Learned, Best Practices and Viability of Future Ventures

Jim Irwin

Jim Irwin

President

New City

Shaneel Lalani

Shaneel Lalani

CEO

Lalani Ventures

Frances Bohn

Frances Bohn

Director, Development & Construction

Jamestown

Anne-Michael Sustman

Anne-Michael Sustman

Associate Principal

Page

Chris Boone

Chris Boone

Vice President of Multifamily

Lessard Design

Pat Ray
Moderator

Pat Ray

SVP, General Manager, Atlanta Commercial Division

Batson-Cook

Jim Irwin

President

New City

Jim Irwin is the President of New City, LLC and directs the company’s real estate development and consulting operations, as well as new business pursuits. Over the course of his career, Jim has been responsible for over $500 million of new investment around the United States.

Prior to founding New City, Jim served as a Senior Vice President at Jamestown Properties, leading the development of Ponce City Market, a 2.1 million square foot former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution facility that was originally constructed in the 1920’s. During its redevelopment, the project was one of the largest and most significant historic renovations underway in the United States.

Jim began his career in real estate working for Atlanta-based Barry Real Estate Companies. Among other projects, Jim managed the development of a FBI Regional Headquarters, a $60 million-build-to-suit project in Minneapolis, and Harrison Square, a 16 acre mixed-use development in Fort Wayne, Indiana, anchored by an 8,000 seat minor league ballpark associated with the San Diego Padres. Since it opened to the public, the ballpark has been named “best overall minor league baseball experience” in the country four separate years.

Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College, where he played football for four years. After college, he served as a legislative aide to two U.S. senators and a U.S. representative before returning to Atlanta to pursue a MBA with a concentration in real estate finance at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Jim and his wife, Elisabeth, have three young children.

Shaneel Lalani

CEO

Lalani Ventures

Shaneel Lalani is Chief Executive Officer at Lalani Ventures. Since he founded the company in 2012, Lalani has grown Lalani Venture’s real estate portfolio to more than two million square feet of commercial space, with a vast majority of properties located in Georgia.

Under Lalani’s leadership, Lalani Venture’s core business strategy focuses on purchasing underperforming assets and adding value through renovations and strategic leasing strategies. He has completed more than 100 real estate transactions that are valued at approximately $250 million.

In November 2020, Lalani acquired Underground Atlanta with plans to maximize the potential of the historic entertainment destination and complement the surrounding investment in Downtown Atlanta. On the heels of the Underground Atlanta acquisition, Lalani purchased 34 Peachtree, a 300,000-square-foot office building in Downtown Atlanta, with plans to revive the office tower that currently sits at 33% occupied.

Lalani and his family migrated to Atlanta 20 years ago from India, and he currently resides in Decatur with his wife and daughter.

Frances Bohn

Director, Development & Construction

Jamestown

Frances Bohn is a Director of Development & Construction at Jamestown. Ms. Bohn joined the company in 2011 and leads Construction in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. She leads the development and implementation of value-add projects, capital improvements, landlord and tenant work coordination, and ground up construction in these regions. Prior to joining Jamestown, Ms. Bohn was a Project Manager for Hardin Construction Company, a Georgia-based contractor, with a specialty in the higher education real estate market. Ms. Bohn is a LEED Accredited Professional and is active in her local chapter of the Urban Land Institute. She received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in Building Construction from the University of Florida.

Anne-Michael Sustman

Associate Principal

Page

Anne Michael Sustman is an enthusiastic contributor to Atlanta’s increasingly design-conscious urban landscape. Anne Michael has been working as an architect in the city for the past 20 years, with most of her projects lying within the urban core of Atlanta. She thrives on the challenges of a complex project and is known for consistently guiding her clients through difficult terrain to successful outcomes. As Associate Principal and Director for Commercial Mixed-Use in Page's office in Atlanta, a major part of her role is business development and she continues to broaden Page's client base. Anne Michael has a history of working with existing buildings and is looking to expand the firm's experience in Adaptive Reuse projects.

