Miami State of the Market

Malcolm has been active in South Florida Real Estate for over 25 years. He has a Masters Degree in Real Estate from Florida International University, and has previously worked in the real estate investment division of Travelers Insurance.

Brad Meltzer is a Partner and President of Two Roads Development. In this role, he oversees real estate development activities from design through construction and supports the team in identifying new opportunities. Meltzer has facilitated the growth of numerous regional business units scaling some from start up to more than 250 employees. Specializing in delivering high-end projects, Meltzer has led award-winning projects from inception to completion across various asset classes, including condominium, multifamily, hospitality, office, and retail. A sampling of such projects includes Biscayne Beach, The One Thousand Museum Tower, the 4 Tower Paraiso Complex, the Ritz Carlton Residences Miami Beach, The Marquis, Millicento, W Hotel South Beach, One Hotel and Homes, Icon Bay, Carillon Miami Beach (aka Canyon Ranch), Town Center One at Dadeland, Aventura Mall Expansion, Westshore Marina Pointe, Mandarin Oriental Miami. Meltzer led the construction of 15 buildings in excess of 35 stories and 2 in excess of 60 stories. He holds a Masters's in Architecture from Tulane University and has more than 30 years of construction experience, having headed a top national construction firm as its CEO. Meltzer also sits on the Advisory Board of the University of Miami MRED+U and Construction Management programs, Tulane University School of Architecture Advisory Board, Gulliver Prep Board of Trustees, and Voices for Children Board of Directors.

George serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Suffolk’s Southeast region and maintains the offices in West Palm Beach and Miami, Florida. He is responsible for both the preconstruction and construction phases of the project—ensuring our team delivers on all project goals. During his 51 years in the industry, George has become an accomplished construction professional with a proven record of facilitating very complex projects. George has specialized in all phases of construction, including project development, budgeting, scheduling, negotiating contracts, CM At-Risk, and design-build. He consistently builds and maintains long-term client relationships and aggressively manages contracts to ensure deliverables in a timely manner. As a strategic thinker, George is skilled at examining projects and problems from a broad perspective and developing innovative solutions that quickly achieve results. He is a dedicated manager who focuses on hiring and training the right people to ensure project success. George is active within the construction industry and is a member of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), National Association for Industrial & Office Parks (NAIOP), and Urban Land Institute (ULI) . He is a graduate of Southern Polytechnic State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Technology.

Joe is Chair of our Real Estate Practice Group. Joe's transactional real estate and corporate experience spans over 30 years from his prior career as a real estate and corporate banker throughout his legal career. Joe represents a variety of clients, including real estate developers, financial institutions, private equity firms, high net worth individuals, and public entities in all phases of complex commercial real estate and business transactions. His experience includes acquisitions, development, financing, leasing, joint ventures, and advising clients in connection with raising capital for real estate projects in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Joe is also an agent for several national title insurance companies and has handled the resolution of complex title insurance issues involving real property in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Joe's representation of banks and other lending institutions includes lenders providing secured corporate loan transactions, including revolving credit facilities, asset-based lending, and other secured lending facilities. In addition, Joe has extensive experience with representing condominium associations, community associations, developers and investors in condominium projects and groups of unit owners in a variety of condominium law and community association matters. Joe has developed a special niche in representing condominium associations and cooperative corporations which are being pursued by developers for acquisition of all or substantially all of the units and frequently coordinates a multi-disciplinary approach to representing these clients in order to counsel and assist clients in navigating the myriad of legal issues faced by associations and unit owners in these situations. Joe and the condominium law attorneys at the Firm have also developed extensive experience representing condominium associations which are facing a significant casualty or construction defects issues. Prior to joining the firm, Joe served as General Counsel for an asset management firm owned by a large private equity firm which managed several luxury high-rise condominium projects. Prior to that, Joe was the head of the real estate practice group at the Miami office of Hogan Lovells and was also a shareholder in the real estate practice group at Greenberg Traurig in Miami. In April of 2017, Joe was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). Joe is active in the community and was formerly the Chairman of the Board of Junior Achievement of Greater Miami and now serves as a board member. In addition, Joe is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law and teaches courses in real estate finance in the Real Property Development L.L.M Program.

