The Mixed-Used Projects Transforming Austin: Major Project Deep Dive

Major Project Deep Dive

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  Marcy Phillips

  Marcy Phillips joined Crescent Communities in 2025 as Managing Director of Central Texas, bringing more than 25 years of multifamily and mixed-use real estate experience. She provides visionary leadership for the region’s platform, guiding strategic growth, site acquisition, entitlements, capitalization, design, and execution to deliver exceptional communities and long-term value. Prior to Crescent Communities, Marcy previously held senior leadership positions, including Senior Vice President of Development at Ryan Companies and Vice President of Development at AMLI Residential. She is a Founder and CEO of MRP Delta Investments, LLC. Her extensive development portfolio spans major markets—Austin, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Kansas City with total market capitalization exceeding $3 billion. Marcy is a recognized leader in the commercial real estate industry, actively engaged with organizations including ULI, RECA, NMHC, and CREW Network. In 2022, she was named one of ATX’s most influential trailblazers in CRE. She was a finalist for the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power in 2014 and a nominee again in 2018. A past President of the CREW Austin Chapter, Marcy also served on the CREW Network National Nominating Committee in 2018. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Austin Alliance, contributing to its Economic Development Committee, and participated in the City of Austin’s East Riverside Corridor Regulating Plan Working Group. Deeply committed to community service, Marcy supports numerous civic organizations—from youth sports programs to the Central Texas Food Bank, The SAFE Alliance, and the Austin Humane Society—and actively mentors young women. Marcy earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2001, triple-majoring in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics, Finance, and Risk Management. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and a licensed Texas Real Estate Salesperson.

  Crescent Communities

  Managing Director, Central Texas

  Marcy Phillips

  Managing Director, Central Texas

  Crescent Communities

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  Andrew Joblon

  Founder & Managing Principal

  Turnbridge Equities

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  Rob Shands

  Rob Shands is a Partner with RedLeaf, where he is primarily focused on capital markets, financing activities, acquisitions, vertical development, and strategic partnerships. Previously, Shands held the following positions: Partner and Director of Investment for Live Oak-Gottesman, a full service commercial real estate firm based in Austin. Shands was responsible for operations and execution of investment activities. He served as a member of the management team and investment committee. While at Live Oak, Shands established and executed a thesis based acquisition strategy focused on class B office properties in San Antonio. He played an integral role in the development and acquisition of over 650,000 SF of office and retail product in Austin and San Antonio. Acting through a strategic partnership, Shands helped start a standalone self-storage development platform, which successfully developed a portfolio of class A storage projects in Central Texas. Shands began his career at Frost Bank in the Real Estate group where he managed a loan portfolio consisting of retail, office, industrial, multi-family, land and self-storage.

  RedLeaf Properties

  Partner

  Rob Shands

  Partner

  RedLeaf Properties

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  Gordon Reger

  Gordon Reger is third generation CEO of the Reger Group of Companies, and has been involved in the acquisition, development, management and disposition of both residential and commercial properties for nearly 40 years. Through his leadership of the Reger Group of Companies, Gordon spearheaded numerous condominium conversions and new residential construction projects throughout Massachusetts, Maine Pennsylvania, Florida, South Carolina and Texas. In the 1990's, Gordon successfully redeveloped historical buildings in Boston's Back Bay Area by converting them into luxury residential units valued at approximately $150 million. In the early 2000’s, Gordon expanded his geographic reach into Portland, Maine and the Carolinas. In Portland, Gordon has to-date completed various condominium projects valued at over $300 million in aggregate with a $65 million project now under construction, and an additional $200+ million mixed-use project currently in the pipeline. In the Carolina’s, Gordon executed on a 12-year industrial value-add strategy with the acquisition of over 6 million square feet of space, on his way to becoming one of the largest industrial landlords in the State of South Carolina. These properties where subsequently sold in 2020 in what is known as the largest portfolio sale in South Carolina history. In South Carolina Gordon also completed the ground-up development of a 504-bed student housing project know as Reign Living at the Stadium, which was sold in 2021. In 2008, Gordon entered the Austin, Texas real estate market. He has since successfully completed numerous single-family lot development projects, selling the lots to national homebuilders such as DR Horton and KB Homes. Most recently he began construction of a 28-story luxury condo high-rise in downtown Austin (The Linden), as well as a 425-acre mixed-use planned community development known as EastVillage. He also currently has 50 acres in Cedar Park and 44 acres in Manor that are in various stages of the mixed-use entitlement process.

