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175 Pearl St

175 Pearl St

The 8-story building located at 175 Pearl St in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY was recently converted into Class A creative office building, and at acquisition all of the building systems had been replaced and upgraded and a new more efficient elevator core had been constructed. Normandy will implement a final phase of cosmetic upgrades, including expansion of windows, a new roof-top amenity space, and additional improvements to the lobby and storefronts. The building features a very efficient side core, with light on three sides, and excellent views of Manhattan. In addition, the property has great transportation access, as it is 1 block to the High Street station for the A/C train and 3 blocks to the Jay Street station for the F-train. The Property’s Dumbo submarket is generally the best office submarket along the Brooklyn/Queens waterfront with ample supporting amenities (parks, restaurants and retailers), close proximity and visibility to Manhattan and excellent transportation access.

Speakers and Panels

Hudson Yards Keynote Fireside Chat

Andrew Rosen
Keynote

Andrew Rosen

Development Manager, Hudson Yards

Related Companies

Louis Minuto
Keynote

Louis Minuto

SVP, Global Environments

COACH

Marianne Kwok
Keynote

Marianne Kwok

Director

KPF

Andrew Rosen

Development Manager, Hudson Yards

Related Companies

Andrew Rosen is a Senior Vice President at Related Companies. Mr. Rosen joined Related in 2007 and serves as Development Manager for Hudson Yards – the largest private development in New York City history. In this role, Mr. Rosen coordinated design, construction, financing and leasing for 10 Hudson Yards, a 1.8 million square foot LEED Platinum commercial office tower, which is home to Coach, Inc., L’Oréal USA, SAP and The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Rosen currently manages the development of the 1.4 million square foot 55 Hudson Yards as well as the development of the next phase of Hudson Yards, the 5.7 million square foot Western Rail Yards.

Mr. Rosen also leads the firm’s efforts on the Moynihan Station Project, which will expand the country’s busiest train station and create a new home for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road in the historic Farley Post Office in Manhattan. Prior to joining Related, Mr. Rosen was a business analyst at Allianz Global Investors where he built and managed a Portfolio Analytics Department.

Mr. Rosen received his M.B.A from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University. He currently lives in New York City.

Marianne Kwok

Director

KPF

Marianne has more than 25 years of professional experience in architectural design for a variety of built commercial, residential, and cultural facilities in Asia, North America, and Europe. Since joining KPF in 1994, she has been the Senior Designer for some to the firm's most high-profile projects, including numerous corporate headquarters, mixed-use developments, and master planning projects.

Most recently Marianne has been the Design Director, working alongside KPF founding Design Principal Bill Pedersen, on Hudson Yards, a 26-acre, 13-million-square-foot mixed-use development on Manhattan's far west side that features Class-A office towers, residential, retail, cultural and educational facilities. Hudson Yards will be a defining presence on the New York City skyline, with KPF's two dramatic, angled 52- and 80-story commercial office towers.

Marianne also led the design of the TP Link Headquarters in Shenzhen, a 700,000-square-foot headquarters office and research facility as well as and for the renovation of the Samsung Headquarters and the Rodin Pavilion in Seoul, Korea, whose design was honored with awards by the American Institute of Architects and the Chicago Athenaeum. Other projects include the headquarters in London of Clifford Chance, KPMG, Fitch Ratings and State Street Bank, all at Canary Wharf. Mixed use residential projects are the multi-award winning One Shenzhen Bay in Shenzhen and 28 Chidlom in Bangkok.

Marianne received her Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University, where she was the recipient of the Charles Goodwin Sands Memorial Silver Medal . Marianne has taught an option studio at Cornel and has also been invited on reviews at Yale, Pratt and Harvard.

Garment District Alliance Fireside Chat

Eric Gural

Eric Gural

Co-CEO & Principal

GFP Real Estate

Barbara Blair

Barbara Blair

President

Garment District Alliance

Eric Gural

Co-CEO & Principal

GFP Real Estate

Eric Gural is Co-CEO and Principal of GFP alongside his cousin Brian Steinwurtzel.