Christian Glauser Benz is the Head of Development for the Americas for Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Based in Miami, Christian leads all development and investment initiatives for the group in the region, focusing on the US, Canada, Latin America and Caribbean. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is an award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, resorts and residences. Having grown from its Asian roots 60 years ago into a global brand, the Group now operates a portfolio of 50 luxury hotels and residences in 25 countries and territories. Mandarin Oriental’s strong focus in fine dining and wellness has garnered a record 29 Michelin stars and 21 Forbes Spa Awards. Mandarin Oriental is a subsidiary of the Jardine Matheson Group, one of Asia’s largest multinational conglomerates.

About Emi Guerra Emilio “Emi” Guerra is the co-founder of Breakwater Hospitality Group, a Miami-based full-service hospitality company that owns and operates various entertainment venues and restaurants across South Florida. Over the past two decades, he has emerged as one of Miami’s most influential creative hospitality and marketing forces. He is known for crafting a dynamic portfolio of some of the area’s most respectable first-class dining and entertainment experiences across South Florida. Dubbed the ‘Best Nightclub Impresario’ in 2014 by Miami New Times, Guerra began his career in the nightlife and entertainment industry in 2000. At the age of 22, he co-founded Miami’s legendary hotspot Club Space as its sole promoter. He later went on to become a partner in the club’s operations and helped lead it to receive designations from some of the industry’s top publications, including Billboard’s Top 25 Nightclubs of All Time and a 16-year consecutive feature as one of DJ Mag’s Top 100 Nightclubs in the World. Drawing on his relationships in Miami's nightlife industry, in 2005 he formed Guerra Marketing Group, which made a name for itself overseeing successful campaigns using tech-savvy guerrilla marketing efforts for top local hot spots. In 2018, Guerra joined forces with South Florida developer Alex Mantecon to create Breakwater Hospitality Group’s first venture, The Wharf Miami, a pop-up outdoor venue that quickly became a staple in Miami. Since then, Guerra and Mantecon have continued to merge nightlife and dining to create one-of-a-kind experiences across South Florida, including The Wharf Fort Lauderdale, Rivertail, The Pie Father, CH’I in Brickell, JohnMartin’s, Carousel Club, Pier 5, and the upcoming Riverside Wharf. Looking ahead, he is eager to collaborate with developers who have unique spaces and are driven to add prominent food and beverage concepts across South Florida. He is excited to continue to deliver specially crafted, unforgettable experiences that add value to both the projects and the communities they serve.

Philip Rosen is Chair of the firm’s Real Estate practice group. His practice is focused on commercial and residential real estate matters and business transactions. With more than 16 years’ experience, he has counseled countless clients through the life cycle of their transactions. His clients include investors, developers, REIT’s, commercial landlords and tenants, private and institutional lenders, franchisees and business owners across Florida and the U.S. He routinely collaborates with brokers, lenders, and investors to help push his clients’ deals across the finish line. Philip also assists clients with all aspects of probate and trust administration, including marshaling assets, communicating and negotiating with beneficiaries and creditors, and the distribution of assets. EXPERIENCE Counsel to large Wendy’s franchisee in their acquisition of various portfolios totaling over 100 stores Counsel to Florida-based business in purchase and sale of dozens of real estate parcels throughout the U.S. Counsel to franchisee in leasing matters for a 180+ unit nationwide restaurant business Counsel to NJ-based REIT in their Florida real estate matters Counsel to South Florida investor in acquisition of $100,000,000 nationwide multifamily portfolio Counsel to South-Florida investor in acquisition and disposition of real estate throughout the Florida totaling over $85,000,000 Counsel to local real estate developer in acquisition, development and disposition of real estate throughout Florida totaling over $45,000,000 Counsel to local developer/investor in their Florida real estate and corporate matters Counsel to developer in financing, development and sale of luxury townhouse project in Key West Preparation of Operating Agreements and Shareholder agreements for countless real estate investors and developers Counsel to hundreds of Personal Representatives and Trustees in connection with the administration of estates and trusts and disposition of their real estate holdings RECOGNITION Recognized by the Miami Herald as a Top Rated Lawyer in 2015 Recognized by Florida Super Lawyers – South Florida Edition as one of South Florida’s Rising Stars for 2009 AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated PROFESSIONAL / COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES Florida Bar – Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section New York Bar – Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section Jewish Federation of Broward County – Real Estate Committee Broward County Bar Association- Young Lawyers Division

