Fireside Chat - From Challenge to Completion: Successfully Executing Adaptive Reuse Projects

Examining What's Needed To Navigate These Types of Projects

• 

  Lawrence Curtis

  President

  WinnDevelopment

• 

  Brittany Gesner

  Brittany serves as VHB’s New England Industrial Team Leader and dedicates her time to ensuring VHB is actively building relationships with industrial clients, tracking, and prepositioning for industrial opportunities. She provides quality assurance to industrial development projects to ensure VHB is always delivering excellence for their clients. She manages projects providing site/civil, permitting, traffic, and environmental services for industrial developments, including warehouse, last-mile distribution, manufacturing, cold-storage and GMP facilities.

  VHB

  Principal

  Moderator

  Brittany Gesner

  Principal

  VHB

Reshaping Communities Through Conversions

Giving Existing Assets A New Life

• 

  Adam Burns

  Today Adam Burns owns and manages a successful Real Estate Brokerage (Burns Realty & Investments), a boutique construction company (Synergy Construction Group LLC) and a growing property management firm (BRI Management), all in the name of advancing his true passion of building safe and comfortable housing for the greater Boston community predominantly under the name Boston Pinnacle Properties LLC. Adam's interest, and later career, in real estate did not start out like most. He purchased, renovated, and rented his first condo in upstate New York at the age of 16 and quickly realized that he had found his calling. After completing a degree in computer engineering and moving to Boston to work in financial technology for just a year, real estate continued to draw Adam’s attention. In 2012 Adam made real estate his career by purchasing his first South Boston property and quitting his engineering job. Eleven years, sixteen employees, and more than a quarter million developed square feet later Adam’s companies continue to flourish with his care and compassionate leadership.

  Boston Pinnacle Properties

  President

  Adam Burns

  President

  Boston Pinnacle Properties

• 

  Todd Greenfield

  Todd joined KS Partners in 2016 as Vice President-Director of Project Management and now holds the position of Senior Vice President-Director of Development. Todd’s current role focuses on implementing the company’s life science and biotech conversion projects and numerous proposed ground-up cGMP developments. Todd brings the firm 24 years of unique experience in planning and managing construction projects, managing facilities in the sectors of high-rise towers, life science portfolios, critical environments, and large stadium settings. Before joining KS Partners, LLC, he was employed with Cushman & Wakefield, The Beal Company, and Equity Office Properties. Todd is a graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy and now holds the State of Massachusetts Construction Supervisors License, Critical Environments Certification, and Real Property Administrator.

  KS Partners

  SVP

  Todd Greenfield

  SVP

  KS Partners

• 

  John Weil

  John Weil is Senior Program Manager for Downtown Conversions at the City of Boston Planning Department, leading Mayor Wu’s new program converting underutilized office into new residential in the CBD. He is a real estate professional with proven skills and experience in office-to-residential conversion, life science lab development, mixed-use projects, and capital markets. Having previously worked for Longfellow Real Estate Partners and Cottonwood Management among others, his strength is finding unique solutions for investing and innovating in commercial development by re-envisioning traditional opportunities for today’s market. John graduated from the MIT Center for Real Estate, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and Bowdoin College.

  City of Boston

  Sr. Program Manager, Conversions

  John Weil

  Sr. Program Manager, Conversions

  City of Boston

• 

  Scott Oran

  Mr. Oran is a Managing Partner and Founder of Dinosaur Capital Partners with over 35 years of local, national and international real estate experience. Previously, Mr. Oran served as Executive Director of Morgan Stanley where he was responsible for its real estate investing activities in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States, including acquisition and planning of 26 acres in the Boston Seaport. Earlier in his career, he was Partner and Regional Director of TA Associates Realty, Vice President of Fleet Bank in Boston where he managed an REO portfolio, and Director of Acquisitions for Unihab, a Cambridge-based real estate developer. He began his career at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, the management consulting firm. Mr. Oran graduated from Harvard Business School and Princeton University. From 2011 to 2016, he was a Director and Trustee of Granite REIT, a $2 billion NYSE-listed real estate company. From 2011 to 2020, he was Chair of the Board of Brooke Charter Schools, a high-performing public charter school network in Boston, MA. He is currently Trustee and former Treasurer of the non-profit Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. He was formerly a Trustee of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. From 2001 until 2011, he was on the board of NAIOP Massachusetts, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

  Dinosaur Capital Partners

  Managing Partner

  Scott Oran

  Managing Partner

  Dinosaur Capital Partners

• 

  Andy O'Brien

  https://content.baldwin.com/collections/680ff954182aac4eb40c5a51?utm_name=BostonBisnow

  The Baldwin Group

  Partner

  Andy O'Brien

  Partner

  The Baldwin Group

• 

  Marko Kazanjian

  A Boston native based in New York City and Miami, Marko Kazanjian leads a team at IPA Capital Markets that recently closed a $720 million construction loan for the conversion of the former Pfizer HQ at 219 & 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan into 1,600 multifamily rental units — the largest conversion in New York City history. Marko specializes in structuring and executing complex debt and equity financing solutions for both intuitional & private developers, owners, and operators across multifamily, industrial, retail, office, hospitality, single-tenant, and land assets. Over the course of his career, he has successfully arranged billions of dollars in financing, specializing in structured debt transactions that optimize capital structures for his clients. Prior to joining IPA Capital Markets, Marko was a Managing Director at JLL and previously served as a Director at Meridian Capital, where he played a key role in originating and closing high-profile transactions nationwide. He has been an active leader in the real estate finance community, serving as a New York board member for both ICSC Next Gen and the Young Mortgage Bankers Association (YMBA). His professional achievements have been recognized by YMBA’s “Up and Comer” Award (2016) and Commercial Observer’s “Top Young Professional under 35” in Debt & Equity Financing (2019).