A corporate real estate veteran, Eric began working with the GFP portfolio at the age of 15 as a porter and freight operator during his summers off from school. He assumed a full-time position as an assistant asset manager in 1991. In 2008 he was promoted to his current role, in which he oversees all aspects of company operations, with a focus on leasing and management of the existing portfolio.

Eric was instrumental in successfully converting over 1 million square feet of former manufacturing space into office in the Garment District and launching the first rooftop restaurant and bar in a commercial building at 230 Fifth Avenue. In 2010 he founded the first fashion incubator in New York City in collaboration with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYEDC).

Eric is very active within the community and is Chairman of PowerMyLearning and Trustee of The Nature Conservancy (New York Chapter). He also serves on the boards of the Garment Center Business Improvement District, Union Square Partnership, Design Trust for Public Space, and Playwrights Horizons.

Barbara Blair

President

Garment District Alliance

Barbara A. Blair leads the Garment District Alliance (GDA) as its president, working with local businesses and property owners to improve the economic vitality of the Garment District.

In late 2018, Blair was the lead advocate and spokesperson for many of the local stakeholders as the City approved a historic lifting of zoning restrictions on the iconic neighborhood, an act which eluded previous Mayors and City Councils and will help unleash the neighborhood’s full economic potential. Blair brought the real estate community together on a consensus plan to offer building space to remaining garment manufacturers, so the zoning deal could proceed. While the district is lined already with rooftop bars, restaurants and boutique hotels, and a thriving public art scene on Broadway, the zoning change will undoubtedly be the most significant spark the district has seen in generations.

Over the years, Blair’s passion, vision and tenacity helped set the stage for the district’s transformation into a vibrant, 24/7 neighborhood. Where the area once emptied at 5 PM, it now has 42 hotels, 250 restaurants, world-class art, public programming, and millions of annual tourists bringing the neighborhood to life around the clock. Today, the Garment District boasts an explosion of new uses, attracting diverse and cutting-edge businesses. And with the change in zoning laws, the district is now poised to continue to grow as one of NYC’s hottest neighborhoods.

About the Garment District Alliance

The Garment District Alliance (www.garmentdistrictnyc.com), formerly the Fashion Center BID, is a not-for-profit corporation established in 1993 to improve the quality of life and economic vitality of Manhattan’s Garment District. Through programs in the areas of streetscape improvements, sanitation and public safety, marketing and promotions, economic development, and community service, the Garment District Alliance supports the neighborhood’s transformation into a modern, 24/7 destination for dining, nightlife, hotels and unique office space. For more information on the Garment District Alliance’s many art initiatives, please visit http://www.garmentdistrictnyc.com/art-design/.

Design, Construction & Workplace Strategy

Ryan Simonetti

Ryan Simonetti

Co-Founder and CEO

Convene Hospitality Group

Rachel Casanova

Rachel Casanova

Senior Managing Director, Workplace Innovation

Cushman & Wakefield

David Weinberg

David Weinberg

Principal

ZGF Architects

John Dulin

John Dulin

VP, Market Development & Real Estate

Corning Optical Communications

Joseph Rigazio

Joseph Rigazio

Principal & CEO

Talisen Construction Corporation

Dodie Williams
Moderator

Dodie Williams

Director of Project Management

Macro Consultants

Ryan Simonetti

Co-Founder and CEO

Convene Hospitality Group

Ryan Simonetti is the CEO and co-founder of Convene Hospitality Group, a global hospitality company that manages a growing portfolio of lifestyle brands focused on revolutionizing the way people meet, work, and gather. The company designs, develops, and operates premium meeting and event venues, flexible office spaces, membership clubs, and hospitality infused amenity centers across its core brands: Convene and etc.venues by Convene.

