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1 Manhattan West

1 Manhattan West

Manhattan West is in the heart of Manhattan’s newest neighborhood on the west side. At over 7 million square feet, Manhattan West will be a thriving community made up of state-of-the-art custom designed office spaces, curated food, retail, pop-up experiences, a 2-acre public plaza, 844 residential units at The Eugene and The Pendry hotel. Steps from the new Empire Station Complex, Penn Station and the new 7 subway line, Manhattan West is positioned at the center of connectivity amid 15 subway lines, Amtrak, Metro-North, LIRR and NJ Transit. Manhattan West also serves as the connection point between the theater district, the High Line, the Chelsea art galleries, the Culture Shed, and Madison Square Garden. It’s a destination for innovative companies, discerning consumers and experience seekers alike.

IMPORTANT: All attendees must enter the building through the revolving doors facing 9th Avenue. Bisnow staff will be on-site to greet you and show you up to the event space on the 53rd floor.

Speakers and Panels

The Owner's Outlook to Getting Deals Done

Laurent Morali

Laurent Morali

President

Kushner Companies

Gerard Norcia

Gerard Norcia

Executive Director

JP Morgan Asset Management

Kevin Hoo

Kevin Hoo

Managing Partner

Cove Property Group

Shimon Shkury

Shimon Shkury

President and Founder

Ariel Property Advisors

Ronnie Levine

Ronnie Levine

Senior Managing Director

Meridian Capital Group

Jordan Metzger
Moderator

Jordan Metzger

Member

Cole Schotz

Laurent Morali

President

Kushner Companies

Laurent Morali is the President of Kushner Companies. Mr. Morali began his career in finance with Credit Lyonnais Bank in Seoul, Korea. In January 2000, he joined the structured real estate finance team of Credit Lyonnais in Paris. He joined Credit Lyonnais America’s real estate financing team in October 2001 with a rapid focus on complex transactions on the capital markets. Mr. Morali joined Kushner Companies in 2008 where he has held several positions, starting with Director of Finance, transitioning to Head of Acquisitions and Capital Markets, in June 2016 he became President of the company. Mr. Morali has closed in excess of $14 billion worth of real estate transactions, from construction and development deals to complex securitizations of real estate and other esoteric assets. Mr. Morali obtained his Business School degree from Ecole Superieure de Commerce of Toulouse, France in June, 1998

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.

Kevin Hoo

Managing Partner

Cove Property Group

Kevin Hoo is the Managing Partner of Cove Property Group. Mr. Hoo has developed significant joint venture and capital partner relationships throughout his career and is responsible for the acquisition, financing and asset management of Cove's portfolio. Mr. Hoo has overseen in excess of $3 billion of direct real estate transactions, as well as development and capital projects throughout his career and has negotiated over one million square feet of leases across 90 separate transactions.

Prior to Cove, Mr. Hoo was a Managing Director at Savanna. While at Savanna, Mr. Hoo oversaw the acquisition, financing and asset management of nearly 1.8 million square feet through to successful investment exits, including 100 Wall Street, 245 & 249 West 17th Street, 21 Penn Plaza and 31 Penn Plaza. Before Savanna, Mr. Hoo was a Director at Tishman Speyer. Based in New York City, Mr. Hoo began in the Emerging Markets group (focused on China and India), initially managing acquisition and development opportunities and was subsequently granted oversight of design and construction elements in that role. Mr. Hoo later transitioned into the New York Acquisitions and Development group and finally the Commercial Leasing and Sales group, with a specific focus on Rockefeller Center and 200 Park Avenue. Prior to Tishman Speyer, Mr. Hoo was an Associate Director in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at UBS AG in Sydney, Australia, where he was responsible for M&A and capital market transactions for REIT clients.

Mr. Hoo is a Vice Chair of the board of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (with honors) and Bachelor of Law (with honors) from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Shimon Shkury

President and Founder

Ariel Property Advisors

Shimon Shkury is the President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors. As President he oversees all investment sales, capital services and research initiatives that the company undertakes.

Since 2002, Mr. Shkury has advised private clients, institutions, operators, equity providers and lenders on pricing, positioning and selling assets throughout New York City. This experience has enabled Mr. Shkury to emerge as an expert within the various asset classes, city, state and federal regulatory agreements and market indicators.

Mr. Shkury is routinely sought out as a resource for the industry and has been featured in publications such as The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s New York, Bisnow and many others. As a contributor to Forbes, he writes about trends in commercial real estate and is the host of Ariel’s Coffee & Cap Rates podcast.

In 2023, he was named to the Commercial Observer’s Power 100 list of commercial real estate leaders and, in 2022, to Crain’s New York’s list of Notable Leaders in Real Estate. Along with his partners, he was honored with Connect CRE’s Top Broker Award 2022, Globest.com’s Multifamily Influencer Award 2022, and Commercial Property Executive’s Best Investment Transaction 2022 in the portfolio category.

Originally from Israel, he came to the United States in 1999 to earn an MBA in finance at the Wharton School of Business and a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute. He previously served as a lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces. Prior to starting Ariel Property Advisors, Mr. Shkury was a Partner with Massey Knakal Realty Services, now Cushman & Wakefield.

Mr. Shkury lives in Manhattan with his wife, son and daughter. He can be reached at 212.544.9500 ext. 11 or via email at sshkury@arielpa.com.

Ronnie Levine

Senior Managing Director

Meridian Capital Group

Mr. Levine joined Meridian in 2004 and currently serves as a Senior Managing Director, overseeing a staff of originators and underwriters in the negotiation and placement of financing for construction, repositioning and transitional asset transactions.

Prior to joining Meridian, Mr. Levine was a Senior Vice President at Westminster Capital, a division of Kushner Companies. His job responsibilities at Westminster included coordinating all aspects of financing for Kushner Companies, including debt and equity financing. Mr. Levine also previously worked as a financial analyst in the real estate investment banking group of CIBC World Markets.

Mr. Levine holds an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.A. in Finance from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.

Jordan Metzger

Moderator

Cole Schotz

Jordan’s practice focuses on structuring, negotiating and closing the acquisition, joint venture, financing, leasing and disposition of the full range of commercial real estate assets, including distressed debt and equity transactions. Jordan represents purchasers and sellers in commercial real estate debt and equity acquisitions and dispositions; borrowers and institutional and non-institutional lenders in securitized and balance sheet financing transactions (including acquisition, construction, bridge, mezzanine, preferred equity) and workouts; owners and tenants in leasing transactions; equity participants in joint ventures; and developers in ground-up and redevelopment projects involving office, retail, industrial, multifamily, hospitality and mixed-use projects.

