Registration Questions

Call: 202-684-2034
Email: eventregistration@bisnow.com

Request Speaker Information

Speaker Topics

Tell us a Little More

Event Host

151 North Franklin

151 North Franklin

If natural light and sleek technology could morph into a building, 151 North Franklin is it. The 35 story office tower is technically advanced, sustainable and forward-looking. Developed by The John Buck Company, 151 is a pioneering place for new ways of working. Its clean and elegant design merges inspiration and business, delivering innovation at every corner. Seamlessly flowing from outside to inside, tenants benefit from inspiring amenities, fulfilling the promise that great design is great for business.

Speakers and Panels

Brandon Svec

Brandon Svec

Director, Market Analytics

CoStar Group

Lance Wright

Lance Wright

Managing Director, Head of Central Region Origination

ACORE Capital

Betsy Traczek

Betsy Traczek

Principal

The John Buck Company

Eric Nordness

Eric Nordness

VP & CFO

Hickory Street Capital

Erik Foster

Erik Foster

Principal, Capital Markets Group

Avison Young

Matt Miller

Matt Miller

Vice President

Sterling Bay

Brandon Svec

Director, Market Analytics

CoStar Group

Brandon Svec is a Director of Market Analytics with the CoStar Group, where he leads the firm’s research and analysis on the Illinois and Wisconsin multifamily, office, logistics and retail markets. Prior to his current role, Brandon was Vice President of Research and Product Development at Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation, where he developed fund strategy and led firm-wide research initiatives. Prior to this role, Brandon was Vice President and Director of Due Diligence at Inland Securities Corporation, where he was responsible for reviewing and approving over $1 billion of real estate security offerings. Prior to his time at Inland, Brandon was a due diligence analyst at First Allied Securities, where he primarily focused on due diligence of REITs and closed-end real estate funds. Brandon’s past additionally includes commercial real estate loan underwriting and portfolio management experience. Brandon previously held Series 7, 24, and 66 securities licenses and is a MBA candidate at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, where he is finishing his studies in real estate finance and investment.

Lance Wright

Managing Director, Head of Central Region Origination

ACORE Capital

Lance Wright is a Managing Director for ACORE Capital and operates out of the firm’s Dallas, Texas

office. He manages the Central Region for ACORE which includes both the Southwest and Midwest

areas of the United States and he originates roughly $1 billion of debt volume per year.

Prior to his current role, Lance was a Regional Director at GE Capital Real Estate where he oversaw the

origination efforts in the Central portion of the United States. While at GE, Lance was named one of the

“20 Rising Stars in Real Estate” by Institutional Investor News in 2008. Prior to this position, Lance was a

Senior Director at GE and was consistently one of the top producers within North America Lending.

Lance has been actively involved in the real estate finance industry since graduating from SMU in 1990.

He joined GE in 2001 from Heller Financial where he was Director. Earlier in his career, Lance worked

with Amresco in Dallas.

Currently a Vice Chair of the 1,250-member ULI North Texas Chapter, Lance is an active member in the

national ULI Student Housing Council (STHC), and is also a member of NMHC, MBA, ICSC and The Real

Estate Council (TREC).

Lance has a BBA in Finance from SMU and an MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Arlington.

While at SMU, Lance was a member of the 1986 SMU Mustang football team

Lance has been married to his wife, Angie, for 19 years and they reside in University Park, Texas. They

have three children – Christian (age 16), George Nicholas (age 14) and Alexandra (age 10). Lance

enjoys watching his children’s sports teams, playing golf, traveling, and reading in his spare time.

Betsy Traczek

Principal

The John Buck Company

Ms. Traczek joined JBC in 1995 and serves as a Director of Property Management and Principal for the Firm. Ms. Traczek assists with the coordination and implementation of various portfolio-wide initiatives, specifically related to insurance, real estate taxes, customer satisfaction, and security. Additionally, Ms. Traczek is a portfolio manager with oversight of JBC fund-owned properties and third-party facility management assignments. Ms. Traczek serves on JBC’s Board of Directors.

