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Speakers and Panels

Major Projects and Deals Changing the Landscape in Wynwood & Allapattah

Michael Lirtzman

Michael Lirtzman

Director of Leasing

Sterling Bay

Yoni Bornstein

Yoni Bornstein

President

Wynwood Equity Partners

Charles Foschini

Charles Foschini

Senior Managing Director

Berkadia

Andrew Hellinger

Andrew Hellinger

Co-Principal

UrbanX Group

Barry Rothberg
Moderator

Barry Rothberg

Shareholder

Greenberg Traurig

Michael Lirtzman

Director of Leasing

Sterling Bay

Michael oversees the company’s office and retail leasing operations including prominent projects such as 333 N Green, Prudential Plaza, 600 W Chicago and Lincoln Yards. Michael has contributed to several of Sterling Bay’s major headquarters and anchor tenant transactions including Google, Inc. at 210 N Carpenter, WPP Group at 333 N Green, Chicago Tribune at Prudential Plaza and Tempus at 600 W Chicago. Prior to joining Sterling Bay in 2017, Michael worked in similar leadership roles at Transwestern and U.S. Equities Realty. Michael earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan and is a board member of the Chicago Office Leasing Brokers Association.

Yoni Bornstein

President

Wynwood Equity Partners

Born in Toronto, Canada, Yoni Bornstein has been involved in real estate investing and multiple successful entrepreneurial ventures over the past two decades. Mr. Bornstein owns and operates businesses in both Canada and the U.S., including restaurants, hotels, warehouses, commercial properties, and land for multifamily and mixed-use development. Yoni brings his vast business experience, his natural ability to get deals closed and many partnerships with international investment groups. Yoni mainly focuses on acquisition of properties and creative development planning. Yoni is involved with many charitable committees and organizations and has received accolades from the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce and De Hostos Senior Center. Yoni is the current President of the Wynwood Community Enhancement Association.

Charles Foschini

Senior Managing Director

Berkadia

Charles Foschini is senior managing director of Berkadia, its highest production title, and a member of the company’s elite “CEO Circle,” consisting of the Top Ten Producers nationwide. He provides complex capital solutions to a focused clientele of major property owners throughout the United States. Unique among his peers, Charles’ team of six engages in a borrower-focused practice balanced between commercial and multifamily executions bringing creative solutions to every engagement. In addition to his production role, Charles co- manages originations in the state of Florida, providing strategic vision and leadership to a dynamic team of commercial finance professionals in one of the country’s top-producing regions. With over two decades of experience structuring complex transactions, Charles and his team have been involved in the sale and financing of commercial and multifamily properties totaling approximately $21 billion. These include several portfolio and landmark single-asset transactions in excess of $200 million. Prior to joining Berkadia, Charles served as Vice Chairman for CBRE and member of its elite institutional group, where he started his career and was a perennial top producer at the national level across all product lines. He was a multiple recipient of the firm’s prestigious Coldwell Colbert Circle, recognizing the top 3% of the company. A sought-after expert in his discipline, he is a frequently requested speaker at conferences by Crittenden, ULI, ICSC, MBA, NAIOP, IMN, and RealShare, among others. Charles is a three-time alumnus of the University of Miami, where he earned an undergraduate degree, a Juris Doctor degree from the School of Law and a Master of Business Administration degree from the School of Business, each with honors of distinction. He is active in his community and with the University of Miami, where he is involved in several board and membership positions, including having served as an adjunct professor in the School of Law in its prestigious LLM program for real property.

Andrew Hellinger

Co-Principal

UrbanX Group

Andy along with his Co-Principal at UrbanX, Coralee Penabad, are the developers behind the River Landing Shops & Residences, an 8.14-acre-mixed use development under construction on the Miami River and the catalyst for development in the neighboring Allapattah community. River Landing is a modern urban lifestyle center bringing national retailers, shops, restaurants, office, entertainment and a waterfront linear park to Miami’s riverfront for residents and visitors. River Landing is creating a waterfront shopping and dining destination to serve rising neighboring communities such as the Miami Health District -- which enjoys one of the largest day-time populations in Florida--, downtown Miami, Allapattah, Little Havana and more. It will consist of approx. 345,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, 135,000 square feet of office, 528 market-rate apartments, more than 2,000 parking spaces and a landscaped Riverwalk. Future tenants include Publix Super Markets, Burlington Stores, TJ Maxx, West Marine, Ross Dress For Less, AT&T, Old Navy, Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby.