Economic Insights & Navigating the Cycle

Greta Guggenheim

Greta Guggenheim

CEO

TPG Real Estate Finance Trust

Jeff Fastov

Jeff Fastov

Senior Managing Director

Square Mile Capital

Tony Fineman

Tony Fineman

Senior Managing Director, Head of Originations

ACORE Capital

Tim Doherty

Tim Doherty

Chief Investment Officer

Safehold

Ted Kuch

Ted Kuch

Principal

Ryan

Patrick O’Sullivan
Moderator

Patrick O’Sullivan

Partner

Herrick

Greta Guggenheim

CEO

TPG Real Estate Finance Trust

Greta Guggenheim is Chief Executive Officer and President of TPG Real Estate Finance Trust (“TRT”) and a Firm Partner of TPG. TRT is a NYSE listed commercial mortgage REIT (ticker TRTX) that originates commercial real estate mortgage loans in major markets throughout the U.S. Previously, Ms. Guggenheim was Co‐Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ladder Capital. Ms. Guggenheim’s prior experience includes positions at Dillon Read Capital Management, UBS, Bear Stearns and Credit Suisse. Ms. Guggenheim serves on the ULI Board of Trustees, Board of Governors of CREFC as well as several charitable foundations. Ms. Guggenheim has a MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from Swarthmore College.

Jeff Fastov

Senior Managing Director

Square Mile Capital

Jeff is responsible for establishing, overseeing and implementing Square Mile’s strategic direction with respect to all credit initiatives. Prior to joining Square Mile in 2013, Jeff served as co-head of Credit Suisse’s Real Estate Finance and Securitization group. Prior to Credit Suisse, Jeff founded Oasis Real Estate Partners, a capital markets advisor to foreign and domestic financial institutions, private equity funds and other significant real estate credit market participants. From 1992 to 2009, Jeff was with Goldman Sachs, where he ultimately served as co-head of its commercial real estate lending business. Jeff started his career at Moody’s Investors Service where he established and led the Commercial Real Estate Ratings group from 1983 to 1992. Jeff received his B.A. from the University of Rochester and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Tony Fineman

Senior Managing Director, Head of Originations

ACORE Capital

Mr. Fineman has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate

business. At ACORE, Mr. Fineman is responsible for originating, underwriting,

structuring and closing commercial real estate financing opportunities, and for managing

originations for the Eastern Region.

Prior to joining ACORE, Mr. Fineman was an Executive Vice President with Brickman

and a principal at Hillcrest Finance, where he was responsible for originating,

underwriting, structuring and closing equity and debt investment opportunities, and

financing new and existing equity investments. Prior to Brickman, Mr. Fineman held

various positions in commercial real estate finance including a senior role with

Wachovia Bank, where he managed, structured and closed more than $25 billion of

complex commercial real estate finance transactions often involving multiple lenders

and tranches of debt, and a role as a banker with Nomura Securities in the mid to late

1990s. In addition to his finance experience, Mr. Fineman has also spent a significant

amount of time on the equity side of the commercial real estate business where he was

involved in the development, ownership, management and operation of commercial real

estate, including in senior roles with Centres Inc. and Terranova Corporation, and in his

time with Brickman. Mr. Fineman began his career in commercial real estate as an

attorney representing institutional and private clients in a wide range of commercial real

estate transactions, including finance, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, development

and land use. After college and prior to law school, Mr. Fineman spent several years at

IBM Corporation as a marketing representative.

Mr. Fineman received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and a J.D.

from the University of Florida. Mr. Fineman serves on the board of enCourage Kids

Foundation. Mr. Fineman is married to Lori and they have two children, Mia and Rocky.

Ted Kuch

Principal

Ryan

Current: Principal, Ryan, New York office

- Specializes in providing property tax services to commercial clients located

in New York City and throughout the United States.

Previous

- Director, Property Tax, Ryan, New York office

- Managing Director, Property Tax, international real estate firm

- Tax Counsel, law firm

- Specialized in providing real estate valuation and property tax litigation.

PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE

Previous

- Law Clerk, New Jersey Tax Court, Newark

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

- District of Columbia Bar Association (2010)

- Institute for Professionals in Taxation

- Certified Member

• New Jersey State Bar Association (2006)

- Member of the Supreme Court Committee on the Tax Court

- Member of the Taxation Committee

• New York City Bar Association (2014)

- Member of the Condemnation and Tax Certiorari Committee

EDUCATION/ACCREDITATION

- Juris Doctor Degree, Thomas Jefferson School of Law

- Bachelor of Arts Degree, Hartwick College

- Graduate, Brennan-Vanderbilt American Inn of Court

Patrick O’Sullivan

Moderator

Herrick

Patrick O’Sullivan is a partner in Herrick's Real Estate Department.Patrick represents owners, developers, investors, governmental entities and not-for-profit institutions on a range of real estate matters with a focus on development issues, particularly those that arise in public-private transactions. He has represented clients on a range of complex transactions for properties across the U.S., including acquisitions and dispositions, large-scale developments, joint ventures, construction projects, ground leases, and public and private financings.

Patrick also navigates clients through the multi-step process of applying for and utilizing tax incentive programs at the local and federal level. He advises clients on the tax incentives available for investors in Qualified Opportunity Zones and on how to structure those investments given the evolving regulatory framework.

Patrick is a former Executive Vice President and Head of the Real Estate Transactions Group at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). While at NYCEDC, Patrick worked with leading real estate developers to successfully executing complex public-private transactions throughout the City.

He led New York City’s acquisition of Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island from New York State, and subsequently oversaw the negotiations for two Brooklyn Bridge Park development sites. He also directed the City’s negotiations for New York University’s applied sciences school in Downtown Brooklyn. During his time at NYCEDC, Patrick worked closely with the New York City Industrial Development Agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and other agencies.

Patrick has been recognized by Legal 500 for his excellence in Real Estate. In 2022, Patrick was named to City & State's Economic Development Power 100 listing. This list identifies the policymakers who are driving economic development strategies in New York and positioning the state for a post-pandemic recovery.

Development

Patrick has extensive experience advising clients on an array of development projects from the planning stages through transaction execution and construction completion. He also understands client needs and development timelines in many industry specific areas such as healthcare, higher education, not-for-profits, transportation and aviation. Given his significant public-sector experience, Patrick guides his clients throughout the life cycle of a development advising them on matters such as land acquisition, assemblage and development rights; land use and public approvals; and development and construction-related agreements. Patrick regularly counsels public and private sector clients with ground lease negotiations on both the landlord and tenant sides and represents clients responding to requests for proposals (RFPs).

Structuring and Finance

Patrick regularly advises clients on how to optimally structure their participation in real estate transactions. For clients entering into a joint venture, Patrick leverages the breadth of his experience to assist them in structuring their relationship at the term sheet stage and often collaborates with his tax colleagues to devise an efficient structure for the venture. Clients appreciate Patrick’s ability to counsel them on matters ranging from proper allocation of risk to management and control issues. Patrick also represents borrowers on their acquisition and construction financing transactions calling on his development experience to guide borrowers through intricacies of the process.

Memberships & Associations

Board of Directors, New York City Economic Development Corporation

Real Estate and Finance Committee

Real Estate Board of New York

Economic Development Committee

Association of the Bar of the City of New York

Housing and Urban Development Committee

Urban Land Institute, ULINY Mixed-Use Green Council

New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH)

Patrick is a former Executive Vice President and Head of the Real Estate Transactions Group at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). While at NYCEDC, Patrick worked with leading real estate developers to successfully executing complex public-private transactions throughout the City.

He led New York City’s acquisition of Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island from New York State, and subsequently oversaw the negotiations for two Brooklyn Bridge Park development sites. He also directed the City’s negotiations for New York University’s applied sciences school in Downtown Brooklyn. During his time at NYCEDC, Patrick worked closely with the New York City Industrial Development Agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and other agencies.

