Baltimore State of the Market

P. David Bramble has been working in real estate investment for over 20 years. He dedicates his time to sourcing & capitalizing transactions and overseeing project underwriting and execution. As a corporate and real estate attorney by training, David brings a deep knowledge of all aspects of the real estate cycle. Prior to MCB, David served as the director of commercial lending for a regionally based full-service lending firm –Madison Funding – which he co- founded in 2000. Prior to devoting all his time to commercial real estate investment, David practiced law in the transactions group of Steptoe & Johnson LLP where he provided corporate and real estate advisory services. His practice focused on complex workouts, primarily in the real estate and financial products space. David serves as the Chairman of the Board of Lendistry, a fintech enabled CDFI focused on providing small business capital to underserved communities nationwide. He serves on the investment committee and board of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation which invests in innovative people, projects, and ideas that improve the quality of life in Baltimore and beyond. He also serves on the boards of Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, UPENN Institute for Urban Research, The Abell Foundation, and Baltimore Tree Trust. David received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and A.B. from Princeton University. David received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an A.B. from Princeton University.

Cheryl Washington is the President and Chief Executive Officer for East Baltimore Development, Inc. (EBDI), which is the non-profit 501(c)(3) organization charged with overseeing the $1.8 billion revitalization of an 88- acre portion of East Baltimore adjacent to the Johns Hopkins medical campus. EBDI was established in 2002 by the Mayor and Baltimore City Council with the mission of positively transforming a targeted East Baltimore neighborhood by creating new and enhanced economic, housing, employment, business and human development opportunities for current and future residents. As President and CEO, Ms. Washington provides the vision and leadership necessary to implement the master plan for this large mixed-used and mixed-income community revitalization effort. Ms. Washington has been with EBDI since 2004 and has provided leadership on every aspect of the organization by always keeping the core values of community engagement, economic inclusion, and responsible redevelopment at the forefront of every decision. Harnessing the strength and power of this public-private partnership, Ms. Washington prides her leadership style as being collaborative, inclusive, and solution-oriented. In addition to overseeing the administrative, financial and operational functions of the organization, Ms. Washington serves as the lead negotiator in real estate development transactions and sets the programmatic and policy agenda for EBDI’s human and community services work. During her tenure, EBDI was the 2020 recipient of the Greater Baltimore Committee’s 2020 Bridging the Gap Achievement Award in Diversity in Leadership. Prior to her current appointment, Ms. Washington was the Chief Operating Officer at EBDI and had the primary responsibility of advising the President & CEO and other key members of the executive and senior management team on operational, administrative, human resources, internal and external communications, economic inclusion and workforce development. She served as the management liaison to the Board of Directors and the various Board committees and served as Corporate Secretary. In addition, she served as grants manager and liaison to funders and other stakeholders regarding grant applications, reporting, payments, and other matters that may arise; as well as the liaison to external stakeholders regarding communications, marketing and branding strategies and the planning of all events to be held in the EBDI project area. Ms. Washington also managed economic inclusion and workforce development programming, policy development, and compliance monitoring. Under her leadership, EBDI has exceeded its goals related to local and minority business contracting and local hiring. Moreover, EBDI’s economic inclusion and workforce development model has been commended by Congressman Cummings as setting the pace for inclusion across the country and has been emulated by other redevelopment projects and jurisdictions. Prior to EBDI, Ms. Washington was the Executive Director of Aunt Hattie’s Place, Inc., a residential leadership program for boys in foster care that her mother, Dr. Hattie Washington, founded. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 1996 and was admitted to the Maryland State Bar later that same year. She graduated magna cum laude from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications. Ms. Washington currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the East Baltimore Community School and the Advisory Board of Fulton Bank, National Association. From 2011 through 2014, she was a Mayoral appointed member of the Governing Board for Baltimore City Head Start and served as Secretary and Chairof the Board during her tenure. Previous board service was with Outward Bound and Girl Scouts of Central Maryland. In 2013, Ms. Washington was honored to be a recipient of the Daily Record’s Top 100 Women of the Year Award. Ms. Washington was a member of the Class of 2000 Greater Baltimore Committee LEADERSHIP program and the Class of 2003 of Leadership Maryland. Ms. Washington has been a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. since 1992.