After a dynamic career spanning real estate finance, acquisitions, and development, Ryan co-founded Convene in 2009 with the goal of bringing lifestyle hospitality into commercial real estate assets. Under his leadership, Convene has become the largest single provider of non-hotel meeting and event venues in the US and UK with a network of nearly 40 locations across nine cities.

Ryan has been named to Crain’s New York “Most Notable in Real Estate” list, Commercial Observer’s Power PropTech List,Real Estate Forum’s 50 Under 40, Inc. magazine’s 30 Under 30, and was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® New York. Beyond Convene, he is the co-founder and chairman of Ease Capital and an active supporter of CoreNet Global.

Rachel Casanova

Senior Managing Director, Workplace Innovation

Cushman & Wakefield

Rachel Casanova is the Tri-State Senior Managing Director of Workplace Innovation at Cushman & Wakefield, a branch of the Strategic Consulting practice. In 2017, she founded Balansett after working in the field of Workplace Strategy for over 20 years, helping companies transform their real estate assets to reinforce long-term business strategies, corporate culture, and increasingly integrated space, digital tools and technology and performance goals.

David Weinberg

Principal

ZGF Architects

David Weinberg is a Principal at ZGF’s New York City office with over 30 years of experience encompassing all areas of design, management, and delivery. His experience includes master planning, visioning and strategy, architecture, interior design, and branding. He has led numerous highly complex projects with phased implementation and his projects have been featured in national publications and garnered numerous design awards. David has extensive experience working on projects in New York City for clients such as CITI Group, Bloomberg, BlackRock, The New York Times, LinkedIn, Live Nation, and Indeed, to name a few. Additionally, David is a thought leader on integrated project delivery and architect led design-build services. He is recognized as a strong mentor and advocate for professional growth and development among his team. He is also on the Board of Directors of CaringKind, a nonprofit dedicated to Alzheimer’s caregiving. David earned a Master of Business Administration from Rice University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University.

John Dulin

VP, Market Development & Real Estate

Corning Optical Communications

John Dulin is a 30 year global telecom and enterprise executive.

He has held senior positions in product management, marketing and sales with focus on fiber optics, wireless and new technology/market development.

Currently with Corning Incorporated, John is VP market development introducing new innovation to the commercial real estate market

Joseph Rigazio

Principal & CEO

Talisen Construction Corporation

Joseph Rigazio is the CEO of Talisen Construction Corporation. Talisen is a commercial construction firm founded in the New York Metro marketplace in 2009. Focusing on the Healthcare and Education markets has brought Talisen success in the hospital, ambulatory centers, medical office buildings, charter schools, private universities, and special projects areas.

Trained in both Electrical Engineering, Business Economics, and Construction Management, Joseph entered the professional world with a strong vision. After a 23-year-long career in technology, in which he managed Fortune 100 company relationships in sales management, ran marketing organizations, and ultimately, lead a major business unit at Texas Instruments, Joseph chose to utilize his expertise and leadership skills to start Talisen.

Concentrating on growing a team bonded by a common vision, Talisen has become a trailblazer in the New York construction field. Focused investments on employees, processes, and the NY Metro subcontractor ecosystem, along with an innovative approach to project management, differentiates Talisen from the competition. Founded on the key tenants of safety and collaboration, Talisen has grown into a premier New York construction firm that truly partners with their clients to bring their vision to life.

Dodie Williams

Moderator

Macro Consultants

Dodie Williams is a Director of Project Management at Macro Consultants LLC. With more than 15 years of experience in commercial real estate, construction management, and contract negotiation, Dodie has proven herself a leader and trusted partner to clients and colleagues alike.

In her previous role as Vice President of the Project and Development Services Group for Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), Dodie was responsible for all of JLL’s project and development activities in the greater Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey tri-state area. In this role, Dodie led her group at JLL through exponential growth, and established herself as a major force in the industry. She has played a key role in successfully executing many high-profile corporate interior projects, including the consolidation and relocation of IMS Health’s headquarters, as well as the pitching of Philadelphia PDS’ first sports/arena project with the Wells Fargo Center revitalization project.

