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Event Host

U.S. Steel Tower

U.S. Steel Tower

Welcome to U.S. Steel Tower, a 64-story Landmark office property and beacon of the Pittsburgh skyline. With 40K SF of column-free space per floor and a series of innovative tech features including an underfloor cabling system, U.S. Steel Tower provides tenants with an unmatched opportunity to create a functional, efficient, and striking workspace at the city’s most desirable business address.

Speakers and Panels

Pittsburgh's Economic Development

Gene Boyer

Gene Boyer

Director of Growth & Innovation

Burns Scalo Real Estate

Bomani Howze

Bomani Howze

VP of Development

The Buccini/Pollin Group

Autumn Harris

Autumn Harris

Owner

Rose Finance

Thomas Link

Thomas Link

Chief Strategy Officer

Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

Joshua Pollard

Joshua Pollard

President & CEO

Omicelo

Brent Truscott

Brent Truscott

Partner

Bloomfield Capital

Steve Mazza

Steve Mazza

Council Representative

Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters

Dusty Elias Kirk
Moderator

Dusty Elias Kirk

Partner

Reed Smith

Bomani Howze

VP of Development

The Buccini/Pollin Group

Bomani M. Howze is Vice President of Development for the Buccini/Pollin Group, a real estate company that focuses on the acquisition, development and management of hotels, commercial and residential real estate. Bomani’s primary focus is on commercial office and multifamily housing. This includes advancing financing, entitlement approvals, leasing and Greenlining efforts.

Mr. Howze played a key administrative role in the recent commencement of construction for the 26 story, FNB Financial Center in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District.

Prior to this role he founded OLMEC Development Company and has helped secure an award of 500+ residential, mixed income units.

Autumn Harris

Owner

Rose Finance

Autumn R. Harris has over 15 years of commercial real estate

finance experience with both institutional banks and arranging

finance for a private commercial real estate owner and developer.

Autumn has served as Director of Finance for a private

commercial real estate owner and developer since 2015. As such

she was responsible for managing the debt portfolio inclusive of

construction project loans, property acquisition loans, refinance

and oversight of the existing loan 70 plus property portfolio.

Prior to joining this private owner/developer Autumn spent 10

years with institutional banks including PNC Bank and RBS

Citizens within the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia markets. She

served most recently as a Relationship Manager for PNC Bank's

Institutional Commercial Real Estate Lending department. As a

banker, Autumn has been responsible for financing office, retail,

apartment, warehouse/industrial and hospitality projects.

During her time in institutional banking she completed the RBS

Citizens Credit training program, managed a portfolio with loan

sizes ranging from $5MM-$150MM, has prepared credit approval

packages for loan approval and managed a portfolio of loans to

private developers and Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITS”),

including involvement with the syndication department.

Autumn’s experience in institutional banking combined with

financing for a private owner/developer has provided her an

intense knowledge of collateral evaluation, loan structure,

regulatory compliance, cash flow projections, exit scenarios,

market analysis and organizational structure.

Autumn is very active in the commercial real estate industry and

has established long term relationships with capital providers

through her active involvement. Autumn currently serves as the

immediate Past President on the board of Commercial Real Estate

Women (“CREW”) Pittsburgh. She has been involved with both

the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Chapters of CREW since 2003,

serving board seats inclusive of President, President Elect,

Program Director, Public Relations Committee Co-Chair, Delegate

for CREW Network (an international organization with over

10,000 members), and Nominating Committee for CREW Network.

Autumn is also an active member of NAIOP Commercial Real

Estate Development Association since 2011 and has been active

with the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) and International Council

of Shopping Centers (“ICSC”). She also has her Real Estate

Salesperson license which she obtained in 2007.

Autumn Harris started her career with a boutique commercial real

estate investment bank out of Philadelphia in 2003 and is a

graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

Thomas Link

Chief Strategy Officer

Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

Thomas Link is the Chief Strategy Officer and directs the Urban Redevelopment Authority of

Pittsburgh's (URA) Business Solutions Department and Business Expansion and Attraction

functions. Tom’s team executes the URA’s work to encourage job creation, make place making

investments to for business startup, expansion, and attraction for the city of Pittsburgh; with a

goal of ensuring inclusion and equity across this work.