Reimagining & Modernizing NYC's Aging Building Stock

Richard Monopoli

Richard Monopoli

SVP, Development

Boston Properties

David Roll

David Roll

Portfolio Manager

Norges Bank Investment Management

Thomas Farrell

Thomas Farrell

Partner

COVE

Doug Hocking

Doug Hocking

Principal

KPF

Jonathan Ninnis

Jonathan Ninnis

Principal & President

OC Development Management

Barry LePatner
Moderator

Barry LePatner

Founder

LePatner & Associates

Richard Monopoli

SVP, Development

Boston Properties

Richard T. Monopoli oversees all development activity for Boston Properties’ New York region. Since joining Boston Properties in 2005, Mr. Monopoli has built or redeveloped over three million square feet of office and mixed-use projects and has secured an additional two million square feet of development rights. Notable projects include the creation of new air rights parcels to allow for the redevelopment of the Hancock Garage and Back Bay MBTA Station in Boston, Massachusetts, the assemblage of development parcels and creation of a new zoning overlay district for CityPoint in Waltham, Massachusetts, obtaining development rights to allow for the construction of The Broad Institute’s state- of-the-art research facility at 75 Ames Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the redevelopment of 601 Lexington Avenue in New York.

Prior to joining Boston Properties, Mr. Monopoli was a Vice President of Acquisitions at LaSalle Investment Management where he sourced and closed over two hundred million dollars of core and value-add transactions. Mr. Monopoli also spent five years as a consulting structural engineer with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger with a focus on building envelope technology and forensic engineering.

Mr. Monopoli is a member of the New York District Urban Land Institute’s Advisory Board and a co-chair of the Urban Design and Mixed Use Product Council. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts and California and is a CFA Charterholder. He is a frequent panel member at industry events and has guest lectured at the Kellogg School of Management.

Mr. Monopoli received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1993, a Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 1994, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management in 2002.

David Roll

Portfolio Manager

Norges Bank Investment Management

David Roll is a Portfolio Manager at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) where he oversees acquisitions and asset management in New York. He joined NBIM in January 2013 to help build the US team and grow NBIM’s US real estate portfolio. Today, the NBIM New York portfolio is approximately 11 million square feet and includes a wide range of assets including historic printing press buildings in Hudson Square as well as newly developed skyscrapers in Midtown. Prior to joining NBIM, David held various roles in real estate private equity in London, Stockholm and New York at PGIM and Areim. He is a board member of AFIRE and a member of the Campaign Team for Batsheva Arts Campus in Tel Aviv. David holds a Master’ of Science in real estate finance from KTH in Stockholm.

Thomas Farrell

Partner

COVE

Thomas Farrell is a Partner at Cove Property Group. Prior to joining Cove, Mr. Farrell was a Senior Managing Director with Tishman Speyer where he was a key member of that firm for over 20 years. During his tenure at TS he played a key role as head of its Design and Construction group overseeing some of its most prestigious projects across the globe. Mr. Farrell played an integral role on major New York projects including the Hearst Tower, Goldman Sachs World Headquarters, 101 West End Avenue and build-to-suit projects for Citibank and other major financial institutions. Mr. Farrell also played a primary role in other US markets for TS including projects in Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Mr. Farrell also helped establish Tishman Speyer's business in Brazil and had a leadership role on numerous projects in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. Mr. Farrell also had an oversight role for other international projects across major markets in Europe, Nike's Asia headquarters in Shanghai, and the Waverock project in Hyderabad, India. From 2003 through 2015 he served on Tishman Speyer's Investment Committee and also on its Management & Compliance Committees. From 2014 through November 2015, Mr. Farrell served as country head for Tishman Speyer's efforts in Mexico. Before his time at TS, Mr. Farrell spent nine years managing the design and construction of major projects with Olympia & York, where he held leadership roles for the buildout of Merrill Lynch's headquarters at the World Financial Center and CIBC's headquarters at 425 Lexington Avenue. Mr. Farrell also served as project director for Phase Two of the Canary Wharf project in London and the Santa Fe project in Mexico City. Mr. Farrell was recently inducted into the National Academy of Construction and serves on the advisory board of New Ground, an education service for the homeless. Mr. Farrell is a licensed professional engineer and has a Bachelor's Degree from Manhattan College, where he serves on the Board of Trustees.

Doug Hocking

Principal

KPF

A Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox, Doug has more than 25 years of experience in architectural design, contributing to some of the firm’s most respected and well-known projects. He has a reputation for his attention to detail and craft, resulting in award-winning projects built throughout the world.

Doug has been active in Washington DC and Virginia; as Design Principal, he lead the design for the soon to be completed 1900 N Street, the recently finished 1775 Tyson’s Boulevard, a mixed-use LEED Platinum project in Tyson’s Corner, as well as the brand new 1000 Maine office building. The office, part of a large master plan to redevelop the waterfront district, has won numerous awards both locally and nationally for its design excellence and craftsmanship.

Doug has demonstrated special skill in approaching complex transformation projects that deal with the reordering of spaces. His design for 390 Madison Avenue exemplifies his expertise in this area, carving out sections of existing floor slabs in the existing structure and redistributing the excised floor area elsewhere in the building. His work at the University of Kentucky College of Law exhibits a similar expertise in reshaping spaces through renovation.

An advocate for sustainable and resilient architecture, Doug has designed some of the firm’s landmark “green” projects, including 555 Mission Street, the first LEED Gold office building in San Francisco, and the NYCHA Red Hook Houses Sandy Resiliency & Renewal Program, which focuses on decreasing the community’s vulnerability to potential natural disasters in the future.

Passionate about his chosen profession, Doug is very active in the architectural community. He has been an adjunct professor and studio instructor for many schools, including the University of Hawaii and the University of North Carolina. As chair of the planning board of a suburban county near New York City, he uses his skills as an architect and designer to help people understand what the implications of development and building are to them, their future, and their families.

Jonathan Ninnis

Principal & President

OC Development Management

Through the acquisition of Metropolitan Building Services by OC Development Management, Jonathan

serves as Principal and President of the OCDM. OCDM is an owner-focused, Development Management

Services firm providing turn key development management from project inception through construction

and occupancy for varying types of commercial projects. As the firm’s President, Mr. Ninnis remains

actively involved in the daily execution of OCDM’s projects while also setting the strategic direction of

the company and leading all business development efforts.

Mr. Ninnis brings to the table more than 18 years of experience and, unlike many others in the field, a

foundation in architecture with a highly technical background and knowledge in both design and

construction. This expertise by nature creates a proactive rather than reactive management style and

allows a strategic approach to be applied to the many facets of completing a complex project.

Prior to founding OCDM, Mr. Ninnis has held positions throughout the Real Estate Industry including

Vice President of Development at L&L Holding Company, Senior Associate at VVA Project Managers, and

Managing Agent at Citi for Cushman and Wakefield. These positions have allowed Jonathan to complete

prestigious projects for many well-known clients such as Citi, JP Morgan, NYU Langone Medical Center,

City University of New York, the Union Club of the City of New York, Beacon Capital and many others.

Over the course of his career, Jonathan has completed over $800 million in projects spanning across 4.5

million square feet of real estate throughout the greater NYC, NJ, and Boston areas.