Eric Nordness

VP & CFO

Hickory Street Capital

Eric Nordness is a Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Hickory Street Capital. Hickory Street Capital, LLC (“HSC”) is an investment vehicle founded in 2010 by the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball club. The Ricketts family purchased a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs in October 2009 and has embarked on the transformation of the franchise, including the restoration of Wrigley Field. In conjunction with their investment into the club and ballpark, the Ricketts family has the vision for the transformation of the Wrigleyville neighborhood. HSC was formed and capitalized to advance the Ricketts family real estate development goals outside of Wrigley Field. Mr. Nordness leads real estate development for the Ricketts family.

HSC is in the process of developing the land directly west of Wrigley Field and creating a unique entertainment destination centered around an approximately 45,000 square foot open area event space (“plaza”). The mixed-used development encapsulates the plaza and two six-story buildings that will house a 175-room boutique hotel, approximately 100,000 square feet of retail space and 75,000 square feet of office space. Designed to fit seamlessly into the urban neighborhood environment this new destination will be a year round entertainment destination serving as the new town center of Chicago’s iconic Wrigleville neighborhood.

Prior to joining HSC, Mr. Nordness was the Managing Member for Salita Development, a boutique hospitality development firm focusing on hotels and restaurants. Eric started his career at Robertson, Stephens & Co, a San Francisco headquartered full-service investment banking firm. Mr. Nordness has experience in real estate development, institutional finance and asset management. He received his B.B.A. in finance from the University of Iowa and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in both finance and economics.

Erik Foster

Principal, Capital Markets Group

Avison Young

Erik is a Principal of Avison Young and the Practice Leader of the firm’s Industrial Capital Markets Group. He oversees a national team providing asset advisory, disposition, equity sourcing, development capitalization and sale-leaseback services to a wide range of institutional and privately held commercial property owners across North America. With more than 20 years of experience and $4 billion in transactions, Erik has built a strong track record in the industrial, healthcare and office property sectors. He frequently is selected to advise institutional investors on sales of multi-market portfolios and individual asset assignments throughout the U.S. and internationally. Erik often is called upon to provide market commentary to national, regional and local media outlets and is a frequent speaker at national commercial real estate industry events.

Developing A Destination: Hospitality & Entertainment

John Rutledge

John Rutledge

Founder, President & CEO

Oxford Capital Group, Oxford Hotels & Resorts

Dinesh Chandiramani

Dinesh Chandiramani

Vice President Development

Radisson Hotel Group

Tim Swanson

Tim Swanson

Chief Design Officer

Skender

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas

Sales Manager, North Central

SOLiD

Michael Kitchen

Michael Kitchen

VP

Aparium Group

Lawrence Eppley
Moderator

Lawrence Eppley

Partner

Sheppard Mullin

John Rutledge

Founder, President & CEO

Oxford Capital Group, Oxford Hotels & Resorts

John is the Founder, President and CEO of Oxford Capital Group, LLC, a national real estate investment and development firm focusing on large scale hospitality, mixed-use, senior housing, multifamily, urban retail, parking, and other operationally intensive forms of real estate. Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC, its wholly owned management affiliate, specializes in developing, operating and branding distinctive, high design lifestyle hotels, rooftops and other food & beverage venues around the country. Oxford, its affiliates and principals have been involved in approximately $3 billion of transactions, including approximately 13,000 hotel rooms. Noted national projects include Godfrey Hotel-Hollywood, Godfrey Hotel-Boston, Metropolitan Hotel and Lexington Hotel – New York City, National Conference Center-Lansdowne, VA, Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites in Charleston, SC, and Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas-Tampa Bay. Included in his 17 Chicago area projects (13 of which are hotels) are the recently topped off 56 story Essex on the Park luxury apartment building, and his soon to open Hotel Julian-Millennium Park. Other Chicago projects include Langham Chicago, LondonHouse Chicago, Godfrey Chicago, Hotel Essex, Hotel Felix, Hotel Cass, Hotel Versey, Claridge House, Hyatt Magnificent Mile, Renaissance North Shore, Doubletree North Shore, and Hyatt House Northwest. Additional rooftop and food and beverage venues include IO, LH, SX-Sky Bar, ALK, WTR and Spa Boutique. John and/or Oxford have been nominated for and/or won numerous awards including: Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Arthur Rubloff Humanitarian Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Crain’s “40 under 40” and Who’s Who, Developer of the Year, Development of the Year, Redevelopment of the Year, National Hotel Transaction of the Year, Historic Redevelopment of the Year and the Top Hotel in the Continental US. He earned a BA from The University of Michigan and an MBA from University of Chicago. He also studied at Northwestern University, Harvard Business School (YPO’s Presidents’ Program) and Oxford University (Christ Church).

