The State Of Retail In The Bay Area

Leslie Lundin is co-founder and Managing Partner of LBG Real Estate Companies, LLC. Leslie is primarily responsible for overseeing all aspects of capital raising and reporting, as well as asset management, due diligence and documentation of LBG transactions. Prior to co-founding LBG, Leslie was Senior Vice President for Inland Mortgage Capital Corporation, in charge of their national opportunistic debt investment program which she formed in 1995. Leslie directly oversaw all of Inland’s origination offices, directed all marketing of the program, oversaw the pre-approval process of pending loans, and was engaged in strategic investment decisions to determine the direction of the program. Before joining Inland, from 1990-1995, Leslie was a lender at ITT Real Estate Services, where she originated participating bridge and construction loans. In 2014, Leslie was named as one of Bisnow’s Los Angeles Power Women in CRE and has been nominated as one of East Bay CREW’s Most Influential Women in CRE. She was also named as one of Real Estate Forum’s 2009 Women of Influence and one of Southern California’s Most Influential Women by Real Estate Southern California Magazine in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. She is frequently published and interviewed by industry periodicals and routinely speaks at industry conferences, including ICSC, NAIOP, Crittenden, Realshares, IMN, iGlobal, Trigild, Biznow, CREW, ACRE and Women’s Leadership Counsel. From 2007 to 2009, Leslie was Chair of the ICSC/NAIOP Capital Marketplace Conference held annually in New York and now serves on the committee. She chaired the 2010 and 2011 ICSC/NAIOP/LAMA Capital Marketplace West Conference (one that she started). She is also on the first ever ICSC Recon Committee and the Chair of the ICSC International Capital Markets Committee. Leslie also chairs the Final Frontier Conference: a Seminar on Women as Entrepreneurs in Commercial Real Estate, which she conceived of in 2009. Leslie received a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Appraisal and Investment Analysis and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature and Communication Arts with a Minor in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a licensed California real estate broker.

Dana Seabury is Business Development Manager at Build Group responsible for driving new business initiatives for high-end interiors particularly in retail, hospitality, and commercial office sectors. Her career has provided her the opportunity to work in all key areas of the real estate and construction industries and is an active member of SPUR’s Young Urbanists Community and CREW SF.

John Schmid, Studio Director for the Restaurant and Retail Design Studio, is an indispensable mentor and member of the MBH Architects leadership team. His work in retail architecture began with 14 years at Gap, Inc., where he acquired a wealth of knowledge about the client-side of the architectural relationship. His ability to lead the execution of projects nationally, work with clients to understand their needs, and manage his team internally to meet client expectations has resulted in many long-term relationships with clients like Yard House, Peet’s Coffee, and Target. His business acumen has led to successful projects for Kona Grill, Earls Kitchen + Bar, Back of the House concepts (Super Duper Burger and Delarosa), Cloud Kitchens, and chef-driven concepts like Michael Mina’s Pabu, International Smoke, and Trailblazer Tavern.

Julie Taylor works exclusively to serve the needs of retail real estate property owners, investors, and retailers. Ms. Taylor is highly active in the Downtown San Francisco trade area leasing flagship properties and representing luxury and urban retailers. She has leased almost 800,000 square feet totaling 70 transactions with an aggregate lease value of over $750 Million in the Union Square market. Her area of expertise spans the regional retail markets of the Bay Area and urban retail in San Francisco. Ms. Taylor also leases the 100,000 square foot Salesforce Transit Center in Downtown San Francisco. She is known for her creative leasing strategies and her ability to communicate effectively with retailers. Ms. Taylor has had extensive experience representing chain stores expanding throughout Northern California.