Mr. Ninnis is a registered architect and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from New Jersey Institute of

Technology. Jonathan also serves on NJIT’s Dean’s Executive Counsel.

Barry LePatner

Moderator

LePatner & Associates

Barry B. LePatner, Esq., Hon. AIA, is founder of the New York City-based law firm LePatner & Associates LLP. His project management firm, LePatner Project Solutions LLC has been retained by high level corporate, commercial and real estate owners to oversee their projects since 1995.

In 2018 he formed INSIGHTS +, www.insightsplusgroup.com a consultancy that utilizes the latest BIM technology to help owners and developers identify and mitigate most common project risks and secure fixed price contracts and committed completion dates from the construction team without unwarranted cost overruns.

Mr. LePatner has been awarded the distinction of Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine and been named one of the top ten real estate lawyers in New York city by the New York Observer. A November 2007 Governing magazine article stated, “If there’s a guru of construction industry reform, it’s LePatner.” In November 2008, an article in New York magazine referred to Mr. LePatner as “a Cassandra of infrastructure.”

He is the author of several well-received and influential books. His leading analysis of the inefficiencies in the design and construction world that lead to over $126 billion in wasted construction funds each year was set forth in Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (University of Chicago Press, 2007) www.brokenbuildings.com. In Too Big to Fall: America’s Failing Infrastructure and the Way Forward (Foster Publishing / University Press of New England, 2010) http://www.toobigtofall.com, he turns his attention to the perilous state of the nation’s aging infrastructure.

Mr. LePatner has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, Forbes.com, the Chicago Tribune, Infrastructurist.com, and other publications. He has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox Business Network, CUNY-TV and various National Public Radio segments.

A nationally recognized speaker, he has presented at events sponsored by the Brookings Institution, International Economic Forum of the Americas, Syracuse University, Yale University, and numerous construction industry associations with audiences including contractors, architects, engineers, construction technology experts, economic experts, and other construction industry thought leaders.

To learn more, visit www.lepatner.com or www.barrylepatner.com and www.insightsplusgroup.com.

FEATURED SPOTLIGHT: Project Destined x Brookfield x Hunton Andrews Kurth

Ben Brown

Ben Brown

Managing Partner

Brookfield Properties

Cedric Bobo

Cedric Bobo

Co-Founder

Project Destined

Laurie Grasso

Laurie Grasso

Global, Co-Chair of Real Estate

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Ben Brown

Managing Partner

Brookfield Properties

Ben Brown is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Real Estate Group. He joined Brookfield in 2010 and has held various roles including leading acquisitions and dispositions for the office property business in New York and in London. He is currently responsible for the commercial operations, including acquisition and disposition activities, for the office business in New York and Boston.

Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Brown spent time in Boston, Florida and New York with the New Boston Fund, Sovereign Bank and Thor Equities. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in Finance from Northeastern University.

Cedric Bobo

Co-Founder

Project Destined

Cedric Bobo is the CEO and Co-founder of Project Destined, a social impact vehicle that trains urban youth and military veterans to be owners and stakeholders in the communities in which they live, work and play.

Prior to founding Project Destined, Cedric spent over 20 years as an investor and investment banker including over 10 years at The Carlyle Group where he committed over $2 Billion of equity capital. In 2015, Cedric was named to the “10 Top Powerful Black People on Wall Street You Should Know.”

Prior to Carlyle, he worked at D.L.J. Merchant Banking (London) and McCown De Leeuw. He is the co-founder of Charter Board Partners, a non-profit focused on governance in the charter school sector. He also serves on the District of Columbia’s Office of Public Charter School Financing and Support Credit Committee and Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School.

Cedric received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSME, summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee.

Laurie Grasso

Global, Co-Chair of Real Estate

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Laurie, an accomplished deal maker, is partner and co-chair of the firm’s global real estate practice. She takes a client-focused approach to her real estate practice, often acting as in-house counsel for her clients and becoming a trusted member of their businesses. She has a long list of clients who have been with her since the beginning of her practice and appreciate her ability to adeptly and efficiently handle any type of real estate deal. She is recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA 2021, noting that she is “a strong negotiator” and “she has a great business sense combined with legal knowledge.” Most recently, for the second year in a row, Commercial Observer included her in their elite “Power 100” list, which recognizes the most powerful players in real estate.

Laurie represents real estate private equity funds, companies, institutional REITs, investors and other property owners in structuring and closing real estate transactions such as acquisitions and dispositions, developments, financings, portfolio transactions, preferred equity investments, leasing and real estate joint ventures. Her work touches all asset classes, including office, multifamily, affordable housing, workforce housing, mixed-use, life sciences, hospitality, retail and condominium. She also maintains an active capital markets and fund practice, representing investors in joint venture transactions and sophisticated fund and tax structures. Laurie is also well-versed in the Opportunity Zone program and helps clients through the process of structuring and investing in qualified properties and vehicles.

Laurie is involved in a number of non-profit and charitable organizations focusing on increasing diversity in real estate. She serves on the Advisory Board and spearheads the firm’s legal partnership with Project Destined, an organization dedicated to transforming minority youth into owners in the communities in which they live, work and play. She also serves as co-chair for Rebuilding New York’s “She Builds” program, where she organizes an annual renovation day, rehabilitating a New York City community center in need.

Retaining & Satisfying Tenants in a Competitive Landscape

Thomas Durels

Thomas Durels

Executive Vice President, Real Estate

Empire State Realty Trust

Benjamin Levine

Benjamin Levine

EVP, Finance & Acquisition

Douglaston Development

Gregory Kraut

Gregory Kraut

Managing Partner

KPG Funds

Sammy Courtright

Sammy Courtright

Co-Founder & COO

Fitspot

Karl Frederic

Karl Frederic

Partner

Windels Marx, Lane & Mittendorf

Alan Dandron
Moderator

Alan Dandron

Creative Managing Director

NELSON Worldwide

Thomas Durels

Executive Vice President, Real Estate

Empire State Realty Trust

Mr. Durels is responsible for all of our real estate activities, including leasing, property redevelopment, management and construction. Mr. Durels joined our predecessor in 1990 where he served in similar capacities, also supervised property acquisitions, and was involved in acquisitions and structured equity investments of over $1.1 billion. Prior to joining our predecessor, from February 1984 to April 1990, he served as Assistant Vice President at Helmsley Spear, Inc., where Mr. Durels was responsible for construction and engineering for its portfolio of office, hotel, residential and retail properties. Mr. Durels is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Urban Land Institute and the Young Men’s and Women’s Real Estate Association, for which he served as Treasurer in 2003, and is a licensed real estate broker in New York and Connecticut. Mr. Durels received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University.

Benjamin Levine

EVP, Finance & Acquisition

Douglaston Development

Mr. Levine joined Douglaston Development as a Project Manager in 2008 and quickly rose through the ranks to oversee several projects throughout the boroughs. As Executive Vice President of Finance and Acquisitions, he is responsible for all acquisition and development underwriting and feasibility. To date, he has secured over $2 billion in project underwriting since joining the company.

Before joining Douglaston Development, Mr. Levine worked as an analyst at Credit Suisse in both New York City and London for their real estate finance and securitization group.

Community and Industry Involvement:

Board member of Haymakers for Hope

Member and former Chair of the Jewish National Fund Future in New York.

