Miami's Residential & Multifamily Forum

Arden Karson is the Founder and Managing Principal of Karson & Co, a real estate advisory, brokerage, and investment firm. Prior to her current role, Karson held senior leadership positions at CBRE and the Related Group Karson also partnered with private equity firm Barrow Street Capital and Advenir Real Estate. Earlier in her career, she worked at Lennar Corporation and Arvida/JMP Partners, where she focused on project management and operational roles across various asset classes and markets. Before entering the real estate industry, Karson worked as a commercial lender at Bank of America and at PwC. She received a BA in International Relations from Tufts University where she graduated summa cum laude and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Karson is a designated Financial Expert under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. She holds positions on multiple advisory boards and committees, including serving on the Board of Advisors, Audit, and Investment Committees for ECI Group. She also sits on the Advisory Board of the University of Miami Masters in Real Estate + Urbanism program, the South Florida/Caribbean Chapter of the Urban Land Institute as Treasurer and the Investment Committee of the Michigan Ross Real Estate Fund. Karson also served as a Board of Directors and Audit Committee member for Ashton Woods USA LLC and as an Executive Committee member of Friends of the Underline. Karson is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. She has received many community and industry leadership awards. She is also a mentor and active in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and is committed to advancing the next generation of business professionals. She believes in giving back to the community as evidenced by her active fundraising for the Sylvester Cancer Center. Karson is also the proud mother of three children and one grandson, who all live in New York City. When she is not busy with work or family, Arden enjoys traveling with her husband, exploring the local art scene, and hiking the National Parks and beach trails. She is also a foodie and loves dining at new and exciting restaurants.

Since 2013, Jay Parker has been the Chief Executive Officer of Douglas Elliman Florida Brokerage where he has capitalized on his extensive brokerage relationships and realtor contacts to grow Douglas Elliman’s presence in Miami, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Aventura, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach and Jupiter. Jay has shown a propensity for leadership throughout his career. His fundamental role in handling over $300 million in mergers and acquisitions at the Law Firm of Gunster Yoakley Valdez Fauli & Stewart in the Miami and Palm Beach Real Estate Departments ultimately led his client to an IPO. Then, as General Counsel for LandTel Communications in New York, he oversaw the implementation of a Pan-European fixed wireless market. In this role, he raised over $375 million from numerous private equity firms and restructured the company’s assets after recognizing a funding gap at a time when the industry was in distress, thereby avoiding bankruptcy. In late 2001, Jay returned to Miami Beach to form Clear Title Group, LLC a boutique real estate title insurance company focused on offering closing services to luxury condominium and home buyers. After strengthening his brokerage roots in South Florida while also representing Titan Capital as the company’s local counsel, Jay sought a joint venture, founding Titan Capital Florida, LLC in 2006. Jay continues to serve as Managing Partner of Titan Capital Florida, a Direct Lender with offices in New York, Connecticut and Miami. In its first year of operations, Titan Capital Florida closed on over $100 million in transactions. In 2010, Jay formed Beloff Parker which grew to Beloff Parker Jacobs, a real estate and transactional law firm based in Miami Beach. Building off Parker and Beloff’s long- standing relationships in the Miami market, Clear Title Group quickly distinguished itself as one of the largest and most successful real estate law firms in the area, representing many of Miami Beach’s most respected developers, landlords and tenants, as well as handling some of their most significant real estate transactions. Jay received a Bachleor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario located in London Ontario Canada. During this time, he spent a year studying abroad in Tel Aviv. Jay completed his studies at the University of Miami, School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1998. Today, Jay lives with his twin boys in Miami where he is a member of the Florida Bar Association and serves on the Board of Governors for the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. Jay is also President of the Executive Board of Mt. Sinai Medical Center Foundation and sits on the Miami Association of Realtors Leadership Board.

Jon was a founding principal of ADD Inc Miami, an architecture and interior design practice which grew from two employees to over 100 before they joined Stantec in 2015. With the addition of a structural and civil engineering team, Jon now oversees 130 employees. He also co-develops the overall strategy, business development, and marketing of our growing Commercial Sector practice nationwide. Our Miami office has realized exponential growth under Jon’s client-focused leadership, designing hundreds of high-profile development projects and towers from the city’s urban core to the shoreline, helping to reshape the South Florida skyline. Recently, Jon has also proudly spearheaded the restoration of seven historic Art Deco hotels along the iconic Collins Avenue, merging each hotel’s timeless qualities with new, modern aesthetics. As a senior principal and seasoned architect, Jon specializes in commercial building design and project economics, analyzing the overall objectives which developers, public agencies, and neighborhoods envision. He uses that information to uncover additional development cost savings, ongoing operational efficiencies, and marketing benefits for high-profile, large-scale projects. Drawing from over 20 years of planning and design expertise, Jon organizes building forms, building uses, and sustainable design techniques to create dynamic, multi-faceted spaces which promote enjoyment, wellness, and productivity.