Mr. Poverni’s expertise encompasses structuring and managing of the development life cycle, from project feasibility studies, to site control, financing, syndication, construction management, asset stabilization and disposition. Mr. Poverni founded the firm in 2011 and continues to be the driving force behinds its growth, and is thankful for the talented people that work at PSG to help make its’ projects and business lines a success day-in and day-out. Mr. Poverni holds a J.D. from the George Washington University, and an M.B.A from the University of Maryland.

James Lighthizer is the Founder and Managing Partner of Chesapeake Real Estate Group, LLC (CREG), a leading full-service commercial real estate investment and development firm headquartered in the Baltimore-Washington region. Since founding the firm in 2004, Mr. Lighthizer has led CREG through the acquisition, development, and asset management of more than 45 properties totaling over 8 million square feet of industrial, office, self-storage, and retail space across the Mid-Atlantic. Under his leadership, CREG has built a reputation for executing a disciplined investment strategy focused on value-add, build-to-core, and speculative development opportunities.   Mr. Lighthizer brings more than 37 years of experience in commercial real estate. Prior to founding CREG, he spent 16 years at CBRE, where he rose to the rank of Senior Vice President and Partner and was consistently among the firm's top producers nationally. During his tenure, he advised institutional clients such as RREEF, Ohio Teachers, Invesco, Opus, First Industrial, and LaSalle Advisors. He was also a recognized leader within CBRE’s National Global Logistics Practice Group, representing major occupiers across the country.   At CREG, Mr. Lighthizer has spearheaded some of the region’s most significant industrial transactions. Notable highlights include acquiring and developing Brandon Woods 3, a 1 million square foot ecommerce project occupied by Amazon and Best Buy. Port 95 Logistics, a 1 million square foot development at the Port, converting a 600,000 sf Unilever manufacturing facility. Baltimore Crossroads @95, a 240-acre business park with 1.5 million square feet of planned development. His brokerage business from CBRE carried over with his representing General Motors in the $33 million sale of its 182-acre Baltimore Van Assembly Plant to Duke Realty and he also played a pivotal role in GM’s acquisition of land in White Marsh, Maryland, for its 800,000 square-foot Allison Transmission Plant.   Throughout CREG’s history, Mr. Lighthizer has forged strategic capital partnerships with premier institutions including The Carlyle Group, USAA, Prudential Real Estate Investors, EverWest Investors, TA Advisors, Atapco Properties, and others. These relationships have been instrumental in growing the firm’s portfolio and expanding its presence along the I-95 and I-81 corridors in Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia.   Mr. Lighthizer holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount St. Mary’s College (Class of 1988) and completed formal sales and corporate service training with CBRE/USC. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he is a graduate of Gilmour Academy.

Mark Renbaum, Founding Principal, has nearly 25 years of direct real estate experience spanning acquisitions, development, finance, operations, and law. Under his leadership, MLR Partners has grown from a small entrepreneurial platform into a vertically integrated investment firm with institutional capability and family-office agility. Before founding MLR Partners, Mr. Renbaum held key positions across the Mid-Atlantic real estate industry, including: • Retail Developer, St. John Properties • Director of Development, Black Oak Associates • Asset Manager, Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation Mr. Renbaum also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Schwaber Holdings, LLC, a Baltimore-based family office established in the 1920s that maintains a diversified portfolio of retail, office, and mixed-use properties across the region. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Emory University and his JD/MBA from the University of Baltimore. Mr. Renbaum is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and serves on the Boards of the Dr. Michael Feinglass Cancer Foundation, Associated Jewish Charities, FIDF Baltimore, and (Advisory Board Member) the Real Estate Program at Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business. His prior civic involvement includes board service with the Jewish Community Center of Baltimore and numerous other charitable organizations.

Dana Blackwood is the Business Manager for Turner Construction Company’s Maryland business unit, where she leads business operations, strategic growth initiatives, and community engagement efforts. With over 17 years of experience across preconstruction, business development, and project management, she has supported the delivery of complex projects spanning healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, K-12 education, and critical data facilities markets across the region. She is actively engaged with the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), Maryland Tech Council, Maryland Washington Minority Companies Association (MWMCA), Associated General Contractors (AGC), and Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Greater Baltimore, among other industry groups. Dana holds a B.A. in General Engineering and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.