Andrew can speak to the state of the construction, retail, lending and CRE industry during the Coronavirus crisis. He can compare - up to a certain point - the impact of the current financial crisis versus the economic crisis of 2008-2011. Back then, he did a lot of work disposing distressed assets for other developers.

Barry Rothberg

Moderator

Greenberg Traurig

The majority of Barry Rothberg's cases involve real estate litigation, including commercial

landlord/tenant disputes, condominium rescission cases and canceled condominium projects,

disputes over purchase and sale agreements, foreclosures and consumer finance cases, zoning

litigation, and broker commission claims. He also handles a broad array of commercial

litigation in state and federal courts, and has wide-ranging experience arbitrating under

American Arbitration Association rules. Additionally, Barry has litigated international

contract claims before the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

Wynwood Placemaking: The Rise of Live, Work, Play

Valerio Morabito

Valerio Morabito

CEO

Morabito Properties

Andrew Burnett

Andrew Burnett

Senior Principal

Stantec

Manny Portuondo

Manny Portuondo

Chief Executive Officer

Deep Blue Advisory

Ryan Shear

Ryan Shear

Managing Partner

Property Markets Group

Ben Hutchens

Ben Hutchens

Vice President, Landscape Architect

ArqGEO

Javier Aviñó
Moderator

Javier Aviñó

Partner, Land Development & Government Relations

Bilzin Sumberg

Valerio Morabito

CEO

Morabito Properties

With a European eye for detail and an innately Italian flair for style, Valerio

Morabito has established himself as one of the most unique luxury developers of

recent years.

Possessing a rare passion for design as well as detail, Morabito’s growing

portfolio includes the transformation of grand, historic properties and some of

Miami’s most original beachfront residences.

Collaborating with major players, craftsmanship and quality form the bedrock of

every Morabito project, creating superbly realized properties that are as livable

as they are desirable.

Breaking record prices per square foot with his projects in New York, and a new

41-units luxury development underway in Bay Harbor, the developer is now

moving into commercial property. Bringing his signature style and elegance to

Wynwood, Morabito is set to raise the bar once again with a new co-working

space at the heart of Miami’s most creative community.

Andrew Burnett

Senior Principal

Stantec

Andrew provides design leadership and expertise to our Stantec Miami office. Honed by over 20 years of experience and a wide variety of complex projects, clients, and teams - he always strives to deliver an experience which is uniquely crafted for the community which it will ultimately serve. His passion for Architecture is always evident as he guides our firm’s creative vision through collaboration, rigorous attention to detail, and willingness to dream. Firmly holding the belief that high design should be profitable, buildable, and beautiful - Andrew enjoys creating lasting professional relationships and is always searching for ways to add value, inspire our communities, and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.

Manny Portuondo

Chief Executive Officer

Deep Blue Advisory

Manny Portuondo is a Chief Executive Officer, Board Director and successful Entrepreneur with

a track record of delivering impressive contributions to business foundation, growth, profit and

shareholder return. Portuondo’s successful career has encompassed both executive leadership

positions in large multi-national corporations, middle market entrepreneurial companies and start-

ups. Whether for global brands or entrepreneurial companies, Portuondo’s career has been

distinguished by developing and executing innovative strategies, leading business turnarounds,

identifying and closing M&A transactions and delivering strong financial returns for stakeholders.

From April, 2014- May, 2019, Portuondo led a business turnaround in Canada as CEO, Redberry Group (one of the

largest quick service restaurant operators in North America and franchisee of the Burger King & Pizza Hut

brands). As CEO for the Redberry Group, Portuondo managed an enterprise with over $225 million in revenue, 180

restaurants and 3,000 plus employees. Since becoming the CEO of the Redberry Group, Portuondo grew sales comps

by over 25%, 4-wall ebitda by over 552% and ebitda by over 1,700%. He also raised operational standards in the Burger

King brand from one of the worst performers in the chain to the 2 nd best performer in North America (franchisees > 100

restaurants). He successfully led the sale of the Redberry Group to private equity (City Capital Ventures, LLC,

Chicago, IL) in January, 2019, generating a return of over 600% or 7.3X MOIC for shareholders. Portuondo sits on the

Redberry Board of Directors with City Capital Ventures.

