Baltimore-Washington Industrial Boom

After graduating from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1992, Donovan began his career with Columbia Coastal Transport, a U.S. Flag container & project barge, trucking and terminal operator. He held positions across the corporate structure including risk & insurance, governmental affairs & projects, and finally regional manager before leaving at the end of 2009 to join the Pasha Group. As General Manager of East and Gulf Coast ports at Pasha, he was responsible for trucking and warehouse operations as well as new business development in the military household goods sector. In 2012, Donovan became the General Manager of Baltimore VSA – Vehicle Services Americas – the vehicle processing division of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, a 100+ acre facility with 8 core OEMs. He joined the Maryland Port Administration in 2014 as the BCO (Beneficial Cargo Owner) Account Executive, charged with increasing container volume through the Port by maximizing existing customer relationships and fostering new ones. In 2016, he assumed his current role as General Manager of the Intermodal/Trade Development department, the team tasked with creating logistical advantages through both rail and truck to maximize cargo volume and customer benefit through the Port of Baltimore.

As Senior Vice President of Administration and Corporate Affairs, Aaron directs Tradepoint Atlantic’s external affairs and activities that include public affairs, community relations, government relations and marketing. He also oversees Tradepoint Atlantic’s internal administrative operations to include human resources and site security operations. Prior to Tradepoint Atlantic, he held the role of Director of Corporate Affairs for Erickson Living, a national manager and developer of senior living retirement communities. With a twenty-year career in state and local legislative and executive government roles, Aaron has also worked for and with numerous federal state and local agencies and officials. His service in executive roles in Maryland State and Local Government include nine years as Chief of Staff to the County Executive of Harford County, Maryland’s seventh largest jurisdiction, and as Assistant Secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning for Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. In addition to his executive roles, Aaron also served as a legislative aide for two State Senators in Maryland’s General Assembly. Prior to his tenure in government, as an Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., a national technology and management consulting firm, Aaron provided program management, public relations and strategic communications support for a Department of Defense client (U.S. Army Environmental Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground). Aaron received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Policy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. As an Eagle Scout, Aaron learned that community service is an important part of good citizenship. He is very active in the community and serves on the Board of Directors for Dundalk Renaissance Corporation, Board of Directors for the Community Colleges of Baltimore County Foundation, and Baltimore County’s Workforce Development Board. Aaron was appointed by Governor Hogan to serve on the board of the Maryland Public Private Partnership Marketing Corporation to assist with its mission of marketing Maryland to the world. Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh recently appointed Aaron to serve on the city’s Civil Service Commission. About Tradepoint Atlantic The 3,300-acre industrial site in Baltimore, Maryland, offers a gateway to markets around the United States and the world, featuring a unique combination of access to deep-water berths, rails and highways. Groundbreaking agreements signed with federal and state environmental regulators in 2014 to remediate the legacy from a century of steelmaking enable the redevelopment of the site with the potential to become one of North America’s most strategic multi-modal, multi-commodity terminals.

As the director of business development for ARCO, Drew brings 11+ years of experience in the construction industry. With expertise in strategic and operational marketing and client relationships, Drew plays an integral role in driving ARCO’s new business opportunities in addition to finding solutions to all our future clients’ needs. Prior to joining ARCO IN 2018, he spent 5.5 years as a project manager for Whiting-Turner in Baltimore followed by over 5 years of traveling to construction projects across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions as a sales manager for Trimble. Drew graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Industrial Engineering.

Tim has an undergraduate degree in Supply Chain and Information Systems from Penn State University and a MBA from Georgetown University. After working in the Federal Consulting industry for five years, Tim joined Amazon.com's accelerated operations leadership program in 2014. Since joining Amazon Tim has worked in four large, technologically advanced fulfillment centers and is currently the General Manager of a highly automated, robotics enabled fulfillment center in Maryland. In this role Tim leads a team of 2,500+ employees and has responsibility for all variable and fixed cost elements of an 855,000 sqft fulfillment center. Tim's areas of expertise include building and sustaining a strong corporate culture, leading large and complex organizations, supply chain optimization, and advanced operations technologies.

