South Florida Multifamily Summit

Nick Rojo is the Co-Founder and President of Affiliated Development. Mr. Rojo has more than 13 years of experience in the acquisition, finance, management, rehabilitation and development of residential and commercial real estate. Nick is a South Florida native and got his start in the real estate industry in 2006 as an investment banker at Wachovia Securities. At Wachovia, Nick focused primarily on providing capital raising and advisory services to public and private homebuilders and developers. Nick gained experience working on a variety of transactions from traditional investment banking – high grade and high yield debt, credit facilities, common and preferred equity, private placements and M&A – to real estate asset-specific transactions, such as project finance and facilitation of bulk land sales. Mr. Rojo was afforded the unique benefit of structuring financings at the peak of the market cycle and then working with clients to restructure during the recession. He left Wachovia to return to South Florida in 2009 to opportunistically acquire property at the height of the recession. After acquiring and rehabilitating property with friends and family capital, in 2011 Mr. Rojo teamed up with a family office and spearheaded their efforts to acquire residential and commercial property throughout the state of Florida. During this time, Mr. Rojo met Jeff Burns and began evaluating and later investing in projects together. Nick and Jeff saw the opportunity to leverage their finance backgrounds in order to develop mixed-use residential projects in the South Florida market. In 2014, Mr. Rojo formally teamed up with Mr. Burns to expand Affiliated Development’s presence in Florida. As a result of the partnership, Affiliated Development has gone on to undertake numerous mixed-use multifamily projects in various Florida markets and has earned a reputation as one of South Florida’s most dynamic and impactful development firms. Every project has been a public- private partnership and has incorporated a substantial public finance component, such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) financing, Tax Exempt Bonds, Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Department of Housing & Urban Development financing (HUD) and local government general revenue bonds. Mr. Rojo graduated cum laude with a B.S.B.A. in Finance and New and Small Business Management from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he was also a four-year letterman and Academic All-American on the Georgetown Hoya football team. Mr. Rojo is a resident of West Palm Beach, FL, and sits on the Broward County Sheriff’s advisory council. He is also a board member of Student Aces, an organization that provides leadership training, coaching, mentoring and scholarships to local high school student athletes.

With over 15 years of real estate, private equity and investment experience, Doug brings a wealth of knowledge to Shoreham Capital across sourcing, capitalizing, structuring, and executing transactions. Doug has overseen the investment in over $10bn of real estate investments and developments across multiple asset classes. He has successfully executed the investment, development, and management of more than 7,500 residential units across prime growth markets. Prior to Shoreham, Doug was most recently a Managing Director at the CIM Group, a $35.0bn AUM real estate private equity firm, where he oversaw the East Coast equity investments for the firm. Before CIM, Doug worked in corporate private equity for LNK Partners and began his career at Deutsche Bank in their Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Doug has a BA from Brown University with a double concentration in International Relations and Economics and received his MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Amy Blackman is a Regional Managing Director for North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee for Apprise, a Walker & Dunlop company. Ms. Blackman joins Apprise with over 15 years of experience at two of the largest international commercial real estate services firms. Her focus has been exclusively on multifamily assets since 2009 and her experience includes existing and proposed garden/midrise apartments, urban high-rise assets, mixed-use assets, fractured condominiums, and affordable housing in primary and secondary markets throughout the Southeast. She leads our national Student Housing specialty practice group and specializes in appraisals that meet the compliance requirements of Freddie Mac (including SBL), Fannie Mae, life companies, CMBS lenders, and balance sheet lenders. She also has extensive experience in valuations for annual reporting purposes. Prior to joining Apprise, Amy was a Valuation Services Director with Colliers International and a Valuation Specialist with CB Richard Ellis. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in real estate from the University of Georgia.

Andrew is the CEO of Dansker Capital Group, a national mortgage brokerage firm with offices in New York, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Florida. Andrew oversees a team of 30 that originates commercial mortgage debt for all asset types, with a specialization in retail and multifamily assets. The team’s work is primarily with bank and credit union loans; however, it has also extended to agency, CMBS, life company and bridge loans as the situation requires. The team has placed well over $2,000,000,000 in loans since its establishment as an independent company. Andrew is a published author with his commentary on the real estate lending market having been published in The Commercial Observer, Real Estate Weekly, and New York Real Estate Journal. Andrew has more than fifteen years of experience in the real estate industry. Prior to Dansker Capital Group, Andrew was a First Vice President of Finance at Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation and a mortgage broker at Cooper-Horowitz Inc. He also served as the Managing Director of Matrix Realty Group, was a summer associate in the offices of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson LLP and worked with Intervest National Bank in New York. Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law.