  IPA Capital Markets

  Senior Managing Director

  Moderator

  Marko Kazanjian

  Senior Managing Director

  IPA Capital Markets

Building & Preserving Boston Real Estate

Bringing Existing Real Estate Stock To 2025 Standards

• 

  Kenzie Bok

  Kenzie Bok is a lifelong Bostonian who grew up in the small downtown neighborhood of Bay Village. She cares passionately about making Boston a great city for people from all walks of life and all stages of life to flourish and put down roots. With a background in affordable housing, budget analysis, and civic engagement, Councilor Bok was elected to represent District 8 on the Boston City Council on November 5, 2019. Her district includes Mission Hill, Longwood, Audubon Circle, Fenway, Kenmore, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and the West End. At 30, she is currently the youngest serving Councilor. Prior to her election, Councilor Bok was the Senior Advisor for Policy and Planning at the Boston Housing Authority. She also previously served as Budget Director for another city council office. As a citizen, Bok helped lead the successful 2016 ballot initiative campaign to enact the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in Boston. She serves on the board of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) and on the vestry of Trinity Church in Copley Square. Bok also formerly held community leadership roles as part of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), the Bay Village Neighborhood Association, the Back Bay Gateway CAC, the Spark Boston Council, the Boston Ward 5 Democratic Committee, and the Democratic State Committee. She lives on Beacon Hill, where her family has been deeply involved in neighborhood life for more than 65 years. Councilor Bok’s priorities include increasing housing affordability (both rental and homeownership) at every income level to anchor our families and seniors, improving our transportation system and public infrastructure to move people around more safely, efficiently, and equitably (whether by foot, bike, bus, subway, or car), ensuring excellent schools for all Boston’s children and great career opportunities for our youth, and making Boston a model for how to tackle climate change. In an increasingly unequal city, she is invested in partnering with the city’s non-profit and for-profit institutions to accountably share resources in pursuit of greater equity. Councilor Bok is committed to providing excellent constituent services, a voice for community planning of responsible development, and strong stewardship of public land and public assets like parks and libraries. After graduating from Harvard College, Bok earned an M.Phil and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Cambridge in England as a Marshall Scholar. She holds a lectureship at Harvard University, where she has taught courses on “Justice in Housing” and the philosopher John Rawls.

  Boston Housing Authority

  Administrator

  Kenzie Bok

  Administrator

  Boston Housing Authority

• 

  Justin Cruz

  Justin Cruz is COO of Cruz Companies, one of the country’s largest and most enduring 100% Black-owned integrated construction, real estate development, and property management enterprises. With deep experience in the multifamily sector, in his role as Chief Operating Officer Justin Cruz is also responsible for overseeing the organization’s portfolio of primarily affordable residential units across dozens of properties in the Northeast including both new construction buildings and assets converted to residential through adaptive reuse and renovation. Justin Cruz is also closely involved in leading Cruz C.A.R.E.S., a dedicated 501(c)3 nonprofit arm of Cruz Companies.

  Cruz Companies

  COO

  Justin Cruz

  COO

  Cruz Companies

• 

  Kathy Kottaridis

  Kottaridis is an accomplished leader in the field of historic preservation, currently serving as the Director of the Office of Historic Preservation for the City of Boston. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing and guiding the city’s preservation initiatives. A key focus of her work is promoting inclusive historical narratives and fostering collaborations among the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She manages several key programs, including the Boston Landmarks Commission, the City's Historic District Commissions, the Archaeology Program, and the Commemoration Commission. Her leadership also extends to spearheading the City's commemorative efforts for significant milestones, such as the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026 and Boston’s 400th anniversary in 2030. Kottaridis ensures that these historic events are celebrated inclusively, with meaningful engagement from all communities in Boston. Before her current role, Kottaridis was the Executive Director of Historic Boston Incorporated (HBI) from 2007 to 2025, where she led numerous successful preservation projects. Under her leadership, HBI was instrumental in the rehabilitation of several threatened historic properties, securing over $5 million in capital grants and overseeing development projects worth $39.7 million. One of her notable achievements includes the 2015 restoration of the Fowler Clark Epstein Farm, a historic agricultural property in Boston, which was transformed into the headquarters of the Urban Farming Institute and an educational center. She also played a key role in the restoration of the Alvah Kittredge House, a project that involved a $3.8 million rehabilitation to create five residential units, including two permanently affordable units. Another standout project was the $1.9 million rehabilitation of the Upham’s Corner Comfort Station, which was converted into Comfort Kitchen, an award-winning café and restaurant.

  City of Boston

  Director of Office of Historic Preservation

  Kathy Kottaridis

  Director of Office of Historic Preservation

  City of Boston

• 

  Adam Blanchard

  Principal

  LeMessurier

• Moderator

  Dick Lampman

  Director

  Berkeley Building Company

Remarks from the Podium

• 

  Dominic DePizzol

  Dominic DePizzol is a seasoned façade industry professional currently leading sales and sustainability efforts at PhoxOne, one of the largest and most innovative curtain wall manufacturers in the United States. In this role, Dominic works closely with real estate owners, developers, and design teams to navigate the evolving landscape of sustainability regulations and performance standards for high-performance building envelopes. With a deep understanding of both technical systems and market demands, Dominic plays a key role in shaping forward-thinking strategies that align environmental goals with practical construction solutions. He is passionate about helping clients future-proof their assets by integrating sustainable design practices into every stage of façade development—from concept to installation. A trusted advisor and engaging speaker, Dominic brings a unique perspective at the intersection of business development, building technology, and environmental stewardship.

  PhoxOne

  Creative Solutions Specialist

  Dominic DePizzol

  Creative Solutions Specialist

  PhoxOne