The Future of North Miami Beach, Aventura & Sunny Isles

As founder, President and COO of EDEN Multifamily – Jay S. Jacobson has, over his 30-year career in the multifamily industry developed over 25,000 multifamily units and invested in/acquired over 40,000 units located in over 30 sub-markets in 22 cities nationwide. EDEN Multifamily is currently developing over 1800 units throughout South Florida and the mid-Atlantic including Miami, North Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Charlotte. Product types range from 3 story walk up to 30 + story high rises. Prior to forming EDEN Multifamily with Jay Massirman, Mr. Jacobson served as the President of Stiles Residential Group in Fort Lauderdale and is a former national partner with Wood Partners. He was also a senior director of multi-family investments for Goldman Sachs Real Estate Services (fka Archon Group) and a managing director of Archstone Communities Trust. Jay also serves as the CEO of EDEN Living – a horizontal and townhome build for rent company that is engaged in the development of one-story apartment homes and two- story rental townhomes. EDEN Living is currently developing over 2100 units in the SE US including Charlotte, Raleigh, Jacksonville, West Melbourne, Orlando, Kissimmee, Wildwood, Ellenton and other locations. EDEN Living has partnered with a real estate investment fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (“MSREI) to expand the platform throughout the eastern US. Jay received a Bachelor of Architectural Design from the University of Florida and Master of Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Colorado. Jay grew up in south Florida and learned the development/construction business from the ground up--literally—starting at the age of 12 digging foundation ditches for his father’s construction company. Jay lives in Delray Beach Florida where he has served on the City of Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board and is a member of the NMHC Board of Directors. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Miami’s School of Architecture MRED program. Jay uses his rare spare time flying around the world chasing any of the 12 types of billfish in the ocean—at last count he is up to 7.

Alan S. Macken is CEO of Macken Companies, a vertically integrated firm with real estate investment, development, construction, financing and brokerage entities. Over the course of 30 years, Macken Companies has been instrumental in the repositioning and revitalization of neighborhoods throughout South Florida. The name Macken has become synonymous with visionary planning and development, superior construction, and record-breaking sales and marketing. As a fully integrated firm, Macken Companies’ affiliate entities, VCM Builders and Macken Realty, work in tandem to offer clients complete residential and commercial real estate solutions. During a career that began in 1986, Macken has honed his skills as a real estate developer, investor, broker and constructor. He has planned, developed, leased and sold ultra-exclusive residential properties, as well as professional office space, single-family planned unit developments, townhome communities, office condos, high-rise condominiums and retail shopping centers throughout Florida. He has played significant role in real estate development and transactions that value in excess of $1 billion. Many of these properties were also marketed and sold or leased through Macken Realty, his eponymous brokerage firm, which currently includes in excess of 150 agents out of two offices Dade and Broward. As a Principal at VCM Builders, the firm’s construction affiliate, Macken’s primary focus is design and development as well as pursuing new business opportunities and structuring partnerships. Macken also spearheads property acquisitions and financial modeling. Over the firm’s 20+ years in business, VCM has won several construction and development awards for residential and commercial construction throughout the tri-county area. Macken is a Managing Member of a portfolio of commercial properties located throughout the Florida that are leased to national tenants including Walmart, Coca-Cola Corporation, Circle K Corporation, 7-Eleven, Inc., Texaco Gasoline, T-Mobile, Subway, BankUnited, and Banco Popular. Macken was raised in North Miami Beach and for the past 30 years, Macken Companies has been headquartered there. Macken currently owns a full city block in North Miami Beach and has plans to develop 5 Park, a 40,000 square-foot retail destination that is poised to transform the West Dixie Corridor. With a keen eye on market trends, Macken continues to look for business opportunities that provide unique opportunities.

Hans Ottinot currently serves as the Vice President of Government Relations and Chief Legal Strategist for RK Centers, a real estate development company located in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. He is primarily responsible for providing strategic legal advice to his client on complex matters and litigation. From 2014-2018, Hans served as a member of 11th Circuit Judicial Nomination Commission and its Chair in 2018. He also served as the Chair for the Executive Council of the City, County, and Local Government Law Section of the Florida Bar. He once served as the government lawyers’ liaison on the Florida Bar Board of Governors. In 2008, Florida Trend’s Magazine Legal Elite recognized Hans as one of the top government attorneys in the State o Florida. The South Florida Legal Guide also recognized him in 2004 as one of the top government attorneys in South Florida. Hans served for 15 years as City Attorney of the City of Sunny Isles Beach. He also served as City Attorney for North Miami and City of Miami Gardens. In addition to working as a local government lawyer, Hans is a former Assistant Attorney General of the State of Florida. Hans is a member of numerous organizations, which include but are not limited to the Haitian Lawyers Association, Wilkie D. Ferguson Bar Association, Caribbean Bar Association, and the Cuban-American Bar Association. He once served as President of the Haitian Lawyers Association. Hans received his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Colgate University. He lives in Miami with his wife, Margarita, and children, Hans Jr., Lia, and Anthony.

Mr. Defortuna is President, CEO and Founder of Fortune International Group, a Miami-based full- service real estate firm recognized throughout South Florida, Latin America and Europe as a leader in high-end luxury real estate. He oversees all of the company’s activities across all of its business units. Mr. Defortuna is involved with the strategic decision making of the group, as well as the day-to-day operations of each of its divisions. He started the business in 1983, and quickly became a driving force in real estate. Through his company’s success and far reach into U.S., European and Latin American markets, Mr. Defortuna is widely recognized for having made a significant contribution to the internationalization of Miami and its reputation as a global business, trade and vacation hub. He currently serves as a member of the Mayor of Miami's International Council and also as Director of the Argentine-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in Miami. Additionally, he is a member of several charitable organizations in Miami, such as Manos del Sur, Mt. Sinai Hospital and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. Mr. Defortuna holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Chemical Engineering from the National University of Argentina and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Miami. Fully fluent English and Spanish, Mr. Defortuna is married to Ana Cristina and has five children.