Mr. Levine graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and a minor in Urban Real Estate and Development.

Gregory Kraut

Managing Partner

KPG Funds

Gregory Kraut joined KPG in 2017 as a managing partner. Mr. Kraut oversees the strategic direction of the company, fundraising, development, capital administration, asset management and leasing.

Before joining KPG, Mr. Kraut was the Founding Principal and Managing Director of Avison Young’s New York office. Working with senior management, he established the Canadian-based firm’s local corporate infrastructure and grew its footprint in the Tri-State region through business acquisitions and high-level recruiting. During this time, he was named one of Commercial Observer’s Power 100 in New York City real estate for three consecutive years.

As a senior broker and advisor, Mr. Kraut specialized in tenant and landlord representation including acquisition, disposition and planning strategies for local and multi-market clients. He also evaluated and underwrote office properties for individual and institutional owners.

Prior to Avison Young, Mr. Kraut was a Senior Executive at CBRE, the world’s largest real estate services company. Throughout his 20-year career, he has represented owners and occupiers in transactions totaling more than 10 million square feet.

Sammy Courtright

Co-Founder & COO

Fitspot

Sammy is the Co-Founder and COO of Fitspot. She’s an attention-to-detail aficionado who brings a blend of grit and imagination to the zillions of tasks that confront every startup. She has always thrived in operations, working as a production assistant in LA and managing operations in the fashion industry. Sammy wears many hats at Fitspot, doing everything from fundraising and hosting webinars to operations and managing the customer experience. Sammy has a B.F.A. from the University of Miami. She hails from Australia, and she can’t leave the house without her Akubra.

Karl Frederic

Partner

Windels Marx, Lane & Mittendorf

Karl Frederic is a Partner with the law firm of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP. Has a multi-disciplinary practice focusing on real estate development, leasing, construction and related matters involving the full spectrum of real estate assets -- from retail centers and corporate headquarters to MetLife Stadium. He has a particular experience in real estate matters involving the pharmaceutical and bio-tech industries. He also advises on acquisitions and the repositioning and expansion of existing developed assets. As the cannabis industry has risen over the past few years, Karl has applied his experience in life sciences to the needs of this sector, and has developed significant contacts throughout the cannabis industry, including representing trade groups, cultivators and CBD start-ups. Karl frequently speaks and writes on cannabis and related topics. He can be reached at T: 732.448.2552 or E:

Alan Dandron

Moderator

NELSON Worldwide

Alan Dandron graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts

in Industrial & Interior Design from the University of Michigan’s School of

Art. He has designed millions of square feet space for his clients, and has

significant experience in the programming, planning, and design.

WHAT I DO HERE

I provide leadership and mentoring for designers.

I provide insightful thought leadership on workplace trends and design.

I collaborate with our clients and our designers to make sure the

design is in alignment with the clients goals and objectives.

HOW I DO IT

I work with the team (client and designers) to understand the options,

analyze their value and build consensus to move the project forward.

I believe all ideas are valid, and work with the team to fine tune

and edit them.

WHAT’S UNIQUELY ME

I am both creative and analytical.

I am an avid gardener.

I took voice lessons and have been know to sing on occasion.

RELEVANT INDUSTRY WORK

Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette*

New York, NY, 800,000 SF

Prudential Asset Management*

Newark, NJ, 475,000 SF

JPMorgan Chase*

New York, NY, 1.2 Million SF

HSBC Bank USA*

New York, NY, 400,000 SF

OppenheimerFunds*

New York, NY, 800,000 SF

Cushman & Wakefield*

New York, NY, 166,000 SF

New York, NY, 30,000 SF

Brooklyn, NY, 15,000 SF

Simplifying Retail: Streamlining Partnerships Between Landlords & Tenants

Jay Norris

Jay Norris

Co-Founder & CEO

Guesst Software

Reynolds Allen

Reynolds Allen

Managing Director, Retail Strategy and Operations

EDENS

Rachel Johnson

Rachel Johnson

Associate Director, Market Analytics

CoStar Group

Michael Cortazzo

Michael Cortazzo

Director of Retail Operations

Guesst

Jay Norris

Co-Founder & CEO

Guesst Software

Jay Norris, Co-founder, and CEO of Guesst®, has over 15 years in developing experiential marketing concepts. Jay started in the music industry developing multi-city tours and venues for top recording artists for Clive Davis’ Arista Record and others. In 1997, Jay started Tastemakers Media, which published a cutting-edge magazine throughout the US featuring the best retail & lifestyle offerings domestically and abroad. In 2005, Jay brought his expertise in lifestyle and experiential marketing to the commercial real estate tenant brokerage industry. Jay is a small to medium-size business growth executive at heart, continually looking to maximize resources, build relationships and identify growth opportunities. Jay has been effectuating Retail-Matchmaking in the analog space for a number of years, which has led to the founding of Guesst - A Retail-Sharing Community.

Reynolds Allen

Managing Director, Retail Strategy and Operations

EDENS

As Managing Director of Retail Strategy and Operations, Reynolds is responsible for EDENS’ evolving retail and retailer sales strategy as well as the administration of the leasing, legal and property operations teams.

Since 2006, Reynolds has been an integral part of EDENS’ development and retail strategy work. In 2014, he expanded his role to Vice President – Development where he led the redevelopment of Union Market in Washington, DC. The Union Market District was designed to attract the District’s community of culinary, entrepreneurial and creative innovators. Reynolds also played a large role in the redevelopments of Barclay Square, Davidson Commons, Riverton Commons and Argent Lake Village.

Reynolds received a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science and a degree in Human & Organizational Development from Vanderbilt.

Michael Cortazzo

Director of Retail Operations

Guesst

Michael J. Cortazzo has more than 40 years of experience with retail and office tenants of all shapes and sizes. From mom-and-pop restaurant owners to Fortune 500 apparel companies with more than $3 billion in annual sales, Michael is able to find the perfect real estate fit for them all.

Over his storied career, Michael has completed more than 500 new store real estate transactions and more than 1.5 million square feet of office transactions worldwide. This includes deals in New York City, London, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Pittsburgh, Puerto Rico and Shanghai. Michael’s vast expertise accommodates retailers the world over because he understands commerce is a global market regardless of your business’ physical location. As we know, a sophisticated, well-executed strategy must be in place for today’s retailers to successfully execute technology, ecommerce and omnichannel initiatives. Michael offers the trifecta, having spent his career, rolling out point of sale (POS) systems to more than 900 stores, spearheading R&D initiatives for mobile POS, overseeing customer service call centers, and managing the creation, installation and implementation of labor management systems, Shoppertrak in-store customer traffic tools, Cognos database reporting tools and mobile video training solutions.

His 15 years as senior director of store operations for American Eagle Outfitters has allowed Michael to understand a company’s needs and changing technologies, empathizing with their challenges while capitalizing on their strengths. Michael has been responsible for profits and loss statements on more than 900 retail stores with a payroll budget of $150 million. He has also managed 7.5 million square feet of store, office and distribution center facilities, while executing corporate directives at the store level, which includes sales, customer service, training and floor sets.

Michael’s talents were further honed as Senior Director of Real Estate and Facilities for American Eagle Outfitters as it expanded from two stores to a company with multiple brands in more than 25 countries, opening 100 to 150 new stores per year under his watch. During this time, the company also doubled its average store sales volume.