Dodie’s influence goes beyond leadership and project management skills, to include marketing and business development expertise. In her current role at Macro, she is driving the development of a variety of internal organizational initiatives and programs, while working closely with her project teams to manage major national real estate accounts, such as Duff & Phelps and Convene.

Regularly recognized by her peers as a mentor, Dodie was honored with a JLL Spotlight Award in 2014 for her commitment to advancing diversity in the workplace and in 2018 as a JLL Women’s Summit participant. Prior to entering the real estate industry, she worked in the pharmaceutical industry in various analyst and operational roles.

Dodie is a graduate of Gwynedd Mercy College, and holds a B.S. in Business Administration. Additionally, she is a LEED Accredited Professional from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

All About the Tenants: Talent, Trends, Amenities & More

Paul Teti

Paul Teti

Partners

Normandy Real Estate Partners

Susana Balbes Pazos

Susana Balbes Pazos

Head of Real Estate for Americas

L'Oreal

Eugene Lee

Eugene Lee

Chief Investment Officer

Knotel

Rachel Walters

Rachel Walters

Sr. Market Development Manager

Join

Bryan Murphy

Bryan Murphy

CEO

Breather

Marc Schwartzberg
Moderator

Marc Schwartzberg

CEO/ Owner

Office Furniture Heaven

Paul Teti

Partners

Normandy Real Estate Partners

Mr. Teti is a Partner of Normandy and is head of its leasing group, responsible for managing the leasing and marketing activities for Normandy’s portfolio. Mr. Teti also spends time on business development and capital raising activities for Normandy. Previously Mr. Teti was part of Normandy’s acquisitions team where he assisted in underwriting and closing acquisitions and financings. Prior to joining Normandy, he was Vice President of Operations at 52 Transom Group, where he oversaw sales and sourcing operations. Mr. Teti graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Sociology we he was also a varsity athlete and a member of the National Champion rowing team. In addition, Mr. Teti is a three‐time member of the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team, competing in the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Games. As a member of the US National Team Mr. Teti won 10 national championships and is a winner of three World Cup medals and a Pan American Games gold medal. Mr. Teti is active in the community and has held leadership positions with several local and national non‐profits and charities including Playworks, Diabetes Research Institute, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, USRowing and the Princeton National Rowing Association.

Susana Balbes Pazos

Head of Real Estate for Americas

L'Oreal

As Head of Real Estate for Americas my role is to provide professional assistance management coordination to the zone business units in tendering and choosing partners for all our Real Estate transactions and Architectural and Construction Projects, liaise and coordinate with brokers, contractors and internal clients for property transactions or building validation, lead the role representative for all operation matters as well as oversee all project stages, investment planning, site location, layout concept, project implementation, architectural and engineering design and work execution, delivery and commissioning, as well as integrate FM procedures, quality standards and energy performance.

Eugene Lee

Chief Investment Officer

Knotel

Eugene is the Global Head of Real Estate and Business Development at Knotel. As a member of the senior executive team, Eugene leads Global Real Estate and Business Development. This encompasses all facets of real estate, including market strategy, transaction negotiation and execution, as well as management of the design and construction, IT, facilities and asset management functions

Prior to Knotel, Eugene was a senior executive at Knewton, Senior Policy Advisor for Economic Development for Mayor Bloomberg, a Presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and worked in a variety of roles at Morgan Stanley. He earned an MBA from NYU and BS from Cornell University.

Bryan Murphy

CEO

Breather

Bryan Murphy is the CEO of Breather, a network of over 500 flexible private office & on demand meeting spaces in 10 cities across the world. Before joining Breather, Murphy was the founder and president of Tomorrow Sleep. Prior, Murphy served as a VP on eBay's NA leadership team after the company acquired his previous company, WHI Solutions — where Murphy was the co-founder and CEO. Murphy has been recognized for leadership excellence, being named a winner of the Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award, Deloitte's Fast 500 and Fast 50 award. Along with his current position at Breather, Murphy currently serves as a Director for Neighborly, Four Mine, and as an adviser for Starboard Capital Partners.