Doug McCoach is Director of Planning for MRA’s Baltimore Office. In this capacity, he brings a lifetime of experience working with public and private sector owners, developers, and investors to develop land use solutions delivering market acceptance, community benefits, regulatory compliance, and superior economic performance. His experience ranges from community specific site design to the master planning and conceptual design of entire cities, and brings to life the opportunities inherent in a variety of project programs, sites and uses. Prior to joining MRA, Doug worked for over 33 years at CallisonRTKL as a Vice President, where he led all aspects of Design, Documentation and Delivery for public, private, and institutional clients including commercial hospitality and retail, academic residential and instructional, corporate office and technology, federal office and secure facilities throughout the Mid-Atlantic including: MICA’s Gateway Dormitory and Arts facility; Owings Mills Office Campus for T. Rowe Price; National Ground Intelligence Center, in Charlottesville, VA; and Towson Town Center. Doug was the creator of CallisonRTKL’s Applied Technology Group, leveraging the firm’s MEP engineering to address the burgeoning demand for highly reliable, mission critical data facilities for insurance, financial, and e-commerce users. His design for Highmark BlueCross Blue Shield’s Primary Data Center, in Harrisburg, PA was recognized with a variety of awards. Doug was proud to serve on Baltimore City’s Planning Commission for over 6 years. This experience translated into service as the Director of the Baltimore City Planning Department. During his tenure, the Department initiated the Transform Baltimore rezoning initiative, established and nurtured the Office of Sustainability, and saw important Affordable Housing legislation passed. Returning to CRTKL as a Vice President, he led the firm’s Washington, DC Planning and Urban Design Studios and then established its Planning Studio in New York City. While in DC, he led efforts to assess, innovate, secure value, and build consensus for public, private, and institutional clients including municipal governments, corporate facilities and real estate, educational institutions, and public agencies. During this period, Doug developed the firm’s approach to the regeneration of distressed assets, integrating real estate, environmental remediation and planning into comprehensive disposition strategies. Responsible for the redevelopment strategies for 5700 acres, including 7.1 miles of urban waterfront, Doug is recognized as an industry expert in the regeneration of undervalued real estate, reconciling the requirements for environmental remediation with the creation of commercially viable and culturally engaging reuse strategies. In response to the dynamic needs of a changing environment, his work regularly integrates resiliency strategies into urban design and public place-making, shaping new urban forms that protect from the threats of sea level rise and storm flooding. Over the course of his 35 years in practice, Doug has become a trusted advisor to owners of distressed assets, municipal leaders accountable to the public interest, and developers looking for viable development strategies informed by market insight. The resultant plans and projects weave together connectivity, open-space, development opportunity and place- making into a cohesive and inviting whole.

Turner Development has been improving the urban landscape for over 25 years. Firmly committed to improving cities, Turner Development specializes in creating original, viable reuses for the buildings and neighborhoods that give every city its unique character. Turner's reputation for success, with even the most challenging and unusual projects, stems from an agile, creative approach to architectural and planning issues. But perhaps Turner Development's most important asset is our ability to build relationships that are vital to the success of any project: partnering with communities, listening to neighbors' concerns, and building public confidence. Firmly committed to improving the urban landscape, Turner Development has created a successful portfolio of urban real estate projects that have redefined spaces and neighborhoods. With each new project, Turner Development demonstrates the ability to re-imagine the possibilities that help rejuvenate neighborhoods. See www.turnerdevelopment.com Patrick W. Turner Patrick W Turner has been developing real estate for over 25 years and has a reputation of tackling difficult and unusual projects. Through a creative approach to solving architectural and planning issues, Patrick Turner has transformed some very unique structures into exciting innovative urban havens for residential and commercial use. He has converted a Historic Bowling Alley to Loft apartments, a Vaudeville Theater to Offices, a Catholic School to Luxury Condominiums, a Historic Hospital to Luxury Condominiums, a Coffee Warehouse to Apartments, a Grain Elevator to Urban Mixed-Use Complex.