  Reger Holdings

  Chairman & CEO

  Gordon Reger

  Chairman & CEO

  Reger Holdings

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  Seth Hart

  Seth has more than 14 years of experience on a wide variety of architecture and planning projects. Seth is a talented designer with a great background out of California’s high end production housing and resort living industry. He brings a fresh perspective and passion for lifestyle living and modern design. With a focus on integrated design, he has lead teams from project visioning through construction. He is a thoughtful and innovative designer who has the experience and construction knowledge to carry the design through implementation. Seth’s main areas of focus are in community amenity buildings, multi-family residential, resort housing and single family detached housing but has experience in senior living communities, corporate campuses, retail, and urban infill as well. Bachelor of Environmental Design with an Emphasis on Architecture; University of Colorado; Boulder, CO

  DTJ Design

  Associate Principal + Sr. Designer

  Seth Hart

  Associate Principal + Sr. Designer

  DTJ Design

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  Helen Jobes

  Helen Jobes, CCIM, specializes in the sale and leasing of office, retail, and industrial property as well as investment sales in Central Texas, San Antonio, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley. During her 38-year career, Jobes has leased over 800,000 square feet of office space and sold more than 4.419 million square feet of commercial real estate, including office, office/warehouse projects, apartments, retail centers and land. Though skilled in all property types, Jobes focuses primarily on office investments and leasing. Jobes served as the investment sales broker at Trammell Crow (now CBRE) and was principal and founder of Gold Eagle Investments for ten years. She served as the Regional Director of Marketing and Investment Sales for Kennedy Wilson three years and is currently a partner with Capella Commercial LLC. Jobes served on the Board of Directors for the Real Estate Council of Austin for eleven years, which is a 2,200 member organization comprised of business and real estate professionals. She is currently a member and has also served on the Board and as past president of the Austin Commercial Real Estate Society, and is a member of the Central Texas Commercial Brokers Association, ULI and NAIOP of Austin. In 2009, Jobes was introduced to the China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce (CRECC) and along with the Mayor of Austin, the Chamber of Commerce and Opportunity Austin hosted a delegation of 30 investors who came to the United States to learn about investing in commercial real estate. In 2010, Jobes was a guest speaker at the 2010 International Forum of 50+ Communities held in Sanya, Hainan, China.

  Capella Commercial

  Managing Partner

  Moderator

  Helen Jobes

  Managing Partner

  Capella Commercial

Economic Deep Dive

What's Driving Demand in Austin's Real Estate Market?

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  Kevin Burns

  Kevin Burns is the CEO of Urbanspace Real Estate + Interiors. His legacy began at the age of 22 when he founded Urbanspace Real Estate. Today, 20 years later, Kevin’s entrepreneurial drive continues to flourish with the recent opening his new 15,000 square foot office and furniture showroom downtown at the base of The Independent. Kevin’s zest for Austin and the urban lifestyle fuels his vision for his business that has evolved into four pillars including real estate, project marketing, interior design and modern furniture. His firm has served as the exclusive brokerage on numerous projects including Seaholm Residences, The Independent and 44 East Ave. Kevin is an urban community advocate and an active contributor to the Shoal Creek Conservancy, Austin Parks Foundation and Waterloo Greenway, while also giving back by mentoring young talent through RECA and ULI. Kevin remains actively involved in real estate, topping $1 billion in sales throughout his career and earning Austin Business Journal’s Top Realtor award in 2020. He is a multi-year member of Elite 25, Austin’s top luxury agent group. Kevin is also an active member/former board member of Entrepreneur’s Organization, former board member and executive committee member of The Real Estate Council of Austin and former chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Urban development council. True to his lifelong enterprising spirit, Kevin recently opened Codependent, a conceptual coffee + cocktail bar located at the base of The Independent, where high-end design meets Austin hospitality. Kevin and his wife, Paula, live, work and play downtown with their two daughters and two Doodles, Finn and Eloise. They enjoy traveling, sailing, skiing and the many perks that the urban lifestyle offers.

  Urbanspace

  CEO

  Kevin Burns

  CEO

  Urbanspace

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  Jim Young

  Jim has operated companies and partnerships, with a focus on real estate. Experience includes developing, acquiring and disposing income producing residential and commercial investment property. He has participated in the development of over one hundred projects as a Broker, Partner or Principal. These range from net-leased single tenant, retail centers, to MultiFamily (apartments). Jim is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Designee. He has completed advanced coursework in financial and market analysis, and demonstrated extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry. CCIM designees are recognized as leading experts in commercial investment real estate. Jim served as the CCIM Chapter President for Central Texas (2017). Jim has served Clients, and Partners on acquisition or sale of retail, medical office buildings, and Multifamily asset classes. On development side, Jim’s work has resulted in multiple sites to build 300-400 Unit Mixed-Use Apartment Complexes in downtown Austin & San Marcos, a 66-story downtown Austin hi-rise tower, and a new South Austin Aloft Hotel. He is currently entitling new construction apartment projects in East Austin, a 350 unit, light-rail station apartment complex in North Austin, and a 243 unit apartment complex in Odessa, Texas.