Carlos Rosso is the Founder of Rosso Development, a fully integrated development firm focused on high-end boutique development opportunities. Rosso is set to oversee multiple upcoming awe-inspiring projects in key markets in South Florida and Latin America—with the first ever The Standard Residences in Midtown Miami as his debut project. Rosso founded Rosso Development in 2020 after nearly 20 years with The Related Group, where he was a driving force behind the company’s condominium operations. As the president of the condominium and international development divisions, he oversaw all facets of condominium development domestically and internationally. Over the course of his career, Rosso developed well over 16,000 units, and in the process, mastered diverse development disciplines including construction, project financing, land acquisition and sales and marketing. Under his leadership, Related successfully delivered iconic projects including the 1,600 unit Paraiso District in Miami; Residences by ARMANI/CASA designed by César Pelli; Hyde Beach House; Park Grove by OMA/Rem Koolhaas; Auberge Beach Residences and Spa in Fort Lauderdale; SLS Cancun & Residences in Mexico; and V:HOUSE in Brazil. Prior to his time at Related, Rosso held a number of positions across global development firms, having served as Vice President of Real Estate Development for Investment Properties Ltd. in Boston; and ten years as Project Director for Besix International, overseeing the development and construction of over ten million square feet of multi-family, hotel and office buildings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Rosso graduated summa cum laude from the Universidad de Buenos Aires with a master’s degree in Architecture. He also earned a master’s degree in Real Estate Development and Finance, with the highest honors, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). www.rossodev.com

Brian Gale is Vice Chairman of Cushman and Wakefield of Florida. Through his 27 year career, Brian has overseen the signing of leases totalling 12 million square feet, with a value of over $2 billion. His team currently represents almost 7 million square feet of office space in South Florida, with buildings in Downtown Miami, Brickell, Coral Gables, South Miami, Coconut Grove, Wynwood, Airport West and has clients which include Metlife, Nuveen, Related, AEW, Prudential, OKO Group, Cain International, IP Capital, CIM, L&B, Banyan and Crocker Partners. From 1993 to 1999, Brian was a broker in the Miami office of CB Richard Ellis and from there he spent the next 18 years as a broker and Principal of Taylor and Mathis before joining Cushman and Wakefield in 2016. Brian is a 2 time “Broker of the Year” winner for Miami-Dade County.

Arkadiy (Eric) Green, CPA, is a tax partner in CohnReznick’s Commercial Real Estate practice. Based in Miami, Eric has deep expertise in complex transaction structuring and planning involving taxation of real estate partnerships and investment funds, real estate investment trusts, corporate and international entities, and high- net-worth individuals. Eric’s tax experience includes partnership and LLC taxation; real estate investment trusts; acquisition and disposition due diligence; real estate deal structuring and joint ventures; corporate taxation; and inbound and outbound international taxation. His client experience includes real estate investors; office, retail, industrial, and multifamily property owners and developers; homebuilders and condominium developers; closely held businesses; and high-net-worth individuals and families. Before joining CohnReznick, Eric was a Director of Tax Services for a major public accounting firm in Florida. In this role, he advised a variety of real estate clients and served as a firm-wide subject matter expert in the areas of REIT, real estate, and partnership taxation.

Ira Teicher, a partner in Stroock's Real Estate Practice Group, represents developers and institutional and non-institutional investors in the acquisition, disposition, development, financing and management of commercial and residential assets. He has represented hedge funds, pension funds and other real estate opportunity funds in joint ventures with, among others, Codina Partners, Flagler Development, Mill Creek, Residential Trust, The Related Cos. and Samuels & Associates. Ira has been selected as one of 40 honorees in the Daily Business Review’s 2015 class of Rising Stars. He also has been nationally recommended by The Legal 500 and listed in Best Lawyers.