D. Reid Townsend has 20 years of experience in commercial real estate development and investment. He co-founded MRP Industrial in 2013 and has primary responsibility for the sourcing, design, construction, leasing and overall financial performance of the company’s portfolio. In his career, Reid has managed the development of over 12 Million square feet of commercial real estate with a stabilized value of nearly $1.5 Billion. Prior to MRP Industrial, Reid founded the Maryland/Pennsylvania office as a Partner at Panattoni Development Company. During his five years at Panattoni, he grew the local operation into the most profitable business unit within the company, establishing a pipeline of over 4.5 Million square feet with a stabilized value in excess of $350 Million. Prior to joining Panattoni, Reid worked with the founding partners of MRP Realty at Trammell Crow Company in Washington DC. During his eight years there, Reid served the firm’s institutional capital partners on a wide variety of office, industrial and health care projects. He began his career as a Project Manager with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company in Baltimore. Reid received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Clemson University and MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Mr. Lighthizer started Chesapeake Real Estate Group, LLC (“CREG”) after spending 16 years at CB Richard Ellis, where he achieved the titles of Senior Vice President and Partner, and was a consistent “Top 5″ producer. His past institutional landlord clients include RREEF, Ohio Teachers, First Industrial, Opus, Invesco, Cabot, and CalEast/LaSalle Advisors. He also served as a tenant representative leader with the National CB Global Logistics Practice Group. Since starting CREG, Mr. Lighthizer has negotiated some of the region’s largest industrial transactions, including representing General Motors in the sale of their Baltimore Van Assembly Plant, which consisted of 182 acres and two million square feet of industrial space to Duke Realty for $33 million. Mr. Lighthizer previously represented GM with their acquisition of 80 acres in White Marsh, Maryland for their 800,000 square-foot Allison Transmission Plant. Lighthizer also negotiated the purchase of a 240-acre, 1.5 million square foot planned business park known as Baltimore Crossroads @95, which is currently in its final stages of development. Under Lighthizer’s direction, the company has purchased numerous properties as part of the company’s initiative to both own and broker commercial real estate. CREG has acquired, developed and/or has or held ownership in over 20 industrial, office, and retail projects that total over $300 million in value. The company’s partners include or have included Prudential Real Estate Investors, USAA, The Carlyle Group, Atapco Properties, Osprey Property, Somerset Construction, and Hostetter Construction.

Owen joined MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC in 2019 as Vice President of Investment Sales, leading the firm’s investment sales team which specializes in the third-party acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate assets in the State of Maryland and surrounding region, and advises clients on investments strategies, value maximization, and stabilization. Prior to joining MacKenzie, Rouse was affiliated with Manekin, LLC of Columbia, MD. He was recruited in 1995 to unwind Manekin’s position in institutional joint ventures which ultimately gave rise to a boutique investment sales platform. As Director of Manekin’s Investment Services practice, Rouse represented clients in the purchase and sale of investment real estate, site selection and assemblage, underwriting, and structuring transactions. Rouse then assumed the position of Director of Brokerage overseeing 22 brokers across three offices. He finally shifted his role with Manekin to Capital Markets, identifying and structuring potential projects – and the venture partners to fund them – as well as playing an active role in the strategy and direction of the firm. Rouse is active with area nonprofits including the Advisory Council for Stevenson University where he is currently serving as President; and, Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. He has also served as President of CORFAC International, a national/global network of commercial real estate services organizations and former President of the local chapter of National Association of Office and Industrial Properties.

Eric Dennis has 20 years of industry experience with Kinsley Construction, Inc., and serves as the Executive Vice President. In this role, Eric leads a talented team and is responsible for business development, preconstruction, estimating, project management and all operational functions. Eric and his team focus on delivering innovative solutions to the specialized needs of industrial and manufacturing clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Eric has completed many marquis industrial projects including some of the largest and tallest facilities in the nation, and has vast experience in high performance floors, as well as automated and rack supported distribution centers. Eric’s expertise is in the management and delivery of projects that are uniquely challenging, in both size and logistical complexity. Eric earned his Bachelor’s in Science in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

A veteran of the industry, Jeff has held positions as Sr. Superintendent, Sr. Estimator, and Sr. Project Manager in the general contracting field, as well as Construction and Development manager for one of the largest private industrial developers in the US. Jeff is able to provide a unique perspective to projects that ultimately translates to additional savings, security, and success. His project experience spans the globe with projects in three countries and range from large campus style industrial developments, Class-A office buildings, flex warehouse, high security SCIF projects, and unique build-to suit projects.​