Dinesh Chandiramani

Vice President Development

Radisson Hotel Group

Dinesh Chandiramani serves as Vice President, Development,

Americas for Radisson Hotel Group (formerly Carlson Rezidor

Hotel Group). Chandiramani is responsible for the development

of Radisson Hotel Group brands in the Western region of the

U.S. and Canada. He reports to Terry Sanders, Chief

Development Officer, Americas.

Chandiramani brings more than 29 years of senior level

leadership in the Construction and Real Estate Development

industries. Prior to joining Radisson Hotel Group, Chandiramani

founded America TMC, a non-institutional, boutique private

equity firm and leading capital provider to the real estate

industry across all categories, including residential, commercial,

retail and industrial. He also served as CEO of Hyphen

Construction Group and President of Response Remediation

Services.

Chandiramani attended Texas Tech University. Throughout his

career he has been very involved in the community serving as a

Board Member and Advisor for organizations such as Hope for

the Silent Voices, which brings attention and resources to

severely disadvantaged and abused children around the world.

Tim Swanson

Chief Design Officer

Skender

im leads Skender’s team of architects and designers—bringing his passion for integrating the design and construction process to the firm’s clients. In his former position of Chicago office director at CannonDesign, he was the youngest office leader in the history of the century-old firm. Throughout his decade there, Tim oversaw a team of more than 200 architecture, engineering, and planning experts. He also led its City Design practice, a national group focused on helping cities around the world grow and prosper. Having lived in Abu Dhabi, rural India and major American cities like New York and Chicago, Tim brings a unique, global perspective to his design work. He is an advocate for smart growth and sustainable development, working with leaders at the intersection of urban planning, public health, and education. Tim earned a Master of Architecture with a specialization in urban development and infill from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and undergraduate degrees in fine arts and economics from Colgate University.

Chris Thomas

Sales Manager, North Central

SOLiD

Chris Thomas has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications. Over those 20+ years, Chris has gained vast experience as a technologist and currently serves as the Regional Sales Manager for SOLiD, a leading provider of distributed antenna system equipment (DAS). This equipment enables the major wireless providers to enhance their cellular networks inside buildings and improve their customer’s experience. Chris has worked with DAS for the past 15 years and has held roles including sales, engineering, contract negotiation, and operations. He has a keen understanding on what building owners need to improve their tenant’s satisfaction with their rented space.

Michael Kitchen

VP

Aparium Group

Michael Kitchen serves as the Vice President of Acquisitions P Development for the Aparium Hotel Group. After graduating from Michigan State University's Hospitality Business Real Estate and Development program, Michael moved to the British Virgin Islands to work hands-on in the industry as Biras Creek Resort's Assistant General Manager. He then spent six years in a consulting capacity focusing primarily on luxury and boutique hotels and resorts before joining the Aparium team 2012. Michael has played a role in each Aparium project from concept construtoon,spanning the gamut of everything from raising capital to securing local artisans for collaborations. He enjoys exploring new pbces and restaurants, and believes a weekend in Traverse City, MI cant be beat.