Tom has nearly 18 years of economic development professional experience with the URA;

having worked with a range of economic development financing mechanisms—including direct

business and commercial real estate lending, New Markets Tax Credits, PA Tax Credit programs,

tax diversion tools, and more.

With Tom’s leadership, the URA team made nearly 80 direct investments annually in small

businesses and neighborhood commercial real estate developments across the city of

Pittsburgh in 2019. The URA’s Micro Enterprise Loan program, operated by the URA, bolsters

the URA’s strategy to promote opportunities for historically disadvantaged populations who

have not had ready access to business startup and expansion capital, including minority and

women entrepreneurs. This program received the Market Confidence Award from

Neighborhood Allies at the 2nd Annual Healthy Neighborhoods Celebration in November 2018.

Tom provides principal support to the URA’s business expansion and attraction efforts. Tom

coordinates frequently with regional stakeholders, including the City of Pittsburgh,

InnovatePGH, local universities (including Carnegie Mellon University and the University of

Pittsburgh), the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, Allegheny County Economic Development, the

Governor’s Action Team, and others on direct customer engagement services for businesses

seeking to expand and locate in the city of Pittsburgh. Tom was among a core team of

economic development professionals who led Pittsburgh’s bid for the Amazon HQ2 opportunity

(Pittsburgh’s proposal was ultimately short listed by Amazon).

Tom serves as Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives (a URA

affiliate New Markets Tax Credit Community Development Entity), is a member of the

InvestPGH’s (emerging CDFI) Board of Directors, and he is a member of the Northside

Community Development Fund’s (a local Community Development Finance Institution) Loan

Review Committee. Tom volunteers on the mock board of Directors for Management Game

Theory classes at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.

Tom is an adjunct instructor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy;

teaching Real Estate Development in the School of Public Policy and Management.

Tom holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh's Katz

Graduate School of Business, and a Master of Science degree in Public Policy Management

from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy.    Tom lives in the Highland

Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh with his wife Jocelyn and two children.

Brent Truscott

Partner

Bloomfield Capital

Brent Truscott is a Partner of Bloomfield Capital and a member of the investment committee. Since

2010, he has led the originations effort for the firm. Brent is also responsible for structuring and

closing debt and equity transactions.

Bloomfield Capital is a direct lender and equity investor in commercial real estate assets nationwide.

With offices in Detroit, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, ME, Bloomfield Capital's team

draws from a broad base of commercial real estate and finance experience, with over $1 billion of

closed transactions since Bloomfield Capital’s inception. The firm provides debt and equity solutions

to meet the demands of time sensitive and complex transactions. Bloomfield Capital specializes in

small to medium sized financings from $3-30 million in the form of bridge loans, mezzanine loans

and preferred equity participations.

Prior to joining Bloomfield Capital in 2010, Brent was an Associate of ValStone Partners, a $600

million private equity firm focused on opportunistic and distressed investments. Prior to joining

ValStone Partners, Brent spent two years as an Associate at DTE Energy Services, where he focused

on project development and M&A transactions. Earlier in his career, he was an Associate in the

business valuation group of Standard & Poor’s and an investment-banking analyst at RBC Capital

Markets in Boston. Brent received his M.S. from Columbia University in Real Estate Development

and a B.S. in management with a concentration in finance from Boston College.

Steve Mazza

Council Representative

Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters

Steve Mazza was born and raised in Sheraden, Pennsylvania. Steve brings more than 30 years of building trade experience as well as community relationship building through the projects he has worked on, and the committees and organizations for which he serves. As a Council Representative for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (Formerly Keystone + Mountain + Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters), Steve works firsthand with contractors, politicians, engineers, architects, union leadership and the membership to achieve overall goals for projects and the community.

Steve has been actively involved in politics and community service throughout his entire career, with a significant focus on jobs and building the region. Steve is one of the Vice Presidents of the Pittsburgh Building & Construction Trades Union and is currently the Chairman of the Pittsburgh Construction Tax Fraud Task Force. He has held several notable positions as a member of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Local 432, including Vice President, Recording Secretary, and Delegate. Before rising through the ranks and becoming a Council Representative, Steve worked on many significant union projects, including PNC Park, Heinz Field, and the Heinz History Center.