Dana Goldman is Of Counsel to Shutts & Bowen LLP’s Miami Office, where she is a member of the Real Estate Department. She represents national and regional homebuilders, handling matters relating to the development of their condominiums and planned development communities. Ms. Goldman also holds a real estate broker license and a mortgage loan originator license, which allows her better access to real estate and finance opportunities in the market for her clients. In addition to her legal experience, Ms. Goldman has extensive prior experience as a business owner and operator. Ms. Goldman is a full-time resident of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida and has extensive ties to this community. Born and raised in Miami Beach, she grew up amid the family’s business, Pumpernik’s Restaurant, a virtual historic landmark. She graduated from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale and went on to distinguish herself with an A.B. from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, magna cum laude with High Honors in History, before obtaining her J.D. from George Washington University in Washington, DC. Since returning to South Florida in 1994, Ms. Goldman has been actively involved in the community as a contributing member of various organizations, civic boards and associations including the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews (MCCJ), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) – Miami, the Miami Association of Realtors, and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, Condominium & Planned Development Committee. Most recently, she has served as Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida where she has been involved in various initiatives, including social media, electronic signage, and the “Condominium Workshop Series” in partnership with the City. Ms. Goldman is married to Michael Gates and has a daughter, Julia. Ms. Goldman enjoys power-walks, travel, politics and people.

Meghan Kruger is Senior Vice President of Leasing for Seritage Growth Properties focused on leasing their premier developments. Prior to joining Seritage, Ms. Kruger served as Vice President of Leasing for Acadia Realty Trust, responsible for overseeing the street retail portfolio, including assets in Manhattan, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Greenwich, CT and Washington, D.C.

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.

While Enid Weisman is best known for her current office as Mayor of Aventura, the loin’s share of her life’s work has been in public education. She began as a teacher, ascending the ranks of the Miami-Dade County Public School System to work as a Vice Principal and then Principal of large high schools. Weisman was the founding principal of Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School from 1997-2001. Weisman went on to undertake “major-league” positions in regional School District administration, including that of Region Superintendent from 2003-2009, in which she supervised 57 schools with over 50,000 students and oversaw construction of new schools and additions to existing schools valued at close to $400 million. Just before being elected Mayor, from 2012-2014, she held the position of Chief Human Capital Officer of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, in which she was responsible for 50,000- employees and where she conducted negotiations with five different labor unions. For her excellence in education Weisman has been honored by six different municipalities and has received numerous other awards, including State Master Teacher, Outstanding Social Studies Educator in the State of Florida, Administrator of the Year (twice), and Principal of the Year. Weisman’s passion for bettering our community and supporting diversity coupled with her strong beliefs against antisemitism resulted in her being honored by the Anti Defamation with its Community of Respect Award Her exceptional leadership abilities have also taken shape in her involvement with both the medical profession and the fine arts. To cultivate the relations between local communities and the Aventura Hospital and MedicalCenter she created an Ambassador Program comprised of volunteer liaisons. Weisman holds the distinction of being the first woman elected Chair of the Aventura Hospital and Medical Center Board of Trustees, a position she held since 2013. She remains a Board of Trustee member of the hospital today. Additionally she is Chair of the Executive Board of New World School of the Arts where she has been a member since 2008, and in 2012 she was honored as Champion of the Arts for her committed and enthusiastic support. More recently she was honored by the Dade County Commission for the Status of Women by receiving the prestigious Mayor’s Pioneer Award.

Bernardo Rieber is the CEO of Rieber Developments, an Aventura-based development firm, with a distinguished roster of commercial and mixed-use projects throughout South Florida. With more than 20 years of experience, Rieber enjoys a track-record of high-quality, innovation and value in the related industries of multifamily, office and commercial retail. Throughout his career he has been involved in a wide array of real estate developments in all phases including procurement, design, construction, and marketing on projects totaling more than $150 million. Today, Rieber’s diverse project roster includes the recently unveiled 12|12 Aventura, a premier mixed-use project with health, wellness and connectivity at the cornerstone of its design. Set to be among the first of its kind in South Florida, the visionary project, along with its adjacent sister project, Ivory 214 – a medical and professional office building complemented by a Tapestry Collection by Hilton™ hotel – will establish and introduce the “Aventura Medical District.” Rieber is a civil engineer, a licensed general contractor and real estate broker, and has an extensive background in construction, allowing him a unique understanding of design and development capabilities as well as insight of the real estate market. Previous to his time in real estate development, Rieber earned a master’s degree in finance from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) in Caracas, Venezuela and served as an auditor of ISO 9000 Norms of Total Quality Management.

Donna DiMaggio Berger is a member of the College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL), a prestigious national organization that acknowledges community association attorneys who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the evolution or practice of community association law and who have committed themselves to high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice of community association law. Ms. Berger is also one of only 129 attorneys statewide who is a Board Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law. Ms. Berger has led various community association advocacy initiatives, working with legislators and other public policy makers on behalf of those who live, serve and work in common interest ownership communities. She has testified before the Florida Legislature regarding community association law and frequently appears on radio talk shows and in print media discussing these issues.