Lawrence Eppley

Moderator

Sheppard Mullin

Lawrence Eppley is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and Office Managing Partner of the firm's Chicago office. He is also Co-Team Leader of the firm's Hospitality team.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Eppley concentrates his practice in acquisition, real estate finance, development, public and private finance, joint ventures and raising equity particularly in the hospitality sector. He was general counsel to Potbelly Sandwich Works, one of Chicago's fastest growing companies, and his clients rely on him as their principal outside legal counsel. He has considerable experience with middle market and emerging growth companies, including those in the hospitality and restaurant sectors, and with structured and institutional finance.

Mr. Eppley was named as one of Law360's Hospitality MVPs in both 2013 and 2016 for his extensive work in major transactions geared towards hotel development.

Capital Markets Round Table

Brian Mutchler

Brian Mutchler

Managing Director

Harrison Street

Christopher Merrill

Christopher Merrill

Co-Founder, President and CEO

Harrison Street Real Estate Capital

John Dempsey

John Dempsey

Principal

CA Ventures

James Pape

James Pape

SVP

TCF Commercial Banking

Neil Beldock

Neil Beldock

Senior Executive - Originations & Operations

Pender Capital

Gene Leone
Moderator

Gene Leone

Partner

White & Case

Brian Mutchler

Managing Director

Harrison Street

Mr. Mutchler joined Harrison Street in 2008 and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. Among his responsibilities as Managing Director, he is responsible for sourcing new and augmenting existing Harrison Street health system relationships within the real property, operations, infrastructure, and technology segments of the US healthcare market which will serve to both enhance Harrison Street’s existing healthcare investment platform and create new business opportunities and operational enhancements for the firm.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Mutchler was co-Head of the firm’s Asset Management department overseeing the asset management of all senior housing and medical investments.

Prior to joining Harrison Street, MR. Mutchler was a Director at TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate where he was responsible for the asset management of a portfolio of institutional-grade office and industrial properties throughout the west coast. Before joining TIAA-CREF, Brian was an Underwriting Manager at KBS Realty Advisors where he was responsible for underwriting office and industrial acquisitions.

Brian received a BBA with a double-major in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Christopher Merrill

Co-Founder, President and CEO

Harrison Street Real Estate Capital

Mr. Merrill is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC, a real estate private equity firm he co-founded in 2005 that has completed approximately $21 billion in transactional volume and has over $14.6 billion in AUM as of 1Q18. The firm was an innovator and early adopter of a focused investment strategy around the Education, Healthcare and Storage segments of the real estate market. Investments have been made through a series of discretionary, commingled real estate funds including an opportunistic closed end fund series (Funds I-VI) and an open-end real estate fund that have raised over $11 billion in discretionary equity capital. Other firm platforms include a European Student Housing strategy as well as a Real Estate Securities practice. The firm has offices in Chicago and London.

Prior to co-founding Harrison Street, Mr. Merrill was a partner, owner and Managing Director of a large US Pension Fund Advisory firm where he developed the firm's presence in Europe.

In recent years, National Real Estate Investor Magazine has named Mr. Merrill one of the "10 To Watch" leaders in the industry, PERE nominated him as one of the top real estate executives in North America and Real Estate Forum named him one of “Chicago's Real Estate Icons.”

Mr. Merrill is a member of the NAREIM Board of Directors, Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), The Real Estate Advisory Board of two Chicago based family offices (Gore Creek and Kinship Capital), The First Tee of Greater Chicago Board, The Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Commonwealth Club and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Mr. Merrill earned his MBA in the evening from the CASS school of business in London, England.

James Pape

SVP

TCF Commercial Banking

James A Pape for the past two years has been Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Market

Manager of Lakeshore (consists of Illinois and Wisconsin) for TCF Financial Corporation. Jim has over 25

years of experience in Banking and 20 years in commercial real estate financing. Prior to joining TCF

Bank, Jim worked at several Banks in Chicago, including Associated Bank, Private Bank and LaSalle Bank.