Asi Cymbal is the Chairman of Cymbal DLT Companies. Mr. Cymbal has over 30 years of experience in real estate development, construction, finance, and law. He is driven by his passion for great architecture and design, his focus on transforming communities, and his commitment to creating great wealth for his investors. He has been fortunate to work with the world’s best architects and designers (Philippe Starck, Bjarke Ingels, Enrique Norten, Jo Palma, Arquitectonica) as a first mover in neighborhoods at a critical time in their transition (the Financial District in Manhattan, Tribeca, SOHO, the Miami Design District, Wynwood, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Miami Gardens). Mr. Cymbal is grateful to his investors and proud of the fact that he has rewarded them with unmatched returns.  Mr. Cymbal raised his first fund in 2010.  That $3 million fund is now worth over $180 million.  He is focused on increasing that to $700 million by 2026. After experimenting with retirement in 2014, he came back to create a second fund during the 2020 Pandemic.  He turned that $16 million fund into $90 million in 20 months. Mr. Cymbal is currently raising a $100 million evergreen fund to be deployed into the $2 billion Cymbal DLT pipeline. Mr. Cymbal also has significant food and beverage experience. He has co-created and owned over half a dozen of the hottest restaurants and clubs in Miami, including Sra. Martinez (with celebrity chef and James Beard award-winner, Michelle Bernstein), Bardot, and gigi. Mr. Cymbal has been named by the South Florida Business Journal as a Heavy Hitter in Construction and Real Estate Development, a Top 100 Power Leader, and as one of 2013’s People to Watch. He has also appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Cymbal is the Vice Chair and board member of Florida International University’s College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts - Miami Beach Urban Studios. He is also a board member of Wynwood Norte, the organization that is spearheading the revitalization of north Wynwood. Mr. Cymbal was a past board member of Business for the Arts of Broward. Mr. Cymbal is a graduate of Vassar College and the UCLA School of Law. He is an experienced real estate and business attorney licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C., and is a licensed general contractor in Florida.

Kenneth Weston has over the course of the last 35 years distinguished himself as the leading voice of medical real estate in South Florida. He has earned his reputation as one of the foremost authorities on the development, investment, consulting and brokerage of medical office buildings and condominiums. Mr. Weston has a unique specialty in the complex and continually evolving healthcare industry in the South Florida. He was involved in one of the first successful medical office condominiums on the East Coast of the United States. His firm has since participated in many of the most successful medical projects in South Florida. Mr. Weston is a frequent lecturer on the subject and is also a major contributor to healthcare periodicals, medical real estate publications and newspapers. “Many developers and brokers are expanding into commercial condominiums each day, but few have been engaged as long as Kenneth Weston who began offering commercial condos in 1978. He made his niche to serve, dedicated his company Kenneth Weston Healthcare Real estate to them, and endured full cycles of fluctuations in interest rates, supply and demand. With perhaps the most experience having been intimately involved in their evolution in South Florida, we bring you his review of where the segment is and where it will likely take us.” (Excerpt from Black’s Guide-Fall 2004). Continually selected by a wide range of prestigious clients, Mr. Weston and his team provide in depth local market analysis, development assistance and marketing expertise to hospitals, building owners, physician practices and other developers and healthcare providers. Summary of Experience: Kenneth Weston Healthcare Real Estate, a division of Kenneth Weston & Assonates, Inc., is a privately owned company and was founded in 1978. The company’s primary objective is to stay on the leading edge of usage of medical space. Mr. Weston carefully developed a strategic insider’s perspective by investing many years researching the specific needs of each type of medical specialty. The goal was to thoroughly understand each physician’s practice, the space and functional requirements of those practices and the potential for synergistic benefits of certain practices housed in the same building. In view of today’s constantly changing healthcare delivery models, the firm is continually updating the needs and requirements for medical real estate in South Florida. Some of the past portfolio of properties handled by Kenneth Weston Healthcare Real Estate includes the 165,000 square foot Plaza San Remo in Coral Gables, the 133,000 square foot One Seventeen Professional Arts Center in Kendall, the 76,000 square foot Pavilion at Doral in Doral, the 60,000 square foot Portofino Professional Center in Homestead, the 34,000 square foot Flamingo Pavilion in Miramar, the 62,000 square foot Sunset International Center in Miami, the 60,000 square foot Offices at London Square in West Kendall and the 140,000 square foot Millennium Plaza in Hallandale Beach. Kenneth Weston’s accomplishments in the business have long been recognized and include being named as a heavy hitter in healthcare by the South Florida Business Journal. Education/Licenses/Memberships: Mr. Weston holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. He is licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida. He is a former member of the Board of Advisors of the Commercial Real Estate Tenant Guides for Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Tampa.