Marc Schwartzberg

Moderator

Office Furniture Heaven

Throughout his years in the office furniture industry, Marc has been passionate about furnishing and creating comfortable, healthy and dynamic offices. Marc is the owner of OFH, an office furniture & design company founded in 1991. OFH has established a reputation for furnishing beautiful work spaces with quality office furniture at affordable prices.

Marc is focused on growing the company, fostering a collaborative team spirit among the staff, and making customer satisfaction the company’s highest priority. Marc spent the first 20 years of his career as a partner at Dallek Office Furniture, a company founded by his grandparents Nathan & Fanny Dallek nearly 100 years ago. Marc proudly continues the legacy started by his grandparents by leading a thriving business focused on designing and furnishing offices for businesses between 5 – 100 employees.

Marc is the proud father of five children. He and his wife Jill love attending NYC’s galleries and museums. He has been competing in triathlons since 2000 and bikes to the office and around the city every day.

All About the Landlords: Investment, Development, & Leasing

Jonathan Lee Cohen

Jonathan Lee Cohen

Head of Acquisitions

RFR Holding

Chris Shehadeh

Chris Shehadeh

Senior Managing Director, Regional Director -New York

Tishman Speyer

Gerard Norcia

Gerard Norcia

Executive Director

JP Morgan Asset Management

Paul Gillen

Paul Gillen

Managing Director / Regional COO

Hodges Ward Elliott

Kevin Chin

Kevin Chin

VP, Securiti & Head of Corporate Development

The Guarantors

Ryan Blair
Moderator

Ryan Blair

Managing Director

Stanwich Energy Advisors

Jonathan Lee Cohen

Head of Acquisitions

RFR Holding

Jonathan Lee Cohen serves as Head of Acquisitions at RFR Holding, a Manhattan-based, privately controlled real estate investment, development and management company with over $13 billion assets under management. In this capacity, Mr. Cohen oversees the acquisition of investments across all asset classes including office, retail, hotel and residential. Mr. Cohen was formerly a Director at Madison Capital where he was responsible for sourcing, identifying, evaluating, underwriting and analyzing potential acquisitions and financing commercial real estate investments, including direct property acquisitions, loan investments and note acquisitions. Prior to joining Madison Capital, Mr. Cohen acted as an Associate at Cabot Investments, specializing in the acquisition and asset management of real estate and clean energy assets. In this capacity, he assisted in managing the firm’s five million square foot portfolio of office and retail assets, the acquisition of retail and office assets for Cabot’s private REIT platform and the acquisition of clean energy assets for Cabot’s renewable energy investment platform. Mr. Cohen began his career as an Acquisitions Analyst at The Praedium Group, where he was responsible for analysis, due diligence and transaction execution for the acquisition of office, retail and multifamily assets, as well as for the management and disposition of the firm’s existing assets. Mr. Cohen graduated with Honors from the University of Michigan, earning both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

Chris Shehadeh

Senior Managing Director, Regional Director -New York

Tishman Speyer

Mr. Shehadeh is a Senior Managing Director overseeing Tishman Speyer's activities in the New York region, and is a member of the firm's Investment Committee. Since joining the company in 2000, Mr. Shehadeh has been responsible for transactions totaling over $12 billion. Today, he oversees the acquisition, development, disposition and operations of the New York area business - a portfolio of approximately 22 million square feet, with an additional 8 million square feet of development pipeline. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Real Estate Board of New York. Mr. Shehadeh received a BS in engineering from Boston University and an MBA in finance from New York University.

Gerard Norcia

Executive Director

JP Morgan Asset Management

Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management with more than twelve years experience performing value-add commercial real estate investment management. Specialize in multi-family, office and retail asset management, acquisition/reposition analytics, joint venture and capital markets structuring.