Steve is a long-time member of the Allegheny County Labor Council and is the Parade Chairman of the annual Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade, coordinating with 75,000 union members and families. He is an appointed representative of Pittsburgh’s Land Bank, a Rebuilding Together Board Member, and a 20th Ward Committee Person for more than 15 years.

Dusty Elias Kirk

Moderator

Reed Smith

Dusty concentrates her practice on all aspects of real estate development, acquisitions and economic incentives, with an emphasis on real estate litigation, including real estate tax-assessment appeals, land-use and zoning appeals, and eminent domain proceedings. Dusty counsels her clients on an array of sustainability issues that impact development projects and facilities, including advice on sustainable development matters such as the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, and regulatory compliance matters such as greenhouse gas emission regulations, obtaining other regulatory approvals, negotiating complex contractual arrangements, resolving disputes, and managing risk avoidance.

Opening Remarks

Matthew Cleary
Opening Remarks

Matthew Cleary

Territory Manager

SageGlass

Matthew Cleary

Opening Remarks

SageGlass

Matthew Cleary is a Territory Manager for SageGlass/Saint-Gobain, a 23-year veteran of the

construction community and an accomplished building technology expert. Matt now focuses

on smart glass for the benefits of human health/wellness and sustainability. His background

includes a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University. Matt is a former board

member of Green Building United and currently serves as a board member of the Philadelphia

Community Corps, the facilities committee at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy and the advisory

board at the Architectural Glass Institute. Matt also took time away from his primary career to

travel, living in Tokyo, Japan, and teaching business fundamentals and technical English to

Japanese engineers and businesspersons. During his free time, Matt enjoys a number of outdoor

sports and activities including rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding and triathlon training.

Why This Matters

What You'll Learn: 

  • Industrial space is in demand. What are the impacts of this on development, rental rates, and lease terms? With the potential for large giants like Amazon to take up more space in Pittsburgh, what does this mean for the greater industrial market?

  • Office has not had the same recovery and vacancies remain high in Pittsburgh. How has this affected the overall office market and what does the outlook look like as we continue to fight the pandemic?

  • The housing market has strong demand in Pittsburgh and a growing tech worker population is increasing the demand for Class A units. What does this mean for the future of the housing market in the Steel City?

  • What areas of Pittsburgh are great for investors to look for new development? With redevelopment rising, what types of properties are we seeing being repurposed?

  • Placemaking, walkability, outdoor restaurants - all of these buzz words are surrounding development in major cities. How is Pittsburgh being developed to entice new businesses and residents to come to the city?

  • There are a lot of factors with major potential to affect development such as rising interest rates, new SEC green disclosure rules, delays in the supply chain, and labor shortages. How are these affecting development in Pittsburgh and what are the possible long-term effects?

How You'll Do More Business: Learn about the economic development in Pittsburgh and how the market is recovering. You will learn which asset classes investors and developers are hot on, and which they are not. What is impacting their decision on when, where, and what to build?

Why You Should Attend: Network with top developers, property managers, brokers, owners, and more.

What Does Your Ticket Get You: Bisnow events bring together the biggest power players in the industry to identify opportunities, build your network and expand your business. With the largest audience of commercial real estate professionals in the world, no one knows how to help your business more than us. 

For questions, recommendations, comments, or press inquiries please email our Philadelphia Event Producer, Virginia Baker, at virginia.baker@bisnow.com 

Venue

U.S. Steel Tower
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219


Parking information: Parking is located below the building. Click here to learn more.

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Agenda

Time Activity
12:30 PM
1:30 PM
Pre-event Networking
1:30 PM
3:00 PM
Pittsburgh's Economic Development

How is economic development in Pittsburgh driving the commercial real estate industry? Hear from industry experts on the impacts of the economy on development, rental rates, and lease terms.

3:00 PM
3:30 PM
Post-Event Networking

Our commitment to your safety

We hosted more than 72,000 attendees live, in-person around the globe in 2021. Our commitment to safety is no different in 2022. Our events follow all local Covid-19 regulations and protocols. In the interest of the safety of all our guests, we recommend taking a rapid or PCR test for proof of negative results before attending any gathering. 

We will update attendees should any regulations be updated before this event is held. We look forward to hosting you soon to do what we do best: network, connect, and engage to do more business.