Portuondo also has an entrepreneurial pedigree. As Founder & CEO of Three Palms Holdings LLC, owner of

Cerveceria La Tropical, Cuba’s Oldest Brewery Estd. 1888, Portuondo created and developed a worldwide legal and

market strategy to regain control of the La Tropical brand, a beer brand which had been nationalized by communist

Cuba in 1960. In the process, he helped create a new Cuban beer category. In January, 2017, Portuondo sold a

significant stake of La Tropical to Heineken N.V. (Amsterdam Stock Exchange: HKHHF) and formed a joint

venture, La Tropical Holdings B.V., to commercialize La Tropical worldwide. The Heineken transaction generated a

return to shareholders in excess of 1,400% or 15X MOIC. Portuondo currently is the CEO & Board Director of the

Cerveceria La Tropical joint venture.

http://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/new-cuba-interest-gives-lift-to-re-launch-of-islands-

oldest-beer

Portuondo is comfortable operating in new geographies and cultures and his success has been rewarded with promotions

of progressively increasing responsibilities at corporate headquarters, country management, general management,

marketing, sales and finance. Many of his appointments were with organizations where executive

management/ownership saw the need for rapid change and sought significantly improved performance.

The foundation for Portuondo’s Quick Service Restaurant success, started at Burger King (NYSE: QSR) where he was

the Vice President Franchising & Business Development, North America at Burger King Corp. In his position at

Burger King, Portuondo created an $80 million brand re-image incentive program, and a $250 million franchisee lending

program, the largest and most innovative brand re-image and lending program in the QSR industry. The program resulted

in 1,017 restaurant re-image commitments in just one year, a six fold increase versus the prior year.

Due to the rapidly changing and competitive QSR landscape, Portuondo led Burger King in focusing on creating

consolidation strategies for new and existing franchisees through strategic market planning, growth incentives, portfolio

management and divestitures of over 700 company restaurants. During his six-year tenure at Burger King his strategies

led to the growth of the average number of restaurants per franchisee to eight from five units, a growth of 60%, as well

as, record re-imaging and new restaurant development commitments. Furthermore, Portuondo fostered a customer

centric philosophy and key account management system to improve relationships with franchisees and drive results.

Portuondo’s beer industry success commenced at Anheuser Busch, Inc., (NYSE: BUD) where he started as an intern in

the company’s leadership development program. He was one of only twelve MBA candidates chosen by the company

each year, to participate in its highly coveted program. While at Anheuser-Busch, Portuondo led field sales and

marketing in multiple markets. Further, he was promoted to a key role to manage the Caribbean & Latin America

business, which at the time was the company’s largest market outside of the Continental US with over $250 million in

revenue and $40 million in ebitda.

In 2013, Portuondo founded Deep Blue LLC, a boutique M&A and management advisory practice engaged in strategic

management consulting throughout the globe. He has advised clients including private equity, family offices and other

investors on M&A transactions, business turnarounds, start-ups and strategic franchising (licensing) & development

initiatives. Among his accomplishments include the successful acquisition by Redberry Group of 130 Burger King

Restaurants in Canada from Burger King Worldwide, as well as, the successful turnaround of the brand in Canada.

Portuondo is also an Operating Partner at Metronome Partners (a middle market investment banking firm), where he

advises clients on M&A transactions in the retail and restaurant space.

http://metronomepartners.com/operating-partners/manny-j-portuondo/

Portuondo was born in the US, however has lived and traveled throughout the world, principally in Latin America & the

Caribbean. He earned his MBA at the Chapman Graduate School of Business at Florida International University (FIU)

in 1990 and earlier his BBA in 1988 also from FIU. Portuondo in his free time enjoys boating, free diving and spear

fishing, running, reading and traveling with his family.

Ryan Shear

Managing Partner

Property Markets Group

Ryan Shear manages the development of a growing real estate portfolio with over $10B in assets, including all acquisitions, financing, construction, design, marketing, sales and operations. Ryan primarily focuses on new construction condo and multifamily high rises in urban cores, including Miami, New York, Orlando, Denver, Atlanta and more. Recent condo projects he’s spearheaded include Echo Aventura, Echo Brickell, Muse Sunny Isles, Sage Longboat Key Residences, E11EVEN Hotel & Residences and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami. Recent multifamily projects include X Miami, Society Las Olas, Society Biscayne, Society Orlando and Society Wynwood. Ryan graduated with a BA in Business Administration from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta.

Ben Hutchens

Vice President, Landscape Architect

ArqGEO

Mr. Hutchens is a Registered Landscape Architect and Vice President of ArqGEO, a Miami-based landscape architecture and planning firm . He has recently served as the Lead Landscape Architect Designer for the Wynwood Streetscape Master Plan project for the City of Miami. Driven by a passion of the outdoors and striving to achieve a timeless design and a sense of place with every project; Ben’s thoughtful and expressive design demonstrate his commitment to aesthetics, functionality, and resiliency while providing our clients with designs of great impact and value. Ben is involved in several new projects in the Wynwood District and currently serving as the Lead Landscape Architect for the new University of Miami Lakeside Village project, a mixed-use student housing project that will revolutionize the student experience living on campus.

