Bay Area’s Retail Landscape: Resilience, Reinvention & New Demand Drivers

Exploring Shifting Supply vs Demand Dynamics, Retail Economics, Urban Revitalization, and the Evolving Consumer Experience

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  Michael Van Every

  Michael Van Every is the President and Managing Partner of Republic Urban Properties, the Bay Area flagship of the Republic Family of Companies. Mr. Van Every works with Federal, State, and Local governments on the creation and development of ‘smart growth’ projects, such as master-planned communities near transportation hubs; urban mixed-use projects near major employment centers; and innovative, public-private partnerships. The Republic Family of Companies is known for developing institutional-quality real estate throughout the United States, from land development, to historic adaptive reuse, to shopping malls. In his 25 years of working experience representing major institutional and private real estate developers in the greater Bay Area, Van Every has earned the reputation as a man with the leadership, the knowledge, the experience, and tenacity to see complicated projects through from land acquisition to completion. Under Van Every’s leadership, RUP has gained national attention for its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) projects at key transit stations working as the premier public-private partner with many transit authorities across California. Since 2006, as the managing partner of RUP, Van Every has been involved with the planning, financing, construction, and delivery of 1,238 multifamily units and 145,000 square feet of mixed-use commercial space. In addition to the multifamily pipeline, RUP has approximately 380 hotels rooms, 151,000 square feet of office, and 120,000 square feet of retail in various stages of development. The estimated market value among projects is projected at $1.5 billion in value. A third-generation San Jose native, Van Every holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from California State University at Fresno. Van Every is an active member of San Jose Rotary Club as well as the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. He also serves as a Board Member on Santa Clara County Catholic Charities. Michael is married and lives with his wife Jennifer and Jacob in the Willow Glen Neighborhood of San Jose.

  Republic Urban Properties

  President and Managing Partner

  Michael Van Every

  President and Managing Partner

  Republic Urban Properties

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  Laurie Thomas

  What started as a personal love of food and a side business venture as a restaurant investor turned into a full career for Laurie Thomas, owner of Nice Ventures, which owns and manages Rose’s Café and Terzo, in San Francisco. In January 2020 Thomas took on the Executive Director for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, a nonprofit trade organization focused on helping bay area restaurants survive and thrive. In this role she led the restaurants through the numerous challenges with San Francisco’s health restrictions and closures during COVID, and helped advocate for the Shared Spaces program in San Francisco. Thomas holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is on the Board of SF Travel, and the honorary board of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco.

  Golden Gate Restaurant Association

  Executive Director

  Laurie Thomas

  Executive Director

  Golden Gate Restaurant Association

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  Joshua Callahan

  Mr. Callahan is a managing director at The Roxborough Group, overseeing asset management of Roxborough’s investment portfolio. Prior to Roxborough, Mr. Callahan was west coast regional director of asset management for Jamestown LP, driving leasing, repositioning and sustainability initiatives for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of mixed-use properties. Mr. Callahan previously held roles at Wilson Meany LLC, where he worked on notable San Francisco redevelopment projects including 140 New Montgomery and Treasure Island; Community Housing Developers, a non-profit provider of affordable housing; and Catellus Development Corporation. Mr. Callahan is a member of Lambda Alpha International, the global land economics society. He received a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science from the Huntsman Program at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

  The Roxborough Group

  Managing Director

  Joshua Callahan

  Managing Director

  The Roxborough Group

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  Miia Kautovaara

  Miia Kautovaara is an accomplished leader in global retail and commercial real estate, specializing in strategic business development, asset management, and change leadership. With over 20 years of experience, she has a proven track record of driving growth, demonstrating strong leadership, and navigating complex market dynamics. As Manager of Ingka Centres North America, Miia oversees assets in San Francisco (945 Market Street) and Toronto while leading the development of business operations across the U.S. and Canada. Since 2022, she has also served as a board member of the Mid Market Community Benefit District (MMCBD), contributing to the economic and social vitality of the Mid-Market neighborhood. Beyond her professional work, Miia is an active contributor to the business community as a Business Advisor, Speaker, and Mentor. She is deeply passionate about sustainability and business growth, always keeping people and the planet at the heart of her work.

  Ingka Centres

  Meeting Place Manager

  Miia Kautovaara

  Meeting Place Manager

  Ingka Centres

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  Julie Baccelli

  Julie Baccelli is a Bay Area native and construction industry veteran. Consulting to the industry for over a decade on new business development strategies and client management. At Build Group, San Francisco headquarters she is responsible for the tenant improvement projects for Bay Area hospitality, retail, and restaurants. Build Group has offices in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Seattle.

  Build Group

  VP of Acquisition & Corporate Affairs

  Julie Baccelli

  VP of Acquisition & Corporate Affairs

  Build Group

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  Cherie Song

  Cherie Y. Song is a Partner in Lubin Olson's Real Estate and Business Practice Groups. She specializes in commercial leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, and telecommunications. Ms. Song represents institutional landlords, multi-billion dollar investment management companies, REITs, pension funds, and national retailers in a broad range of lease-related matters for office, retail, industrial, mixed-use properties and telecommunications assets. She also represents developers and investors in the acquisition, development, disposition and financing of commercial properties. Her practice also includes advising startups and private companies on various real estate and business-related matters. Prior to joining Lubin Olson, Ms. Song practiced in the San Francisco office of Buchalter Nemer and the Los Angeles office of McGuireWoods. Ms. Song was honored by Thompson Reuters as a Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in 2009 and 2010.