  Sabot Development

  Managing Partner

  Jim Young

  Managing Partner

  Sabot Development

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  Cross Moceri

  Co-CEO

  Presidium Group

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  Sam Owen

  Sam Owen joined Stream in 2008 and serves as Managing Director & Partner for the firm’s Austin office. Since joining Stream, Sam has been integral in servicing the firm’s third party services platform and currently represents many of the top institutional real estate owners in the country including: Agellan Capital Partners, Clarion Partners, DRA Advisors, Link / Blackstone, Blackcreek Group, DWS, Heitman, IDI Logistics, AEW, and USAA. Sam focuses on customer service for existing clients, growth of the firm’s service business and strategic opportunities for principal clients. Sam has established himself as a top industrial leasing and investment sales broker in the Austin market and has been recognized as a CoStar Power Broker for ten consecutive years (2011-2020). In addition, Sam has worked on the Austin Business Journal’s Top Industrial Deal of the Year for three consecutive years.

  Stream

  Managing Director & Partner

  Sam Owen

  Managing Director & Partner

  Stream

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  Chi Lee

  At an early age, Chi knew he wanted to be an architect and his passion for the industry grew when he moved to New York City for college. A couple of years after graduating, he moved to Austin where he has spent the majority of his career. Chi is a trusted advisor, steward and friend to his clients. He is an excellent Project manager and makes it his priority to achieve the client’s goals and vision while monitoring and maintaining project schedules and budgets. As the Austin Office Leader, Chi also prides himself on mentorship, hoping to cultivate a studio of creative and passionate designers. Furthermore, Chi takes great pride living in Austin and is dedicated to influencing and transforming the city he calls home.

  HKS

  Principal

  Chi Lee

  Principal

  HKS

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  Chad Wiley

  A Tax Partner in Cherry Bekaert’s Austin practice, Chad has extensive experience in tax consulting and compliance. He specializes in providing tax advisory and compliance services to closely-held businesses and their owners, as well as high-net-worth individuals. Chad has been guiding clients in the areas of partnership taxation, estate, trust and gift planning since 2004. He also advises on complex private equity transactions. Prior to joining Cherry Bekaert, Chad was a tax partner with the Austin-based firm Flieller, Kruger & Skelton

  Cherry Bekaert

  Partner

  Moderator

  Chad Wiley

  Partner

  Cherry Bekaert

What Do Tenants Really Want?

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  Rachel Coulter

  As Managing Director of the Stream Realty Partners’ Austin agency leasing team, Rachel Coulter specializes in representation of office properties for both existing and ground-up developments. Her clients include both local landlords and institutional owners. With transaction volume totaling 6.5 million square feet over the past twenty years, Rachel has a strong reputation as an energetic deal maker possessing exceptional market knowledge. Rachel’s portfolio has ranged from sophisticated Class A high-rise buildings to single user projects and has closed over 550 transactions, ranging from small leases to elaborate large single use buildings. Rachel is married with two young boys. She enjoys traveling with her family and being involved with her kids’ sports. She is passionate about teaching her kids to volunteer and get involved in the community.

  Stream

  Managing Director

  Rachel Coulter

  Managing Director

  Stream

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  Joe Llamas

  Joe Llamas founded Generational Commercial Properties Co. in 2013 with the goal of creating long-term value for clients. Generational is a real estate development firm specializing in office, industrial & multi-family projects. Generational is widely known as a firm that establishes deep relationships with tenants to create innovative designs that consistently exceed end-user expectations. In addition to providing strategic direction, Mr. Llamas' responsibilities include leading all firm investment and development activities. While at Generational, Mr. Llamas has developed 500,000 square feet of industrial and 1.5 million square feet of office projects. Before forming Generational, Mr. Llamas was a Regional Vice President for McShane Development Company. He oversaw all aspects of McShane's Texas operations including the development of 600,000 square feet of Class A office, 1,300,000 square feet of industrial space, and 600 apartment units. While under Mr. Llamas' leadership, McShane's Texas office was named a Top 5 Developer from 2007-2012 by the Austin Business Journal. Prior to McShane, Mr. Llamas worked at RREEF, the $68 billion real estate private equity management business of Deutsche Bank. While at RREEF Mr. Llamas structured development joint ventures and acquisition deals nationwide. Mr. Llamas earned his MBA from the University of Michigan's Ross Business School and a Bachelor of Science in business from Indiana University Bloomington. He is a member of ULI, CLBA, RECA, NAIOP and the U.S. Green Building Council.