Jim has been involved in the financing of many commercial real estate deals in Chicago and nationally

ant the properties have included industrial, multi-family, residential and retail properties.

Jim received his undergraduate degree from Elmhurst College with a major in finance. In addition, Jim

holds a Masters of Management degree from Keller School of Management with concentrations in

financing and accounting.

Neil Beldock

Senior Executive - Originations & Operations

Pender Capital

Neil Beldock has over 30 years of experience as a real estate finance professional. Over those 30+ years Neil has held positions at Citigroup, Coast Federal Bank of California, Independence Bank of Los Angeles, Family Savings Bank of Los Angeles, Hamburg Savings Bank of New York, Interbay Funding and Velocity Commercial Capital. Neil has held executive and senior level management positions covering loan originations, loan operations, loan servicing, secondary marketing, loan securitization and joint venture operations. Neil is also a published author having written articles for numerous mortgage industry publications including the Scotsman Guide, Commercial Mortgage Insight, The Mortgage Press and National Mortgage Broker Magazine. Currently, Neil serves as a Senior Executive at Pender Capital Funding in Dallas, Texas.

Gene Leone

Moderator

White & Case

Eugene "Gene" J.M. Leone is a Partner in the Global M&A Practice

Group and a member of the Real Estate Industry Group, based in the

Chicago and New York offices. Gene represents some of the most

recognizable names in real estate and has a track record of leading,

structuring and executing complicated deal transactions for a broad

universe of investors, including private equity, entrepreneurs and public

companies. His practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real

estate, including joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing,

financings and workouts.

A highly rated lawyer and sought-after speaker, Gene is a member of

the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the Real Estate

Roundtable and frequently speaks on a variety of real estate topics at

conferences around the country.

Space-As-A-Service & Chicago's Office Development Outlook

Clayton McCaffery

Clayton McCaffery

Senior Managing Director, Development & Acquisition

McCaffery Interests

Barry Missner

Barry Missner

CEO

The Missner Group

Justin Parr

Justin Parr

SVP

The John Buck Company

Kurt Karnatz

Kurt Karnatz

President

ESD

Adam Semel

Adam Semel

Managing Director

SOM

Wesley Prato
Moderator

Wesley Prato

Partner

CohnReznick

Clayton McCaffery

Senior Managing Director, Development & Acquisition

McCaffery Interests

Clayton McCaffery leads and is responsible for the identification and coordination of strategic acquisitions in alignment with the company’s goals. With a real estate career spanning more than 21 years, Mr. McCaffery previously led the firm’s leasing and development teams for more than 15 years; prior experience included tenant and landlord representation work with Mid-America Real Estate Group in Chicago and Liberty Greenfield in Denver. He is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Clayton holds an MBA in Real Estate and Finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a B.A. from Colgate University.

Barry Missner

CEO

The Missner Group

Barry is part of the third generation of TMG ownership and brings more than 30 years of industry experience to his role as CEO of The Missner Group. As CEO he leads TMG’s real estate operations including investment and disposition strategy. During his career, Barry has facilitated the development of award-winning real estate valued at more than $500 million. Barry is an active NAIOP National Forum Member and is affiliated with the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers (AIRE).

Kurt Karnatz

President

ESD

For more than 30 years at ESD, Kurt Karnatz has provided leadership in guiding the company in becoming a world-recognized consulting practice. As a strategic leader, consultant and engineer, he has developed long-term relationships with corporate real estate clients in finance, high-tech, medical, energy and beyond, while establishing ESD’s expertise in building sciences, intelligent buildings and smart cities. As President, he works to foster global thinkers who are admired for their innovative approach in creating sustainable solutions. ESD’s teams of professionals focus on solutions that maximize efficiency, reliability, flexibility, longevity and marketability – resulting in competitive advantage and enterprise value for its clients.