Bruce Gago heads FCP’s South Florida office as Senior Vice President– Acquisitions, where he sources multifamily investments and works closely with the company’s commercial and structured investment teams on transactions in those sectors.

Danielle Gonzalez concentrates on commercial real estate law. She represents national and local clients in connection with the acquisition, financing, leasing and disposition of retail centers, office buildings, industrial parks, multi-family residential properties, self-storage centers, parking facilities, and raw-land developments throughout the United States. Danielle possesses vast experience advising on commercial leasing, and represents both landlords and tenants on leases covering all real estate asset classes. She represents sellers and purchasers with the acquisition and disposition of numerous types of real property. She counsels borrowers in connection with secured financings, including acquisition loans, refinances and defeasances. Danielle also has experience counseling retail clients on the development of shopping center pads for brand-specific uses, including the negotiation of ground leases, CC&Rs, easements and design guidelines. She also has experience with acquiring, developing and financing self-storage centers. Finally, she counsels owners and managers in the negotiation of property management, as well as parking facility, agreements.

David Storch is the Senior Vice President at W5 Group, where he leads real estate investments with a focus on an innovative living strategy. With deep expertise in the multifamily, student housing, and co-living sectors, David has successfully completed over $1.5 billion in transactions across the United States. He combines his passion for real estate with a deep understanding of market trends and emerging housing solutions, bringing a wealth of expertise and leadership to W5 Group. David received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School and is originally from Chicago, IL. W5 Group, Ralph Winter’s family office established in Switzerland in 2009, focuses on deploying capital across real estate, venture capital, and growth equity. Since expanding its operations to the U.S in 2019., the firm has invested in Innovative Living projects comprised of 2,100 units and 4,800 beds. Since 2024, W5 Group is also investing in the US on behalf of other domestic and international family offices, high-net worth investors and institutions. W5 Group continues to innovate in the industry, with offices in Miami, Zurich, Zug, and Frankfurt.

As Head of Florida for Shawmut Design and Construction, Alexis partners with both national and local leadership teams in sourcing, winning, and executing work in Florida. He leads the team in the diversification of sectors and pursuit of large projects, most notably multifamily, leveraging his vast experience in both the private and public sectors and his technical and design-build expertise. Alexis has over 30 years of industry experience in the South Florida market, previously serving as a senior leader for ENR 500 construction management firms. He’s worked on complex projects ranging in size, scope, and value—from hotel, mixed-use developments, and municipal work to aviation and seaport terminal expansions. Throughout his career, he has acquired billions of work as part of a portfolio diversification strategy and was an integral part of a team that grew a small, local firm into a large, multinational firm. Alexis is a past board member of the University of Miami’s School of Construction Management and previously served on the boards of the South Florida Associated General Contractors, Engineering Contractors Association of South Florida, and the Broward County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He graduated from Barry University with a Bachelor of Science and received the university’s highest alumni honor in 2017, The Distinguished Alumni Award.

With over 30 years of telecom experience, Sam Reynolds is a seasoned sales leader known for his ability to build strong, lasting partnerships with real estate developers and multifamily decision-makers across Florida and Texas. As Director of Sales, he specializes in helping communities deploy ultra-fast, reliable fiber networks that enable today’s smart homes and connected lifestyles. Sam is recognized for his deep expertise in large-scale infrastructure projects, his strategic understanding of developer needs, and his relentless commitment to delivering seamless execution and unmatched service.

Matthew M. Baron is the President of Baron Property Group. Since 2005, Matthew has acquired and developed over $1.5 billion worth of property in NY and Los Angeles. Mr. Baron currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Long Island City BID, and is also a member of the Board of Directors of Doorkee, which is a company he helped found. Mr. Baron was also an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies where he taught a course on Real Estate Development. Mr. Baron holds a BS in Finance from NYU Stern and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Jeffrey Ardizon is Principal at The Estate Companies, a Miami-based full-service, vertically integrated developer, owner and operator of residential communities throughout the tri-county region, and one of the largest and most active multifamily developers in Florida. The firm is best known for its institutionally recognized Soleste brand which features Class A multi-family communities throughout South Florida’s urban core and submarket locations. Mr. Ardizon has been credited for identifying and evaluating off-market opportunities, temporary market dislocations, special workouts, overall capitalization and general overall direction of the firm. The Estate Companies has implemented its strategic plan is to increase its focus on development in Broward and Palm Beach counties, and has many luxury projects in various stages of development including Pompano Beach, Dania Beach, Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, three projects in Hollywood, two in North Miami Beach, and Spring Gardens, among others. Mr. Ardizon was instrumental in structuring and executing one of South Florida's first opportunity zone transactions, Soleste Grand Central, a 360-unit Class A multifamily project in Downtown Miami. Prior to joining The Estate Companies, Mr. Ardizon was the co-founder and principal of ECI, a real estate investment, management and development firm based in South Florida. The firm focused on providing GP/LP equity and debt for multi-family real estate developments and value-add opportunities across a diverse portfolio of asset classes. During that time, Mr. Ardizon was credited for strategically structuring and creating one of the more notable single-family offices in South Florida. Mr. Ardizon began his real estate career with one of the largest nationally ranked advisory firms in the country, where he led the firm's real estate practice for nearly a decade. He represented some of the largest real estate developers, REIT’s, operators and sponsors in the region. Under his leadership, the firm was awarded the top real estate tax firm by various publications. Mr. Ardizon was a top revenue producer for the firm and quickly gained industry recognition as a leading go-to advisor, advising clients on over $3 billion in transactional value.