Michael works with his clients on a very personal level, guiding their endeavors from thought development through physical development to the expansion phase. Michael’s successes are his client’s successes, which means his number one goal is to oversee all aspects of a concept, ensuring the project is completed on time and under budget.

Multifamily Maze: Navigating Rent Regulations & Driving NOI

Jason Muss

Jason Muss

President

Muss Development

James Nelson

James Nelson

Principal, Head of U.S. Investment Sales

Avison Young

Daniel Parker

Daniel Parker

Managing Director

Hodges Ward Elliott

Andrew Barrocas

Andrew Barrocas

CEO

MNS

Michael Feldman

Michael Feldman

Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner

Choice New York

James Cosolito
Moderator

James Cosolito

Senior Vice President

AmTrust Title

James Nelson

Principal, Head of U.S. Investment Sales

Avison Young

James Nelson is Principal and Head of U.S. Investment Sales where he leads Avison Young’s significant investment sale efforts and growth strategies in the top U.S. markets. Avison Young is a full service global real estate firm with over 5,000 real estate professionals located in 120 offices in 20 countries including more than 50 offices across the United States. With a differentiated approach, the cohesive U.S. Investment Sales Group leverages best in class execution to deliver superior results for clients.

Since joining Avison Young in 2018, James has been involved in over 225 sales valued at well above $3 billion dollars, resulting in his being named a top global top producer, a Commercial Observer’s Power 100, and a CoStar Power Broker. James has also been a recipient of REBNY’s prestigious Edward S. Gordan Deal of the Year award. Some noteworthy clients include The Archdiocese of New York, Breaking Ground, The Carlyle Group, JP Morgan Chase, Salvation Army and Vornado among others.

James builds unique sales platforms at Avison Young consisting of a unified, client-first sales group that is broken out by asset class and providing the best client experience. This approach aligns with Avison Young’s principally owned structure which allows principals to be personally invested in the long-term success of their clients.

Throughout his over 25-year career, James has been involved in the sale of approximately 500 property and loan sales for an aggregate value of over $5 billion dollars. Prior to joining Avison Young, James served as Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, where his team was ranked the number one Investment Sales broker nationwide in 2016. Previously, James was a partner and top producer for Massey Knakal for six of their last eight years and was named the company’s youngest partner in 2004.

James is passionate about real estate and helping others achieve success. With his Wall Street Journal bestselling book The Insider’s Edge To Real Estate Investing, podcast, videos, and weekly Forbes articles, he advises on how to navigate and stay on top of this ever-changing market. He enjoys guest lecturing at Columbia, Fordham, NYU, Wharton, and of course his alma mater Colgate. He often provides this real estate expertise to notable mainstream publications such as The Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and the NY Post.

James serves on the boards of REBNY, SparkYouth NYC, and USA Water Polo and is a former Chairman of YM/WREA. He is also a co-founder of the Real Estate Services Alliance (RESA) and the Colgate Real Estate Council. His greatest joy is spending time with his wife Allison and three sons Luke, Austin, and TJ either at home in Connecticut, up on the Cape, or travelling to their water polo tournaments on the West Coast. You can follow James on Instagram at @jamesnelsonnyc or visit jamesnelson.com for more information.

Daniel Parker

Managing Director

Hodges Ward Elliott

Daniel Parker is a Managing Director on the Hodges Ward Elliott (“HWE”) New York commercial investment sales team. Mr. Parker has spent over a decade working in both principal and advisory roles in the New York City commercial real estate market. Prior to joining HWE, Mr. Parker was a Vice President at The Related Companies, where he led a management team overseeing a 2,700 unit multifamily portfolio in New York City. Prior to working for Related, Mr. Parker worked in the Savills Studley Capital Transactions Group, working on a team that closed in excess of $2.2 billion in commercial real estate transactions including residential, office, retail and land. Mr. Parker started his real estate career working as a multifamily asset manager, overseeing 45 rent-regulated properties with 1,600 apartments and 78 retail spaces located in New York City for Prana Investments.

In addition to New York City office, retail and land transactions, Mr. Parker brokers multifamily properties in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Mr. Parker has represented institutional clients that include Related, Rockpoint, Carlyle, KBS, Westbrook and Normandy, as well as a number of private families and investors.

Mr. Parker recently brokered the sale of a $71 million workforce housing portfolio on behalf of Related to a partnership between Taconic Investment Partners and Clarion Partners. Other notable multifamily sales include the record-breaking $140 million sale of a 38 walk-up properties with nearly 1,000 units in the Bronx, 316 Bergen in Brooklyn, the Madison Belvedere at 10 East 29th Street in Manhattan, 442 Lorimer, 184 Havemeyer, 164 Havemeyer, the leasehold at 300 East 46th Street, and 111 Kent Avenue.

In 2005, the New York City Teaching Fellows program selected Mr. Parker for a one year public school assignment as a full-time English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in Washington Heights at PS 5. From 2001-2003, Mr. Parker lived in Mexico City, where he offered service through his church and became fluent in Spanish. Mr. Parker is an Eagle Scout and remains an avid photographer, camper and hiker. He regularly spends time with his family at Candlewood Lake in New Milford, CT to enjoy the outdoors and water sports.

Mr. Parker received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Utah and an MBA in Finance and Economics from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

Andrew Barrocas

CEO

MNS

Andrew Barrocas has enjoyed success as a dominant force and respected authority in the New York City

real estate industry for many years. In his accomplished career, he has sold over $10-billion worth of

property, and managed, trained, recruited and collaborated with the city's top agents and brokers. As

CEO and Founder of MNS, Andrew currently oversees more than a billion dollars’ worth of real estate, as

well as an exceptional team of talented agents and project managers focused on providing the utmost

level of client service.

Andrew entered the real estate field after graduating from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona

State University. He went on to achieve instant success and recognition as one of the "Top 30 Brokers

Under 30", according to The Real Deal. Over the years, Andrew has been a continually sought-after

expert on real estate who has been featured in The New York Times' "The 30-Minute Interview", quoted

in all major New York publications, and spotlighted on The Stoler Report.

Since founding MNS in 2006, Andrew has grown the company substantially in terms of its revenue and its

team, which is now over 125 people. He also serves his industry as a licensed teacher through the State

of New York, passing on his knowledge and array of professional experience of real estate sales to real

estate brokers and salespersons.

Andrew is also an active member of The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), The Community

Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), Young Jewish Professionals (YJP) and Young Presidents

Organization (YPO). He and his wife Rachel are the proud parents of three beautiful girls – Cayden, Ella

and Zoe.

Michael Feldman

Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner

Choice New York

In 2010 Michael Feldman & Benjamin Bottner founded Choice New York with a simple premise: to create a third party Property & Asset Management Company that provides a superior level of service, expertise and financial performance to Property Owners. At inception, the company had zero clients. Today, Choice New York Management and affiliated companies claim hundreds of Property Owners as clients and have just under 2 Billion Dollars of Assets under active Management.

Mr. Feldman’s role has continued to evolve with the companies continued growth. In true start up form, Mr. Feldman has performed virtually every single function at the company in the past. Today, Mr. Feldman focuses his day to day activities on business development, brand awareness strategy, staff recruitment, talent retention, and select client advisory engagements.