Anne Michael is also active in the larger real estate and development community through programs and events of ULI and CREW. She is a graduate of the 2016 class of the ULI Center for Leadership (Atlanta) and continues to contribute to the program. She is also an executive committee member of ULI Atlanta's Creative Development Council and recently joined ULI's National Reuse and Redevelopment Council. Anne Michael's passion for mentorship started within AIA Georgia's Equity in Architecture group, which she helped co-found in 2016 and has expanded across various mentorship programs within the industry. She is a past chair of the CREW Mentorship & Protege program and a 2022 graduate of CREW Leadership.

Chris Boone

Vice President of Multifamily

Lessard Design

As Vice President at Lessard Design, Christopher leverages over 25 years of proven leadership in architecture and construction, guiding projects through every phase of development-from visionary concepts to successful execution. His expertise spans a wide range of sectors, including commercial, mixed-use, and multi-family residential, where he has consistently delivered transformative designs that balance creativity with functionality. Renowned for his ability to meet demanding deadlines and exceed client expectations, Christopher is committed to shaping vibrant, sustainable communities through innovative solutions. On a national scale, he has played a pivotal role in managing complex, high-profile developments, with budgets reaching up to $400 million-demonstrating his strategic oversight and unwavering focus on excellence.

Pat Ray

Moderator

Batson-Cook

Pat Ray brings more than two and a half decades of hands-on commercial construction experience to his role as senior vice president and general manager of Batson-Cook’s Atlanta Commercial division. His passion for building relationships, coupled with a strong desire to uphold Batson-Cook’s core values, makes him an invaluable team member to grow our presence in the commercial sector.

Pat joined the company in 2015 as a Project Executive. He was promoted to Senior Vice President, General Manager, Atlanta Commercial division in 2021.

Cost Effective Building Upgrades

Finding the highest performing use for an asset & repositioning vs. razing and redeveloping decision making

Ben Hautt

Ben Hautt

Managing Partner

Robles Partners

Malloy Peterson

Malloy Peterson

SVP, Development

Selig Enterprises

Arun Singh

Arun Singh

Senior Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer

MDH Partners

Brian Whitfield

Brian Whitfield

Principal

Smith Dalia Architects

Lee Kolber
Moderator

Lee Kolber

Partner

Continuum Legal Group LLP

Malloy Peterson

SVP, Development

Selig Enterprises

Over the past two decades, Malloy has worked in a variety of capacities within the development industry, including development planning and execution, marketing and branding, leasing, and public relations.

Today, Malloy is a senior leader within Selig Development Company, a subsidiary of Selig Enterprises. Malloy is focused on the development of Selig’s mixed-use developments including: The Works at Chattahoochee, 1105 West Peachtree, City Springs, and 1200 Spring Street. In addition to her experience executing developments, Malloy possesses a strong marketing, branding, and communications skill set, which allows her to provide a unique perspective to any development.

Prior to joining Selig, Malloy spent 12 years with Carter where specialized in the development of complex, large-scale urban mixed-use projects. The majority of these projects were public-private partnerships (P3). Malloy also led Carter’s Advisory Services business unit and all of Carter’s internal and external corporate and project-level marketing and communications teams.

Prior to earning her MBA, Malloy worked at Morgan Stanley where she performed financial analysis and played a large role in client relations, providing her with a solid understanding of the investment banking and securities.

Brian Whitfield

Principal

Smith Dalia Architects

Brian joined SDA in 2002 and has developed a critical foundation of expertise that drives his ability to direct projects of all sizes, programs, and complexities.  Since becoming a Principal and Partner in 2016, Brian has focused on cultivating SDA’s vision and overall design direction.  Specializing in urban infill and adaptive-use projects, he is extensively experienced in the private sector working across numerous building types.  He is passionate about the influence that architecture has on urban environments and is mindful to develop creative, engaging places that positively impact their communities. Brian holds degrees in architecture from Georgia Tech and the University of Florida, where he was an All-American rugby player.  He is a LEED-Accredited Professional, an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and American Institute of Architecture (AIA). He also serves on the Board of Directors for Warrick Dunn Charities and Warrick Dunn Communities helping fight generational poverty though affordable home ownership.