Jeffrey R.Margolis is a partner in Berger Singerman’s Fort Lauderdale office and Co-Manager of the Business, Finance & Tax Team. Jeff represents real estate owners, builders and developers, institutional and entrepreneurial investors, managers, and other stakeholders, and has extensive experience with all aspects of residential and commercial real estate transactions. With a thorough understanding of the real estate market and working knowledge of the procedures and techniques which are critical to understanding, analyzing, structuring and negotiating commercial real estate transactions and real estate development, He counsels clients on a broad range of transactional real estate matters including the acquisition, sale, financing, operation, structuring and development of planned residential and mixed-use projects, condominiums, apartment complexes, hotels and hospitality assets, offices, shopping centers and retail establishments, and manufacturing facilities. Jeff has extensive experience in the acquisition, development, creation and operation of large scale real estate projects. He regularly advises clients in the creation, structuring and operation of condominiums, master planned developments, mixed use projects, and resort and club communities including regulatory matters, planning, development, structuring, restructuring, documentation, registration, marketing, sales, operation and management. Jeff’s experience provides exceptional background for counseling clients on evolving flexible, practical and feasible legal structures for large scale real estate projects, condominiums and planned residential and mixed-use projects, preparation of governing documents, filing documentation with appropriate governmental agencies, and compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations. Jeff received his B.A. from University of Michigan and his J.D. from University of Miami.

As founder, President and COO of EDEN Multifamily – Jay S. Jacobson has, over his 30-year career in the multifamily industry developed over 25,000 multifamily units and invested in/acquired over 40,000 units located in over 30 sub-markets in 22 cities nationwide. EDEN Multifamily is currently developing over 1800 units throughout South Florida and the mid-Atlantic including Miami, North Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Charlotte. Product types range from 3 story walk up to 30 + story high rises. Prior to forming EDEN Multifamily with Jay Massirman, Mr. Jacobson served as the President of Stiles Residential Group in Fort Lauderdale and is a former national partner with Wood Partners. He was also a senior director of multi-family investments for Goldman Sachs Real Estate Services (fka Archon Group) and a managing director of Archstone Communities Trust. Jay also serves as the CEO of EDEN Living – a horizontal and townhome build for rent company that is engaged in the development of one-story apartment homes and two- story rental townhomes. EDEN Living is currently developing over 2100 units in the SE US including Charlotte, Raleigh, Jacksonville, West Melbourne, Orlando, Kissimmee, Wildwood, Ellenton and other locations. EDEN Living has partnered with a real estate investment fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (“MSREI) to expand the platform throughout the eastern US. Jay received a Bachelor of Architectural Design from the University of Florida and Master of Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Colorado. Jay grew up in south Florida and learned the development/construction business from the ground up--literally—starting at the age of 12 digging foundation ditches for his father’s construction company. Jay lives in Delray Beach Florida where he has served on the City of Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board and is a member of the NMHC Board of Directors. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Miami’s School of Architecture MRED program. Jay uses his rare spare time flying around the world chasing any of the 12 types of billfish in the ocean—at last count he is up to 7.

Marc Suarez is a managing director at Lument. Based in Miami, Florida, he originates loans utilizing Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, HUD/FHA, and proprietary programs for multifamily housing. Since joining predecessor firm Hunt Real Estate Capital and opening the Miami office, Marc and his team have originated more than $600 million in financing. Previous employment includes serving as an executive managing director at SL Capital, where he originated $300 million in CMBS loans. He also ran his own consulting firm working on distressed debt, was a partner at a boutique development company, and was a general manager at Gables Professional Realty where he established and ran the firm’s commercial real estate division. Marc was a professional baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds and later held a management position on the scouting and player development department. Marc is an active member and sits on committees of the Boys and Girls Club of Miami-Dade County, where he spent most of his childhood. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida International University.