Adam Semel

Managing Director

SOM

Adam Semel is highly experienced with navigating complex public agency approvals, zoning regulations, and community engagement processes. As a Director and project manager in SOM’s Chicago office, his strength lies in his ability to work collaboratively with institutional clients and complex constituencies to develop fresh and innovative ideas during the design and planning phases that lead to holistic project success. Consistent with SOM's design ethos and values, his work as an architect has always been geared toward providing inspirational, sustainable design solutions that not only solve the client's objectives, but also provide healthy, stimulating, functional environments for live, work, learn, and play.

Semel joined SOM New York in 2005, relocating to SOM Chicago in 2013. His focus has been to develop SOM’s work in Chicago and the region. With extensive experience in several practice areas, including K-12, higher education, residential, commercial, cultural, and urban design, the core functions of his role are to build consensus among diverse stakeholders, navigate the public agency and approvals processes, and work with the communities in which SOM practices.

Semel is passionate in his engagement with local communities, consistently seeking out opportunities for civic engagement and exchange. Leadership Greater Chicago named him a Class of 2016 Fellow to recognize his accomplishments and commitment to the city and its communities. In all of his work, both professional and civic, he strives to foster a highly collaborative design process that focuses on the potential to contribute to a more positive, sustainable, and inclusive public realm.

Wesley Prato

Moderator

CohnReznick

Wesley Prato, CPA, is an audit partner in the Firm’s Commercial Real Estate Industry Practice and leads the

Southwest Region in this area. Based in CohnReznick’s Chicago office, he has 16 years of experience in

public accounting, providing client services in the areas of audit, review, and other financial reporting needs.

This experience includes working with developers, hospitality owners and private equity investors of

companies in the commercial real estate industry.

Wes specializes in the commercial real estate and hospitality industries serving both real estate operators and

real estate investment funds. He is responsible for planning the engagements, supervising staff, and

coordinating all fieldwork. Other responsibilities on these engagements include determining audit scope,

selecting procedures to be applied, establishing budgets, reviewing work papers, identifying audit issues,

communicating with clients, and preparing financial statements or reports. In addition, Wes takes an active

role in working with his clients to plan and brainstorm on ways to get the next project from concept to

development.

Wes has participated nationally within the Firm in developing audit programs and techniques specifically

tailored to auditing commercial real estate and hospitality entities. He has also leads internal training classes

on commercial real estate and often speaks on panels focused in the industry.

Summary

1) According to Google, half of all organizations (51%) offering employees flexible hours and the growth of competition in the co-working market how are Chicago's developers incorporating a space-as-a-service approach to their latest developments such as TJBC's 151 N. Franklin & McCaffery's Twelve01West?

2) How will the riverfront redevelopment transform the North Branch and Bucktown and what does the addition of a prime entertainment facility mean for Chicago's hospitality and retail market more broadly?

3) As Chicago positions itself to stay way ahead of the curve, how is the macroeconomic environment shaping the commercial real estate development outlook? In the long term, what do mammoth consolidatory deals like Colliers International buying a 75% stake in Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital mean concerning trickle-down effects?

5) From sky-decks at the Aon center to an increased focus on space-as a-service and a hospitality-based approach to retail, office and multifamily projects,  which amenity add-ons should developers be focusing their efforts and what blend of asset classes are seeing the highest increase in footfall in mixed-use projects?

Venue

151 North Franklin
151 N Franklin St.
Chicago, IL 60606

Floor: 35th Floor


Public parking adjacent to the building at 200 West Randolph

Agenda

Time Activity
Wednesday September 5, 2018
12:30 PM
1:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
1:30 PM
2:05 PM
Developing A Destination: Hospitality & Entertainment
2:05 PM
2:40 PM
Capital Markets Round Table
2:40 PM
3:15 PM
Space-As-A-Service & Chicago's Office Development Outlook
Thursday September 13, 2018
3:15 PM
3:30 PM
Post-Game Schmooze