  Lubin Olson

  Partner

  Moderator

  Cherie Song

  Partner

  Lubin Olson

The Future of Bay Area Hotels: Demand, Investment & Experience

Where RevPAR Trends, Brand Strategy, and Experiential Design Intersect to Shape Modern Hospitality

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  Kimo Bertram

  Proven development team leader with a track record of adding full service, luxury and lifestyle hotel rooms for two large global hospitality companies by way of hotel acquisitions, management agreements, and franchise agreements. Grounded in a feasibility background and opportunistic and creative with targeting opportunities, managing internal resources, and negotiating contracts. Well versed in capital structures with involvement with over $4B in real estate development and deployment of over $750MM in equity, preferred equity, mezzanine debt, debt guarantees, and key money.

  Hyatt Hotels

  VP, Real Estate & Development

  Kimo Bertram

  VP, Real Estate & Development

  Hyatt Hotels

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  Todd Chapman

  Todd focuses on investment and portfolio strategy, deal procurement, financial oversight, capital partner strategy and execution, and overall portfolio management for JMA. Todd joined JMA Ventures in January 2002 as executive vice president and general counsel and was later promoted to president and chief executive officer. Prior to joining JMA, he was an attorney with the law firms of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, LLP (San Francisco) from May 1999 to January 2002 and Allen Matkins Leck Gamble and Mallory (Los Angeles and San Francisco) from May 1997 to February 1999 where he served as JMA Venture’s primary outside counsel for six years and represented significant institutional and development clients throughout the United States. Todd is a passionate deal maker at heart and is experienced in the structuring of joint ventures and other complex business transactions in real estate acquisition, development, leasing and financing. In his career, he has overseen in excess of $2.5 billion of real estate sales, acquisitions and financings for both JMA Ventures and other clients.

  JMA Ventures

  Managing Partner and President

  Todd Chapman

  Managing Partner and President

  JMA Ventures

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  Sar Peruri

  Mr. Peruri has been involved in over $ 5 billion in transactions during his career and over $1 billion in transactions while at Oxford. He is involved in multiple facets of the business including investor relations, deal origination, acquisitions underwriting, due diligence, project financing, project design, entitlements/planning, construction, and property operations. He is responsible for investment opportunities across the real estate spectrum and also in the corporate private equity area. Prior to joining Oxford Capital Group, LLC, Mr. Peruri worked in acquisitions and asset management at Sam Zell’s Equity International, focused primarily on real estate related platform investments in South America and Asia. Mr. Peruri began his career working in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley in New York City. Mr. Peruri graduated with an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, was a recipient of the Pension Real Estate Association Scholarship and the Robert Toigo Fellowship, and served as teaching assistant to Professor Jeremy Siegel. He also holds a B.S. in Finance from the College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating with Highest Honors and awarded the Bronze Tablet, and completed the yearlong General Course program at the London School of Economics.

  Oxford Capital Group & Oxford Hotels & Resorts

  COO and Partner

  Sar Peruri

  COO and Partner

  Oxford Capital Group & Oxford Hotels & Resorts

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  Lynn Cadwalader

  Lynn Cadwalader leads the Firm’s Hospitality and Leisure practice. Her work involves representing developers, owners, operators and investors in complex hospitality and mixed-use projects within the United States and around the world. Lynn is a seasoned hospitality lawyer, providing creative and business-focused counsel to her clients. She has been a key player in many high-profile hospitality transactions, where her ability to creatively structure solutions that work for all participants has been invaluable. Lynn’s areas of practice include: Acquisitions and dispositions of hotels and resorts in single-asset and multi-asset portfolio transactions Hotel management agreements, franchise agreements, technical services and preopening agreements, marketing license agreements, subordination, non-disturbance and attornment (SNDA) agreements, and comfort letters Structuring and creating mixed-use urban and resort communities Resort and mixed-use development and master-planned community documents, including covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs), reciprocal easement agreements (REAs), shared facilities agreements, condominiums, private membership agreements Restaurant, celebrity chef and nightclub management agreements Offer and sale of residential real estate and condo hotels in mixed-use projects Condo hotels, rental programs and fractional ownership Joint ventures Forming and advising companies in the alternative lodging sector Advising companies in the short-term online rental platform area Development agreements and related entitlements Lynn brings more than two decades of experience to the table, advising on a multitude of complex, high-profile hospitality transactions in the United States and internationally, including Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Her deep industry knowledge of hospitality, extensive network of relationships with key players in the industry and legal acumen make her a highly sought-after legal counsel to clients in all sectors of the hospitality industry. Her reputation as an exceptional practitioner has led her to receive multiple awards, including being ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners in its USA Leisure & Hospitality 2025 Guide.

  Manatt, Phelps, & Phillip

  Partner

  Moderator

  Lynn Cadwalader

  Partner

  Manatt, Phelps, & Phillip