Steven J. Wernick is an experienced land use attorney and maintains a multi-disciplinary practice throughout South Florida. He has significant experience representing real estate developers, property owners, and other real estate industry clients – skillfully navigating the intricacies of local government regulations and the development approval process to help clients deliver on great projects and revitalize urban core neighborhoods. Steve's work in recent years has been most prominent with projects under development in Wynwood, Miami's emerging arts district undergoing a significant transformation into a 24/7 live, work, play neighborhood that has become an epicenter for global art tourism and expansion of Miami's tech hub. Starting with his work for Goldman Properties on a portfolio of adaptive reuse projects and the award-winning Wynwood Garage, Steve has worked with local and national developers on entitlements for over 7 million square feet of new retail, office, multifamily and hospitality development constructed in Wynwood over the past decade. Previously, Steve worked as special counsel for the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID) in the creation and adoption of the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD-1), recognized by the American Planning Association with the 2017 National Planning Award in Economic Development. Additionally, he has secured zoning and development approvals on multifamily office, and hospitality projects within the City of Miami, Bay Harbor Islands, North Miami, Miami Beach and other waterfront communities in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. Steve was intimately involved in securing entitlements for the Miami Design District Retail Street Special Area Plan – including infrastructure improvements, nonstandard covenants and a regulating plan to facilitate over 1 million square feet of development of luxury retail, art and civic space. Steve has built a reputation as a trusted advisor for creative zoning tools to support neighborhood revitalization in South Florida's emerging neighborhoods. As a trained urban planner and credentialed by American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Steve has the ability to communicate with diverse community stakeholders, and experience shepherding code amendments and overlay districts to unlock the potential for mixed use redevelopment. In 2021, Steve secured approval from City Commission for adoption of the Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD2), including land use map amendments and rezoning of 140 acres to spur development of multifamily housing and millions of dollars in reinvestment in one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods.

Jessica Barnes leads client relations and advisory services for Bozzuto Management Company in growth markets across the southeast. As Vice President of Client Services, she collaborates with real estate leaders to leverage Bozzuto’s strategic insights and decades of experience to deliver transformative places with enduring value. Before her return to Bozzuto in 2023, Jessica spent more than four years with Strategic Property Partners, the private development firm behind Water Street Tampa, a transformative $4B, 56-acre mixed-use development. As Vice President of Asset Management and Vice President of Marketing, she played a critical role in successfully bringing one of the nation’s largest and most ambitious projects to market. Prior to SPP, Jessica held several leadership roles at Bozzuto, most recently overseeing the brand development and go-to-market strategies for more than 15,000 units across the country as the Senior Director of Brand Development. Jessica’s unique perspective at the intersection of real estate brand strategy, development and asset management allows her to see projects through the lens of a consumer, an operator, and an owner throughout the entire development lifecycle. With a strong track record of success in her 10+ years of experience in multifamily and mixed-use real estate, she is a trusted strategic advisor to developers, investors and asset managers across the country.

Since stumbling upon my passion for insurance in 2015 (funny backstory on my website), I have dedicated myself to helping real estate owners and developers navigate the complexities of risk management. After 6 years with one of the largest brokerages in the world, I decided to further perfect my business by starting my own firm in 2021. Forever reliable and with endless tenacity, I have created a process to make client lives easier. With Ivy Risk Strategies, I’m on a mission to make insurance less painful and (yes) enjoyable.

I'm Andy Koehler, a seasoned professional in the wireless industry with three decades of sales and management experience. For the past 15 years, I've specialized in Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), both cellular and ERCES. My previous roles include Director of DAS at AWC and VP of Strategic Partners at Westell. Additionally, I volunteered in the ERCES Codes & Standards subcommittee for the Safer Buildings Coalition. Residing in Atlanta with my wife and two college-age sons, I enjoy family time, whether it's fly fishing for bonefish in the Bahamas or attending UGA football games.