Ben is a graduate of the College of Charleston’s Historic Preservation and Community Planning program, and Florida International University’s Master’s program in Landscape Architecture. He has been practicing Landscape Architecture for 15 years.

Javier Aviñó

Moderator

Bilzin Sumberg

Javier F. Aviñó serves as Practice Group Leader of Bilzin Sumberg's Land Development & Government Relations Group. Javier focuses his practice in land use and zoning law. In South Florida, he is the first stop for developers before they put a shovel in the ground. From the development of multiple Affordable Housing Projects, negotiating multi-million construction loans, to assisting with a $2.4 billion high-speed passenger rail project connecting South and Central Florida, Javier's deep roots in the community have allowed him to assist in projects that are helping to shape the landscape in South Florida. He represented The Sydell Group, developer of the trendy Freehand Miami hostel (formerly the Indian Creek Hotel), in its acquisition, zoning, and liquor license issues related to renovating the historic Art Deco building. He also represented Miami Produce Center, an entity controlled by Robert Wennett, in the filing of a Special Area Plan (SAP) with the City of Miami for a proposed eight-building development with over 1 million square feet of residential, office, retail, hotel, and educational components in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami, Florida. Javier has been recognized by Chambers USA, South Florida Business Journal, and South Florida Legal Guide. Javier has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston College and received his J.D. from the University of Miami.

Special Keynote Session!

Jon Paul Pérez
Keynote

Jon Paul Pérez

President

The Related Group

Fred Zutel
Moderator

Fred Zutel

Head of Corporate Risk & Broking, Florida

Willis Towers Watson

Scott Sherman
Keynote

Scott Sherman

Founder and Principal

Torose Equities

Jon Paul Pérez

President

The Related Group

Jon Paul “JP” Pérez is responsible for overseeing development operations across the company’s various divisions, managing land acquisition efforts and leading the procurement of major construction financing. He also forms a part of Related’s Executive Committee, where he works with the firm’s C-level executives and division presidents to establish corporate priorities, growth strategies and other key company-wide initiatives.

Jon Paul aims to continue supporting the firm’s reputation as a “market maker” and its proven ability to capitalize on opportunities well before competitors. A market maker himself, Jon Paul has personally spearheaded Related’s recent entrance into Miami’s popular Wynwood neighborhood, where he’s working to deliver several major mixed-use projects set to transform the area into a true live-work-play neighborhood. Current projects include Wynwood 25, a 289-unit luxury rental property across from the iconic Wynwood Walls; The Annex, an eight-story, 50,000-square-foot, class A office building; and The Bradley, a 175-unit rental tower with interior design by Kravitz Design.

Since joining Related in 2012, Jon Paul has overseen the development of several thousand market-rate rental, affordable and luxury condominium units—including the 200-unit The Manor, the 365-unit Town City Center and the 690-unit Brickell Heights condo property. He has also played a key role in several marquee sales and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Related, Jon Paul worked for The Related Companies of New York where he oversaw all aspects of the development process for more than 900 units, with direct responsibility for financial modeling, design programming and construction management. He also participated in securing capital for the firm’s $900 million distressed opportunity fund, and in 2009 successfully led efforts to sell 425 unsold condominium units in Fort Myers, Florida over the span of 18 months.

Jon Paul graduated from the University of Miami in 2007 with a B.S in business administration and received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2015. Nurturing Miami’s growing arts and culture community, Jon Paul remains closely aligned with the Pérez Art Museum Miami as well as with The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts), participating in its annual Miami YoungArts Week. He also sits on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami and is an active United Way Young Leader. Every holiday season, Jon Paul also puts together Related’s annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive to coordinate the delivery of over 2,600 turkeys across Miami-Dade, including to the firm’s affordable housing properties.

Fred Zutel

Moderator

Willis Towers Watson

Mr. Zutel has worked with large and complex businesses across virtually all industries and

geographies. Fred is an industry leading risk management and insurance resource. Some of his

clients include preeminent owners, developers, national homebuilders, construction companies,

hotels, and lenders across the United States and overseas. He specializes in structuring unique

Surety and Risk Management programs with the goal of enhancing a corporation’s balance sheet

and ability to procure financing. He has also been engaged to manage some of the largest and most

intricate claims, damage evaluations, and business disputes resulting from Hurricane Irma,

Hurricane Harvey and Superstorm Sandy. Fred has been instrumental in cementing Willis Towers

Watson’s leading market position in the real estate, hospitality, and construction industries.