Prior to co-founding Choice New York Management, Mr. Feldman was a Managing Director at AFC Realty Capital, a boutique commercial real estate investment bank. There, he focused on the securing of debt and equity on multi-family, retail and office transactions throughout the United States. Prior to AFC, he was a Senior Private Banker with Indymac Bank.

Mr. Feldman is regularly asked to speak on an array of real estate topics. He periodically teaches a continuing education class for attorneys called, “Receiverships and Bankruptcies” for the National Law Institute. He also teaches a continuing education course for Real Estate Brokers titled, “Commercial Property Management,” as an adjunct instructor for the Real Estate Board of New York. Additionally, he has served as a private consultant for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as well as a counselor to individual members in the United States Congress House of Representatives Financial Committee, whereupon he provides practical evaluations of various mechanisms by which Federal policy can impact local real estate.

Mr. Feldman has served as a hired consultant for the prominent Venture Capital Company called Pre-Hype, where he counsels the technology based software company on the operational efficiencies within the property management industry. Mr. Feldman’s memberships and professional affiliations include being Director of the Board of Managers of the Cast Iron Corporation, Treasurer of the Real Estate Services Alliance (RESA), and he is a licensed New York State Real Estate Broker. Mr. Feldman takes special pride in his ongoing role on the Board of Rising Realty Stars, a non-profit aimed at placing the best and brightest young professionals from urban, impoverished backgrounds into internships and entry level positions within the Commercial Real Estate industry.

Mr. Feldman’s formal education was at the University of Rochester where he earned a BA in Political Science. He was a 1997 recipient of the University’s prestigious Rush Rhees Scholarship, awarded for outstanding scholastic achievement.

Game of Leases: Commercial Leasing Outlook for 2020

Adam Frazier

Adam Frazier

President & CEO

Columbia Property Trust

Stephen Winter

Stephen Winter

SVP, Leasing

Related

Jeremy Bernard

Jeremy Bernard

CEO, Americas

essensys

Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen

President, NY Tri-State

Colliers International

Mitchell Konsker

Mitchell Konsker

Vice Chairman

JLL

Nina Roket
Moderator

Nina Roket

Partner

Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP

Adam Frazier

President & CEO

Columbia Property Trust

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Property Trust,

Adam Frazier is responsible for the Company’s overall business

strategy, capital allocation, operations, and the performance of its

portfolio of investments.

Mr. Frazier has two decades of experience in real estate asset

management, development, and investments. Prior to joining Columbia

in 2022, he served for eight years as Vice President at Oxford

Properties, most recently as Head of New York. In this role, he

oversaw leasing, operations, and development for the company’s New

York region, covering some of New York City’s most transformative

developments, such as St. John’s Terminal and Hudson Yards. Prior to

Oxford, Mr. Frazier spent nearly seven years in leadership positions at

Boston Properties in Development and Leasing. He started his career

in real estate at Edens & Avant (now EDENS) as a Development

Manager, leading the development of large mixed-use projects and

acquiring shopping centers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Mr. Frazier began his career as an equity trader, trading NASDAQ-

listed technology stocks for Salomon Smith Barney/Citibank.

Mr. Frazier earned a BSBA degree from Bucknell University and an

MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-

Flagler Business School. He is a member of the Bucknell University

Real Estate Advisory Board, a board member of the National Board of

Directors for Autism Speaks, and an Advisory Board member for VTS,

a leading CRE software company.

Jeremy Bernard

CEO, Americas

essensys

Jeremy Bernard is the CEO, North America at essensys, the world’s leading provider of software and technology to the flexible real estate industry. He has over 25 years of experience in the real estate and technology sectors. Most recently, Jeremy was the Global Head of Real Estate for Knotel where he grew and oversaw a portfolio of 5.5MM sq ft of flexible office space around the world. In previous roles, he has held C-level positions at real estate investment firms and launched several proptech companies. Jeremy resides in Westport, CT with his wife Jamie, daughter Morgan and son Brody.

Michael Cohen

President, NY Tri-State

Colliers International

Mr. Cohen is President of the Tri-Slate Region. When the firm operated as GVA Williams. Mr Cohen was the third generation of his family to head the firm. which was founded in 1926. He chaired GVA Williams' Executive Committee and was the founding partner and Chairman of GVA Worldwide Ltd.. GVA strategic partnership of leading real estate firms serving 120 business capitals on Uwe continents.

An expert real estate advisor. Mr. Cohen has represented an elite clientele of the nation's lop companies, including American Express, ADP and General Motors. He specializes in representing corporations in the acquisition and disposition of office space nationwide. He has extensive experience representing law firms including, Moses 8 Singer. Holland and Knight. Smith Gantrell Russell.

Mr. Cohen currently represents a wide range of clients regionally and nationally and globally including, Wells Fargo Advisors. American Lawyer Media. Signature Bank. Russell Reynolds Associates. SS&C and Marks Paneth

In 2012. Mr. Cohen was ranked as one of New York City's lop 20 brokers by the Real Deal. That year. among others. he represented Parsons Brinkerhoff in the renewal of their 200.000-square toot world headquarters at 1 Penn Plaza

in 2017 Mr. Cohen was ranked 66 among Commercial Observer's Power 100 nationwide.

Mr. Cohen graduated from llw University of Pennsylvania.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Mr. Cohen is on the Board of Directors of several or ganizalions. He serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Flatiron/21J Street Partnership and also serves on the Boards of. The Roundabout Theatre Company, the Jewish National Fund of Greater New York and YPO Metro NY/YPO Gold Big Apple. He is also a past Chairman of the Board of Housing and Services Inc. and past President of Young Presidents' Organization NY Metro Chapter. Mr Cohen is also a Tony Award winning Producer of -A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

Nina Roket

Moderator

Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP

Nina Roket is a partner in the Real Estate practice at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP in New York and leads the firm’s Commercial Leasing practice. Nina is also a co-administrative partner of the firm, chair of the firm's Hiring Committee and founder and chair of the firm's Women’s Committee.

Nina concentrates her practice on commercial real estate law with an emphasis in leasing, conveyancing and finance transactions. She advises clients across the U.S. in sophisticated commercial real estate transactions, including leasing, sales, acquisitions and mortgage, mezzanine and preferred equity financings.

Nina is landlord's counsel at numerous office buildings in Midtown and Downtown New York City. She also manages complex retail leasing transaction projects on behalf of numerous developers and owners at significant, high profile retail sites across the U.S., including New York, Miami Beach, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and Atlantic City.

Nina serves as a member of WX, New York Women Executives in Real Estate, an invitation-only association of executive-level women actively engaged in the commercial real estate industry in New York, and also serves as a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

She has also been acknowledged as a leading player in the New York real estate market by numerous business and real estate trade publications and client/ peer review organizations, including Crain’s New York Business, Real Estate Forum, Real Estate Weekly, Thomson Reuters New York Super Lawyers, New York Real Estate Journal and Real Estate New York.

Remarks on the Market

Leah Cuffy

Leah Cuffy

Research Analyst

National Apartment Association

Leah Cuffy

Research Analyst

National Apartment Association

Leah Cuffy is the Research Analyst at National Apartment Association (NAA), where she is responsible

for providing insights on key apartment industry topics.