Over the course of Pamela Mendelsohn's thirty-plus year career, Pamela has consulted on the development, leasing, merchandising and marketing of some of the West Coast's premier and most unique retail developments. She is widely recognized as one of San Francisco and the Bay Area's experts in all facets of retail brokerage and merchandising. She is highly respected and appreciated for attention to detail in all facets of the leasing process, including tenant and location selection, lease negotiation, design, construction knowledge and persistence in helping with the arduous permitting process in San Francisco. Her skills make her one of the City's leading influencers in the leasing of quality street retail in distinctive and urban settings. Pamela is known for her success in the personalized marketing of neighborhood retail opportunities for both individual building owners and tenants alike. Her knowledge of current and emerging trends, and wealth of experience in discovering new and unique merchants and signature restaurants and chefs, are invaluable in creating unique venues and timeless environments for owners and tenants in all of the neighborhoods and Union Square. Pamela is a respected leader in street and neighborhood re-merchandising and revitalization in both Northern and Southern California. She played more than a significant role in the and re-positioning of the retail topography of San Francisco's most revered neighborhoods, including Fillmore Street, Hayes Street and Hayes Valley, the Valencia/Mission District, NOPA, Union and Chestnut Streets in the Marina District, Sacramento Street, and most recently, the transformation and renaissance of the historic Jackson Square area. In Los Angeles, Pam helped to reinvent Melrose Place, and boasts having been responsible for a number of leases on Rodeo Drive. Pamela is sought by many of fashion's top design houses and various emerging brands for her guidance in their entry into the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets, including Oscar de la Renta, Clare V, Tesla, Veronica Beard, Superga, Maison Martin Margiela, Parachute Home, Alexander McQueen, A.P.C, Isabel Marant, Brunello Cucinelli, Bonobos, Acne, Kiton, Reformation, Shinola, as well as her representation of Hermès, Zimmermann, Vera Wang, Tory Burch, Goop, Blue Bottle Coffee Roastery, Fellow Barber, Warby Parker, Credo, Mark Jacobs, Aesop, Shreve & Co., Space NK, and many others. Pamela is responsible for assisting many of San Francisco's most successful restauranteurs, top chefs, bars and quick service concepts including State Bird Provisions, Prospect, Lord Stanley, Saison, Nico, Monsieur Benjamin, Del Popolo Pizza, Noosh, Petit Crenn, Third Rail, Night Bird, Angler, The Morris, Tosca, Bon Voyage, Souvla, Jane, 20th Century Café, Dandelion Chocolate, Craftsman and Wolves, Kantine, The Grove, Verve Wines and Roam Burger.

Marites Abueg’s professional focus is on creating warm, soulful, and brand-specific interior environments, using design to elevate individual experience and create opportunities for connection with others. As one of the founding principals of Studio KDA Marites has spent the last 18 years designing distinctive and noteworthy hospitality projects such as Comal Berkeley, Prather Ranch in the SF Ferry Building, Nopalito, and most recently Flour & Water Pizzeria.

Manuel Fishman focuses his practice on representing real estate developers and owners in the acquisition, sale, and financing of commercial properties. In addition, he has an active leasing practice representing owners of several major office buildings in San Francisco, including the Transamerica Pyramid, as well as tenants in lease and sublease transactions. His expertise includes letters of intent, tenant improvement work agreements, security deposits/letters of credit, signage rights, expansion and contraction rights, permitted transfers, operating expense audits, and lender and master landlord recognition agreements. Mr. Fishman maintains close relationships with the real estate brokerage community and utilizes these relationships to provide clients with market based information important to their existing and prospective real estate requirements. Mr. Fishman also has extensive experience in the area of ground leasing and retail leasing and is recognized as a leading attorney in the area of landline and wireless communications and Internet-based services in commercial properties and rooftop installations. In addition, Mr. Fishman acts as outside general counsel to start-ups that seek to leverage some part of commercial real estate into a tech application, and helps guide these companies in their efficient use of legal time and expertise in various subject matters, from employment and IP to enterprise contracts and web site privacy policies. Mr. Fishman also represents clients in equity structuring for, and the acquisition of, value add properties, including the formation of single purpose entities and joint ventures, and acquisition financing. Mr. Fishman has negotiated numerous construction management, project development and property management agreements relative to ground up development projects, as well as all types of easements and other adjoining owner agreements. Mr. Fishman serves as chair of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of San Francisco’s Government Affairs and Policy Advisory Committee (GAPAC). He served on BOMA San Francisco’s Board of Directors from 2003–2006, and was the recipient of the 2006 Associate Member of the Year from BOMA San Francisco. He is the past representative of BOMA San Francisco to the California BOMA Board. Mr. Fishman is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Real Property Sections of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California. Most recently, Mr. Fishman has been recognized as a 2017 Best Lawyer in America in Real Estate Law, an honor he has received since 2007, and was recognized as a 2014 Top Rated Lawyer by American Lawyer Media in conjunction with Martindale Hubbell. He has also been recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer from 2012-2016 and as one of Bay Area Magazine’s Top Lawyers in the Bay Area. Mr. Fishman is a frequent lecturer on office and shopping center leasing matters and writes frequently for industry newsletters.