Lee Kolber

Moderator

Continuum Legal Group LLP

Lee Kolber is a commercial real estate attorney and business advisor with almost two decades of experience executing capital investments and leading complex business transactions. In addition to his transactional practice, Lee advises private developers, business owners and senior corporate leaders on investment strategies, asset repositioning, real estate management and corporate operations. Lee started his practice at the law firm Troutman Peppers representing publicly-traded developers and major consumer brands in real estate activities and since then has served in inhouse roles with InterContinental Hotels Group and later led the legal team of a private-equity backed real estate investment fund. Lee is a board member of Chattahoochee NOW and serves on the Advisory Board of Finding the Flint.

Opening Remarks

Kris Miller

Kris Miller

President

Ackerman & Co.

Kris Miller

President

Ackerman & Co.

Kris Miller, Ackerman & Co.’s President since 1998, sets the strategic direction for the firm’s investment, management and leasing initiatives. Under his leadership, the company has experienced consistent growth and diversified earnings, solidifying its standing as one of the leading full-service commercial real estate firms in the Southeast. To date, Ackerman & Co. has developed and acquired nearly 35 million square feet of office, medical, industrial, retail and mixed-use space; maintains an investment portfolio valued at $1 billion; and has 8 million square feet under management.

Miller is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the State of Georgia. He serves on the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts Board, the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (REIAC) and the Carter Center Board of Councilors. He is a Forum Leader of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), past Program Chair of the Harvard University Real Estate Academic Initiative and President of the Silver Lake Association, an 80-acre, old-growth urban forest dedicated to green space preservation. He is also an active member of NAIOP and ICSC.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University with an A.B. in Economics, he also attended the London School of Economics & Political Science and Citicorp’s Institute of Global Finance and Management Program for MBA’s focusing on corporate finance, capital structuring risk management, and public and private capital markets.

Why This Matters

What You'll Learn

  • With Office vacancy continuing to rise, and housing being undersupplied, how much of the building stock can be converted to residential?

  • What lessons are being learned by those with active office-resi projects to maintain project viability?

  • What financial dynamics must exist to make conversion deals pencil?

  • What building characteristics influence ultimate highest & best use for an asset?

  • What goes into the decision to reposition vs. razing & redeveloping a property?

How You’ll Do More Business: 

As certain asset types continue to lead the market in terms of usage and absorption, and others lag behind - the trend of evaluating repositioning for highest and best use persists. Office-Residential conversion projects continue to be a topic of interest for many, but carry a perception of complexity and lack of viability. Outside of that particular type of conversion project, adaptive projects have a recent track record of providing a sense of culture and environment to segments of the metro area, as well as boosts to the performance of larger projects. This event will detail viability of conversions of every type in the current economic & financial environment, and best practices learned from those actively engaged in transforming assets.

Who You’ll Meet During Networking: Owners, developers, investors, builders, designers, lenders, municipal officials, and more! 

Why You Should Attend This Summit: Bisnow events bring together the biggest power players in the industry to help you identify opportunities, build your network, and expand your business. With the largest audience of commercial real estate professionals in the world, no one knows how to help your business more than we do.

For questions, recommendations, comments, or press inquiries please email our event producer, Brandon Elsasser at brandon.elsasser@bisnow.com. To request disability-related accommodations, please contact lizzie.smith@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.

Projects & Activity Our Speakers Represent

Agenda

Time Activity
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
Pre-Event Networking, Registration & Breakfast
1:00 PM
1:15 PM
Bisnow Welcome & Opening Remarks from our Host
1:15 PM
2:00 PM
Top Conversion Success Stories

-Lessons Learned, Best Practices and Viability of Future Ventures

2:00 PM
2:15 PM
Brief Networking Break
2:15 PM
3:00 PM
Cost Effective Building Upgrades

-Finding the highest performing use for an asset & repositioning vs. razing and redeveloping decision making

3:00 PM
3:30 PM
Closing Networking

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