  Generational Commercial Properties

  Founder

  Joe Llamas

  Founder

  Generational Commercial Properties

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  Wayne Berger

  Wayne Berger is the CEO of IWG Americas: United States, Canada and Latin America, the global coworking and workspace leader. The company harnesses the power of flexible working through its companies Regus, Spaces, No. 18, Open Office, HQ, and Signature by Regus. Wayne is a leader and advocate for the transforming world of work. With over 20 years in multi-national leadership positions helping companies improve the way they maximize their office and communities, Wayne is helping lead the acceleration of the workplace revolution— evolving from traditional office space to the new flexible work world. Follow Wayne Berger @wayneberger.

  IWG Americas

  CEO

  Wayne Berger

  CEO

  IWG Americas

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  Nena Martin

  As an Interior Design Leader at DLR Group, Nena Martin guides teams and collaborates with clients by creating transformative spaces through our integrated design process. By aligning with clients, she works hand-in-hand to deliver environments that are shaped by their policies, work patterns, and culture. Her passion for design goes beyond planning and aesthetics; she strives to make a positive impact on society, fostering sustainability and promoting holistic wellbeing.

  DLR Group

  Principal & Interior Design Leader

  Nena Martin

  Principal & Interior Design Leader

  DLR Group

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  Ben Tolson

  Ben is persistent, strategic and always thinking ahead. He works toward strategies that are best for his clients tomorrow, next year and into the future. Ben is a member of AQUILA’s seven-person Management Committee and leads the firm’s Asset Services team. Ben is charged with shaping the growth and long-term strategies for the firm across all asset-focused business lines and driving the performance of the firm’s current office portfolio. Ben’s experience ranges from short-term repositioning efforts to long-term value creation assignments to new development. Ben’s approach is informed by his experience working in all facets of office real estate: from building sales to land transactions to office development. A native of the Washington DC area, Ben remains a staunch Washington fan in an office full of Cowboys.

  AQUILA

  Managing Principal

  Ben Tolson

  Managing Principal

  AQUILA

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  Patrick Morrissey

  Patrick Morrisey is a Mechanical Engineer and part of the leadership team as a Principal, and Vice President of the MEP Department at Encotech Engineering Consultants, a Central Texas boutique MEP and Structural engineering firm delivering professional services ranging from design to consulting. When Mr. Morrisey relocated to Austin two years ago, he brought more than 15 years of engineering experience, particularly with landmarked buildings in his native New York City. He had a fast start in his career as he became the central point person for various projects and challenging scenarios, laying the groundwork for his ability to lead teams, as he understood all stakeholder trades. Being exposed to multiple commercial projects in Manhattan helped Mr. Morrissey understand how to visualize system configurations with extreme physical space constraints, an asset he adds to Encotech’s leadership team. Upon joining Encotech, Mr. Morrisey became the Project Manager of a Fortune 500 FinTech Firm Campus tenant improvements for a new leased facility with approximately 133,824 rentable square feet and an adjoining Parking Garage. The project was right up the alley for someone who has managed thousands of square feet in commercial projects throughout his career. Since joining the Texan firm, he has participated in many commercial and civic projects. However, Mr. Morrisey is proudest of his mentorship contributions at Encotech. He has helped develop a department based on learning and exposure to different projects, offering designers and engineers a space for professional growth. “I have been integral to establishing useful tools for designers and engineers so they can streamline production and focus more time on learning and critical thinking where needed.” Before moving to Austin, Mr. Morrisey was a Principal at a firm in New York, where he accrued a rich experience with commercial projects. Being the MEP engineering lead for the Retail Redevelopment at the World Trade Center, a 600,000 SF project spanned the four main towers on the 16-acre site. Similarly, he led a team of engineers for the Integrated Project Delivery for the American Airlines Admirals Lounge renovation at JFK International Airport. He spearheaded the technical site assessment for the Deutsche Bank’s 1.3 million square foot renovation. The opportunity to relocate to Austin two years ago and “switch gears to join a smaller company with a reputation of taking in very ambitious projects excited me, and I have not looked back once!”

  Encotech

  Principal, Vice President of MEP Department

  Moderator

  Patrick Morrissey

  Principal, Vice President of MEP Department

  Encotech

Opening Remarks

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  Tim Ford

  Tim Ford, Texas Territory Manager at Saint-Gobain/SageGlass. Tim is a demonstrated leader who dedicates himself and has extensive experience in a diverse Sales, Operations, and Business Development background with the compliment of an incredible entrepreneurial spirit. Being part of Saint-Gobain puts Tim at the forefront of the most exciting time for innovation, technological advancement, and, more importantly, healthy building in the real estate industry. He focuses on helping architects and building owners improve property values by enhancing the occupant experience/comfort while reducing energy demand and educating about critical benefits and essential factors.

  SageGlass

  Texas Territory Manager

  Opening Remarks

  Tim Ford

  Texas Territory Manager

  SageGlass