In addition to his client facing responsibilities, Fred Zutel leads Willis Towers Watson in Florida. Based

in Miami, Fred focuses on strategic planning, heightening client service and retention, talent

acquisition, staff development, sales and sales management. Fred leads a diverse team of

professionals who engage with large corporations to identify and quantify the risks facing their

organizations. He works to align resources from across Willis’ global platform to deliver best in class

strategies and solutions to clients.

Fred earned an MBA from the University of Miami along with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business

Administration from Florida International University. Risk and Insurance® honored Fred as a 2017

“Power Broker®” in Real Estate and named him to their “Rising Stars” list for his achievements in the

insurance industry. He has been featured in numerous publications and has served as keynote

speaker at industry conferences.

Scott Sherman

Founder and Principal

Torose Equities

Scott Sherman is Founder and Principal of Miami-Based Torose Equities. He is responsible for the firm's strategic direction, sourcing investment opportunities, capital markets and operations. Torose is a real estate investment firm with several different verticals, including a value-add urban retail, office, and mixed-use strategy within the Southeastern United States.

Prior to launching Torose, Scott co-founded Tricera Capital where he led the charge on strategic direction, capital markets and sourcing investment opportunities. In this role, Scott built a portfolio in excess of $700M over five years and consistently delivered returns in excess of 20% IRR and a 2x multiple across realized investments. Scott maintains ownership and major decisions across the Tricera portfolio and continues to be a minority owner of Tricera Capital.

Previously, Scott was Vice President of Acquisitions at Thor Equities. He was responsible for acquisitions in the Southeast United States including Miami, Washington, DC, Nashville, Austin and Charleston. Additionally, he was a key member of Thor’s expansion into Montreal, London and France. At Thor, Scott completed in excess of $2 Billion of acquisitions focusing on urban retail and mixed-use assets. Prior to Thor, Scott was the Director of Acquisitions at Becker Brothers where he was responsible for sourcing and executing value-add strategies across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. During his tenure at Becker Brothers, he managed a mix of asset types including retail, office and parking garages. Before Becker Brothers, Scott began his career at Ernst & Young in the Transaction Real Estate Advisory group where he also obtained his CPA license in the state of NY.

Scott is a native of South Florida and currently resides in Miami with his wife Laura, son Lucas, and daughter Lily. He received his MS and BS in Accounting from the University of Florida where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Scott is a member of ICSC, and CIASF, in addition to several philanthropic organizations he dedicates time to in his community.

Summary

  1. How is Wynwood growing to support itself as a 'Live Work Play' Destination? What new tenants are moving in?

  2. What are the current deals and developments that will have the biggest impact on the landscape of the Wynwood/Allapattah area?

  3. In what ways has the art community transformed Wynwood and now Allapattah and how is the integrity of the locals being preserved while development is on the rise?

  4. How is affordable housing being addressed as new luxury buildings come in?

  5. How will the EB-5 Investor Visa Program and foreign investment impact cost and opportunities?

While there are still whispers of "What's next Wynwood", as expansion turns to the new hot market Allapattah, development is steady, and the community strong. It seems to be that what's next is clear, a thriving neighborhood. What was in recent years was considered a tourist destination is now making a shift to a real live, work, play hotspot. 

As eyes now look to Allapattah as the new fresh opportunity 'darling' what can we learn from the Wynwood expansion? What kinds of development will thrive and how can the area maintain its identity? 

Join Bisnow this February to hear from South Florida's CRE executives as they talk neighborhood trends, share local market knowledge, and come ready to network! 

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

For question, recommendations, or press inquiries, please email Tess.Jones@bisnow.com

Agenda

Time Activity
12:30 PM
1:30 PM
Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
1:30 PM
2:20 PM
Major Projects and Deals Changing the Landscape in Wynwood & Allapattah

What is going on within the areas of Wynwood and Allapattah? What exciting projects have changed the landscape, what is coming down the line, how have these deals been structured, and what is on the horizon for Miami's next hot neighborhood, Allapattah?

2:20 PM
2:40 PM
Networking Break
2:40 PM
3:30 PM
Wynwood Placemaking: The Rise of Live, Work, Play

How has the community evolved to support Wynwood as a neighborhood outside of a tourist destination? How can local developers help long-standing members by offsetting high rent and work to maintain cultural integrity?

3:30 PM
4:00 PM
Special Keynote Discussion!
4:00 PM
4:45 PM
End of Event Networking and Schmooze