Prior to joining NAA, Leah was the Senior Research Assistant at the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, a

family foundation which supported entrepreneurship, self-reliance, global understanding, and free

enterprise. In this role she was responsible for vetting potential grantees and their initiatives, and

processing of the grants. She also has previous experience in commercial real estate research and

analytics with Costar Group. Leah began her career in the multifamily sector through various roles in

property management at both Equity Residential and UDR.

She has been able to leverage her experience and fulfill her passion of providing valuable market

research for members so they can make informed and sound business decisions.

Leah holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from

Washington Adventist University.

Welcome Remarks

Sabrina Kanner

Sabrina Kanner

Executive Vice President, Design and Construction

Brookfield Properties

Sabrina Kanner

Executive Vice President, Design and Construction

Brookfield Properties

With Brookfield Properties and its predecessor, Olympia & York, since 1982, Ms. Kanner oversees design and construction in the U.S. She joined the construction division of Olympia & York in 1982 and was appointed to run Olympia and York’s construction company in 1986. In her tenure with the company, Ms. Kanner has played a key role in the construction, design and development or redevelopment of over 40 million square feet of signature Brookfield projects such as World Financial Center, Brookfield Place, 300 Madison Avenue, Bay Adelaide Centre, the restoration/renovation of the Winter Garden at World Financial Center after 9/11, and currently Manhattan West. She is a member of WX and sits on the Boards of Directors of the New York Building Congress (Treasurer), The Salvadori Center (Chair), The Opus Group, The Regional Plan Association, Urban Green Council (Secretary), Cedar Realty Trust, and National Academy of Construction and sits on the Board of Trustees of The National Building Museum (Secretary) and The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation.

Keynote Conversation

John Gilbert
Keynote

John Gilbert

Executive Chair

Prescriptive Data

Ronald Kaplan
Moderator

Ronald Kaplan

Partner

CohnReznick

Ronald Kaplan

Moderator

CohnReznick

Ronald A. Kaplan, CPA, is a partner with CohnReznick and is the Firm’s Commercial Real Estate Industry

Leader. Ron has more than 20 years of experience providing assurance, due diligence, business advisory, and

tax services to clients in the commercial, residential, retail, and hospitality sectors throughout the United States

and internationally. Ron regularly provides assistance and advisory services to clients as they negotiate

agreements with lenders, equity partners, and fund managers. In addition, he advises clients on accounting

and tax matters throughout the agreement process, from initial drafting through completion.

Ron’s clients are generally private companies with multi-state operations and include real estate opportunity

funds, property management firms, partnerships, contractors, institutional lenders, REITs and joint ventures, as

well as other corporate and family owners and investors. Ron has a particular focus on real estate opportunity

funds, with clients ranging from start-ups to established funds. His clients benefit from his experience in critical

areas, such as fair value reporting, compliance monitoring, investor relations, and fund performance.

Prior to joining CohnReznick, Ron was in charge of the real estate practice for the New York office of a large

national public accounting firm. In this role, he oversaw the practice’s client services, account management,

and team development functions. He was also active in the firm’s training activities, leading presentations on

the real estate business for professionals both within the firm and at national industry conferences.

Summary

  1. Will the Lower Manhattan office resurgence continue into 2020?

  2. What role will the Garment District play in the office leasing market?

  3. What are the ripple effects of major sales of trophy office buildings in the smaller deal landscape?

  4. What asset classes are driving the market and which are lagging behind?

  5. How has the city fared since Amazon's Valentine's Day departure?

There's no doubting that New York has an international appeal. Many consider it the cultural and financial capital of the world. But Amazon's decision to leave forced the city to question its ability to lure businesses. Regardless, 2019 has been another banner year for New York City. At this event we'll examine how the city can stay competitive, what it needs to do to drive the market. We'll also talk about the biggest projects and the biggest deals that have defined 2019.

New York is not alone in facing a critical affordable housing crisis in the five boroughs. When and how will the CRE community be able to find creative solutions that add value to the market and help mitigate the current affordability crisis in NYC?

Questions We'll Examine:

·      Will the Lower Manhattan office resurgence continue into 2020?

·      What role will the Garment District play in the office leasing market?

·      What are the ripple effects of major sales of trophy office buildings in the smaller deal landscape? 

·      What asset classes are driving the market and which are lagging behind? 

·      How has the city fared since Amazon's Valentine's Day departure? 

·      Has is the rise of e-commerce playing out in both traditional brick-and-mortar and last-mile distribution?

We'll be sure to touch upon the dynamic factors across the major assets classes as well as the hottest topics facing the Big Apple. Join us for the annual -- DON'T MISS OUT -- NYC Full-Day State of the Market!

Share your comments, post your photos and ask questions using #BisnowNY on Twitter and Instagram, and follow us at @BisnowNY on Twitter for more local news.

For questions, recommendations, comments, or press inquiries, please email John Whitney, the Northeast Event Producer, at john.whitney@bisnow.com 

Venue

1 Manhattan West
395 9th Avenue, 53rd Floor
New York, NY 10001

IMPORTANT: All attendees must enter the building through the revolving doors facing 9th Avenue. Bisnow staff will be on-site to greet you and show you up to the event space on the 53rd floor.


Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:20 PM
Breakfast, Registration & Networking
12:20 PM
12:25 PM
Bisnow Welcome
12:25 PM
12:30 PM
Market Remarks
12:30 PM
12:35 PM
Opening Remarks - 1 Manhattan West
12:35 PM
1:00 PM
Keynote Conversation
1:00 PM
1:45 PM
The Owner's Outlook to Getting Deals Done
1:45 PM
2:30 PM
Economic Insights & Navigating the Cycle
2:30 PM
2:45 PM
Networking Break
2:45 PM
3:30 PM
Reimagining & Modernizing NYC's Aging Building Stock
3:30 PM
4:00 PM
FEATURED SPOTLIGHT: Project Destined x Brookfield x Hunton Andrews Kurth

Project Destined is a social impact real estate education program teaching people in under-served communities all aspects of the real estate investment cycle. With a focus on empowering youth, the program offers participants the chance to invest real capital within their own neighborhoods.Come and learn how Project Destined is partnering with Brookfield, Hunton Andrews Kurth and other leaders in the commercial real estate industry to shape the next generation of real estate investors. (projectdestined.com).

4:00 PM
4:15 PM
FEATURED SPOTLIGHT: Project Destined Students Present Winning Development Project

The winning team of students from Project Destined's Spring 2019 Class present their to-be-developed project to the Bisnow audience!

4:15 PM
5:00 PM
Networking Lunch
5:00 PM
5:45 PM
Retaining & Satisfying Tenants in a Competitive Landscape
5:45 PM
6:30 PM
Simplifying Retail: Streamlining Partnerships Between Landlords & Tenants

Guesst curates a panel discussion on how to collaborate with other players in the space to CREATE a sustainable NEW retail model by streamlining partnerships between landlords, physical retailers & DTC brands with transparency and data.

6:30 PM
6:45 PM
Networking Break
6:45 PM
7:30 PM
Multifamily Maze: Navigating Rent Regulations & Driving NOI
7:30 PM
8:15 PM
Game of Leases: Commercial Leasing Outlook for 2020
8:15 PM
9:00 PM
End of Event Reception & Networking