Nelson oversees the operational aspects of the company, including accounting, finance, underwriting, construction, legal and risk management. Since co-founding Integra in 2009, he has managed the development of more than $375 million dollars of construction throughout Florida and has grown the company’s portfolio to more than $500 million dollars across 8 different asset classes. Nelson has a Finance and Marketing degree from University of Miami and a Master’s in Engineering from Florida International University.

With over a decade of construction and insurance experience, Daniel has managed nearly $1 billion dollars worth of new construction, commercial and residential remodeling. In addition, Daniel has placed hundreds of insurance policies, serves as an expert witness in thousands of insurance disputes, and assisted community associations, business owners and homeowners recover from a wide variety of property and business income losses. He maintains a strong commitment to the community and serves on the BB&T Local Advisory Board and as Vice-Chairman of Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

David handles joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, general corporate transactions, and transactional legal work for his clients. He also represents developers in structuring the financing and development of affordable housing, which includes entity selection for non-profit and for-profit developer clients; syndication of federal low-income tax credits; obtaining ad valorem exemptions for affordable housing developments; and representation before state and local housing agencies. He especially enjoys the creativity and collaboration among colleagues when working on joint ventures and providing alternative solutions that create mutually beneficial results for his clients and their business partners. David lends a strong tax background to his clients' transactions, advising real estate developers, investors, restaurateurs and corporations when structuring their partnerships, acquisitions and dispositions. He is committed to innovation and assists the firm with developing new systems for using documents and data to enable efficient collaboration among the firm's attorneys. With knowledge of tax law, David also has experience assisting clients with voluntary disclosures, and other tax compliance matters (including those related to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act [FATCA]). David is admitted to practice in the United States Tax Court.

Steven Klein serves as Managing Partner for Gerson Preston, the Miami-based accounting and advisory firm, that successfully transitioned from its well-known founding partners to a new generation of leaders under Steven’s guidance. As Managing Partner, Steven leads a collaborative group of partners who share responsibility for the firm’s governance, finances, service delivery, recruitment, and growth strategy. Steven and his partners are committed to the firm’s core values of providing consistent, high-quality representation with experienced, innovative, and proactive CPA’s and financial advisors. Together, they have carefully cultivated the firm’s reputation as a sophisticated, capable, multicultural team of professionals, many of whom were trained at national accounting firms and all of whom have chosen Gerson Preston because of its culture of organic growth, teamwork and enduring working relationships. Steven continues to represent his many long-time clients on issues relating to the management of financial audit and attest engagements, business consulting, advising on mergers and acquisitions, tax compliance and research issues, as well as, presiding over financial reporting and related internal accounting control design and implementation matters. An experienced veteran of a national accounting firm and thirty-plus year CPA, Steven is a people person who embraces the importance of business and personal relationships to understand and pursue his client’s financial goals. He takes pride in helping his clients build successful businesses, many of which reflect Miami’s entrepreneurial and global economy, such as real estate development, professional services, technology, international business and investments, retail and hospitality. Steven previously chaired the firm’s Assurance & Accounting Services practice overseeing financial reporting, audits, attestation, and accounting advisory services. Along with his international team, Steven helped establish the Firm’s presence internationally through its active participation in worldwide accounting and law association networks. The Firm can service clients global needs that may require expertise and presence in jurisdictions throughout the world, previously the domain of only large multinational firms.