Francis X. Suarez is the 33rd Mayor of the City of Miami. As the first Miami-born mayor, he is committed to working diligently to serve the residents of the community where he was born and raised. Prior to being elected with 86 percent support from Miami residents, Mayor Suarez served as Miami Commissioner for District 4 during eight years. Mayor Suarez had many legislative accomplishments as Commissioner, including implementing ShotSpotter technology in the City, a state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art gunshot detection system, setting up a transportation trust fund, which allocates funds for current and future transit projects, and passing the Reverse Redline legislation, authorizing lawsuits against several major banks for discriminatory mortgage lending practices. As a result, the City’s lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that cities have standing to sue banks under the Fair Housing Act for such discriminatory practices. Mayor Suarez also serves as Vice-­‐Chair of the Miami-­‐Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and is the former President of the Miami-­‐Dade County League of Cities. In his role at the TPO, Mayor Suarez championed the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, which was unanimously approved. The SMART Plan expands mass transit options in Miami-­‐Dade County through six main corridors and new bus routes to ease traffic congestion and support future population growth. Mayor Suarez helped negotiate the Tri-­‐Rail connection to Downtown, offering free ridership to Overtown residents for life. He also ushered in the free trolley system in Miami, which carries an average of 450,000 passengers per month. Mayor Suarez is dedicated to elevating the quality of life of the residents he serves by focusing on transportation and connectivity, resiliency, and job creation by nurturing the growth of technology and innovation. He is also committed to expanding affordable housing, tackling the poverty pandemic and, as a corollary, reducing crime. The oldest of four siblings, Mayor Suarez was born into a family where, as he describes, “being socially conscious was a kind of requirement.” As the son of former City of Miami Mayor, Xavier Suarez, he was also exposed to public service since he was a child, growing up around his father’s office at City Hall, the same one he works out of today. Mayor Suarez earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida International University, graduating in the top ten percent of his class. He went on to receive his law degree from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law, where he graduated cum laude. He is currently an attorney with the law firm Carlton Fields, specializing in corporate and real-­‐estate transactions. Mayor Suarez is married to Gloria Fonts Suarez. They have a son, Andrew Xavier, and are expecting their first daughter this year. They consider themselves honored and blessed to be raising their family in the City of Miami.

Greg T. West is President and Chief Executive Officer of ZOM Living and is responsible for all aspects of the Company with particular focus on development activities nationally. He joined ZOM in 1997 and since been involved with all aspects of the development process including identifying new opportunities, compiling due diligence and underwriting parameters. He is also responsible for project design, permitting, and construction. Mr. West also plays a key role in business development and investor relations. Presently ZOM has under construction 3,700 units in Florida, Texas, Chicago, Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic. Over the next twelve months the company will start 2,200 additional units bringing active development volume over $1.7 billion dollars. Mr. West received a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Southern Methodist University and has received two Masters of Science degrees from Texas A&M University in Land Development and Construction Management. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Multifamily Housing Council, is a board member of the Miami Downtown Development Authority and on the Advisory Board of the University of Miami Master of Construction Management program. Mr. West is the current Chair of the ULI Southeast Florida and Caribbean District Council and is a member of the Gold Multifamily Council.

Neil has a track record of proven success developing and building projects in the Multifamily, Mixed-Use, Senior Living, Hospitality, Retail, Country Club and Self-Storage sectors. At Kaufman Lynn Construction, Neil is responsible for conducting new business opportunity assessments and identifying new trends in Commercial & Residential construction and development. Neil works closely with our entire construction team including Pre-Construction/Estimating Services, Operations and Finance. He regularly interfaces with the team to manage and plan the various efforts needed to support each stage of a construction project including strategic planning, estimating, bidding, contracting, all the way to project completion. Our clients leverage Neil’s experience and industry relationships as a successful development executive with a large national developer to assist their efforts in the areas of land acquisition, project debt and equity funding, land/project due diligence (including entitlement/permitting issues) and thorough market/product analysis. Neil orchestrated the tremendous growth of our entire private sector business by establishing and advancing relationships with major national and regional developers as well as attracting the operational talent to execute the projects. Additionally, Neil’s sales & marketing expertise and brand development has been paramount to the success of our overall strategic planning process. Neil has been instrumental in orchestrating Kaufman Lynn Constructions rise to #6 out of the Top 25 Largest Contractors by the South Florida Business Journal and currently ranked #345 out of the Top 400 Largest Contractors Nationwide by Engineering News-Record.