Tampa Bay Area Construction and Development

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.

As President and COO, Edward M. Kobel leads DeBartolo Development’s investment strategy, execution and capitalization. Backed by the DeBartolo family and major capital commitments he secured, DeBartolo Development has underwritten a real estate pipeline of over $4.6 billion since 2003. Prior to overseeing DeBartolo Development, Ed was a partner at Fortis Advisors in Scottsdale, an affiliate company of DeBartolo Property Group, where he managed more than $600 million in real estate projects. Before joining Fortis, he founded Trinity Development with offices in Colorado Springs, Denver, Phoenix and Chicago. Trinity Development was primarily engaged in new retail development as well as value-added shopping center renovation and completed over $300 million in retail development. Throughout his professional career, Ed has devoted his time and leadership to multiple non-profit organizations and was awarded the Outstanding Professional and Community Citizenship award from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.

As General Manager of Suffolk’s Tampa office, Mr. Jim Scarpace is responsible for overseeing project teams from the earliest preconstruction efforts through project closeout and beyond. His leadership and operational skills are critical to providing effective guidance for the project team. Jim has over 40 years of industry experience. Prior to his new role at Suffolk, he was Senior Vice President at Strategic Property Partners, overseeing the construction on the Water Street Tampa development project. Previously, Jim spent most of his career at Tishman Construction, where he was responsible for the start-up and growth of offices throughout Florida, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi. Jim has a wide range of notable projects under his belt from all over the country, bringing in a wealth of experience to Suffolk. In addition to his role at Suffolk, Jim is active in multiple associations and on multiple Boards, including: Tampa Downtown Partnership. Jim is a graduate of Northeastern University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Currently, he resides in Tampa, Florida with his wife Patricia.

Leon Camarda has over 21 years of experience in construction and project management in commercial real estate, with a record of successful large-scale multi-family residential, hospitality, commercial office, entertainment, industrial, and retail development. He currently manages operations for PMA’s Orlando office, assuring service delivery to a diverse client base, fostering strong industry partnerships, developing high-performing teams, and expanding business throughout Central Florida and the Southeast region. Leon also participates at the highest level of firm leadership, with involvement in setting the strategic direction of the company and overall operational performance. Leon is an active member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) and supports several Orlando community organizations including the Camaraderie Foundation, the Orlando Health Foundation, Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families, Christian Service Center, and United Against Poverty, Orlando. He was named in 2021 as a Veteran of Influence by the Orlando Business Journal. Leon holds a Master of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University and a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction from the University of Florida.

CJ began his career in the AEC industry 10-years ago after graduating from University of Florida’s Building Construction program. CJ now serves as Director of Preconstruction for Juneau’s Florida Region and has played an instrumental role in the opening of Juneau’s Central Florida office in Tampa in 2019. During the last year, he has led Juneau’s preconstruction efforts on over $1.5 billion worth of projects for multi-unit product throughout the Southeast including multifamily, senior living, on/off campus student housing, and hospitality. CJ has his finger on the pulse of the multifamily market in Central and South Florida, bringing valuable input into the design and preconstruction phases of our projects to provide Juneau’s clients with predictable outcomes to meet project proformas.

Responsibilities Mr. Guzzle is a Senior Project Risk Advisor within The National Construction and Infrastructure Practice at Aon. Ben’s primary responsibilities are to work closely with Owners, Developers and Contractors across multiple industries to provide holistic risk and insurance consulting, structure, placement, and administration. Experience Ben began his career in Corporate Finance with Bank of America in 1994 transitioning to corporate insurance in 2001 working for DavisBaldwin and Willis, N.A.. Mr. Guzzle joined Aon in 2022 to help grow the Florida and National Construction and Infrastructure practice. Expertise Mr. Guzzle has been fortunate to work in the construction risk management space for the majority of his career working on projects in all segments of the construction world; healthcare, aviation, hospitality, residential, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, energy, etc. Through this diverse construction experience Ben has become a construction industry resource, sharing his expertise with team members, brokers, industry groups and clients.

As Senior Vice President of Development and Strategic Partnerships for Mint House, the leading tech-enabled residential hospitality operator, Elizabeth oversees strategic expansion of the company’s portfolio across the U.S. through management partnerships with real estate owners and developers. Founded in 2017, Mint House is transforming the way we live, work and play away from home – delivering apartment-style, design-forward spaces that offer the conveniences of home, reliability of high-end hospitality, and tech-enabled amenities that travelers have come to expect. Elizabeth has been a key leader in the company’s growth to 25+ properties in 16 markets. She currently manages a team of development executives and serves as the Chair of the Mint House Development Board of Advisors. Prior to Mint House, Elizabeth was a commercial real estate broker with CBRE in New York, and before that, held positions in business development and marketing with CBRE and Transwestern.

Greg Minder has been a leading participant in the revitalization of downtown Tampa and surrounding Tampa Bay communities since 2004. As founder and principal of the intowngroup, Greg is responsible for creating iconic multi-family, urban buildings framing the Tampa cityscape including Meridian, Skypoint, Element, AER and 500 HI. His mission is to generate sustainable urban growth by meeting the housing needs of a diverse downtown population. He extends that mission beyond his own business into serving the greater community at large. He is the Chairman of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, a coalition of business and community leaders working to create an 18 to 24-hour urban center where people can learn, live, work and play.

Edward is a Principal in CLA's real estate industry group. Over the last 9 years of his career he has been dedicated to providing seamless professional experiences to some of the largest real estate developers, homebuilders, private equity investors, and owners of real estate within our firm. Working in the industry has given him the opportunity to develop strong technical capabilities and provide our clients with the technical advice and client experience that they should expect from their CPA. Edward works in our firm's internal inspection group looking for ways to improvde the assurance process. He is also is part of the real estate technical group which works to develop improved methodologies for the firm.