Paul Gillen

Managing Director / Regional COO

Hodges Ward Elliott

Paul is an accomplished real estate professional with over 20 years of experience that includes real estate sales, recapitalizations, acquisitions, financing and asset management. His experience covers all property types and investments throughout the capital stack and across the risk-reward spectrum. Paul has been involved in approximately $17 billion of completed commercial real estate transactions.

Prior to joining Hodges Ward Elliott, Paul has held officer positions at CBRE, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Realty. At CBRE, Paul oversaw all office transaction for its leading investment sales team in New York City and was a recipient of the Edward S. Gordon REBNY Ingenious Deal award in 2011. Before that, he was a Vice President in acquisitions at Morgan Stanley covering the MSREF and PRIME Property funds.

He began his career at UBS Realty and holds an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a Masters of Business Administration from New York University. Paul is on the advisory board for the Steers Center for Global Real Estate at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

Kevin Chin

VP, Securiti & Head of Corporate Development

The Guarantors

Kevin Chin is Vice President, Securiti & Head of Corporate Development at TheGuarantors, a leading VC-backed FinTech/PropTech company, that provides innovative financial products to multifamily and commercial office real estate owners, brokers, and occupiers. In this role, he is responsible for leading all aspects of sales, strategy, underwriting and operations for the company’s commercial office business line.

Kevin joined the TheGuarantors as its 11th employee and Chief of Staff to the CEO in 2016. During his time at the firm, he has played an instrumental role in launching the Securiti business line, managing and developing strategic partnerships with insurance companies, and working closely with the management team on fundraising efforts for its Series A and Series B rounds of financing.

Prior to his position with TheGuarantors, Kevin spent 4 years at two Fortune 500 publicly traded FinTech firms, Intercontinental Exchange (parent company of New York Stock Exchange) and S&P Global (parent company of Standard & Poors), where he focused on firm-wide mergers & acquisitions, principal investments, strategic partnerships, and corporate strategy for each of the company's executive management teams. Prior to that, Kevin spent 3 years at J.P. Morgan in the investment banking group focused on underwriting, structuring, and executing investment grade and leveraged finance transactions for financial institutions and real estate private equity firms, as well as at Goldman Sachs & Co. in their investment management division.

Kevin is a graduate of Baruch College, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in finance and investments, with supporting studies in real estate from New York University's Shack Institute of Real Estate.

Ryan Blair

Moderator

Stanwich Energy Advisors

Ryan joined Stanwich Energy Advisors eleven years ago and works as Managing Director, helping to facilitate exponential growth, in both client base and suite of services. At Stanwich, Ryan works closely with large volume end-users of electricity and natural gas to help navigate the deregulated energy markets and implement a tailored strategy to mitigate and manage energy spend.

Ryan earned a degree in economics with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally while at UNC, he was a four year starter on the Mens Varsity lacrosse team, finishing his career 8th all-time in school history in assists, while also earning a place on the All-ACC Academic lacrosse team.

Summary

1. Will office space as a service redefine the workplace or remain a niche sector?

2. What are the current list of tenant demands that landlords are taking seriously?

3. How can design teams accommodate a growing demand for flexible work space?

4. Can smaller office space demand continue to provide a solution to larger big-box retailers?

5. How are institutional companies adjusting to a younger workforce generation that demands personalization and collaboration?

6. How do NYC's different boroughs compare when adjusting to workforce trends?

***PLEASE NOTE THE CONTENT OF THIS EVENT ENDS AT 11:30AM*** 

Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
12:30 PM
12:45 PM
Garment District Alliance Fireside Chat
12:45 PM
1:25 PM
Design, Construction & Workplace Strategy
1:25 PM
1:40 PM
Networking Break
1:40 PM
2:20 PM
All About the Tenants: Talent, Trends, Amenities & More
2:20 PM
3:00 PM
All About the Landlords: Investment, Development, & Leasing
3:00 PM
3:30 PM
Hudson Yards Keynote Fireside Chat
3:30 PM
3:45 PM
Post Event Networking