An Inland Empire & Desert Markets Outlook

Analyzing Investment Opportunities Throughout The Region

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  Erick Becerril

  Erick Becerril is the Economic Development Manager for Cathedral City, bringing over 14 years of experience in the development, urban planning, and community engagement. Erick specializes in fostering business growth, attracting investment, and creating strategic opportunities for industrial, commercial, and residential development.

  City of Cathedral City

  Economic Development Manager

  Erick Becerril

  Economic Development Manager

  City of Cathedral City

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  Ryan Leslie

  Director, Investments

  Rexford Industrial

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  Courtney Wing

  As the development manager for Newcastle Partners, Courtney performs comprehensive duties related to the purchase, finance, development, and sale/lease of properties. Specific duties include processing entitlements and overseeing construction. She directly manages the development of an average of 12 ground-up projects per year and oversaw the construction of 5 projects in 2022, managing a total construction budget of over $58 million. Courtney has also raised over $300 million in equity on behalf of the firm. Courtney is involved in NAIOP SoCal, as the Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee and a member of the NAIOP SoCal Board of Directors. She previously held a seat on the CREW Orange County Board of Directors and chaired CREW Orange County's Emerging Leaders committee.

  Newcastle Partners

  Development Manager

  Courtney Wing

  Development Manager

  Newcastle Partners

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  David Hitchcock

  J. David Hitchcock is a Shareholder in the Los Angeles office of Buchalter, a member of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Cannabis & Hemp Industry Law Group. Mr. Hitchcock’s practice focuses on real estate acquisitions and dispositions, loan originations, loan workouts and restructurings, loan sales, secured real estate finance, joint ventures, and general real estate matters. Recently, Mr. Hitchcock has represented clients acquiring real property to rezone and lease for cannabis production. He has extensive experience representing clients in all areas of the real estate market – private equity funds, real estate developers, core and value- add real estate owners/operators, public school districts, as well as publicly traded REITs. Before returning to the practice of law in 2011, Mr. Hitchcock was a Vice President with an international private equity fund, in charge of a $1 billion portfolio of distressed commercial real estate mortgages and non-performing real estate collateral. Before joining the fund, Mr. Hitchcock ran his own real estate development and mortgage brokerage company. Mr. Hitchcock has been named one of the The Best Lawyers in America in Real Estate Law from 2019-2023

  Buchalter

  Shareholder

  Moderator

  David Hitchcock

  Shareholder

  Buchalter

Higher Education & Campus Development

Development, Construction & Meeting Student Demand throughout the Inland Empire

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  Hussain Agah

  Vice Chancellor, Facilities Planning & Development

  Riverside Community College District

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  Farrah Farzaneh

  Executive Director, Facilities Planning, Construction

  San Bernardino Community College District

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  Sarah Carr

  As vice president, Sarah Carr is focused on building strong relationships with clients and industry partners in the Southern California education market. Sarah brings more than two decades of field and operations experience to her role, having held a variety of positions including vice president operations, project manager, assistant project manager, senior project engineer and project engineer. Over the course of her career, she has played a key role in more than $1 billion in work in Southern California, including the $615 million Hollywood & Highland Entertainment Retail Complex and $238 million Huntington Beach Union High School District modernization and expansion. Committed to helping other women in the construction industry develop and succeed, Sarah was co-founder of Women in Construction Operations (WiOPS) in 2013 and currently sits on the organization’s board of directors. She also serves on the national committee for the McCarthy Partnership for Women employee resource group. A Designated Design-Build Professional and LEED AP BD+C with the U.S. Green Building Council, Sarah is a board member for the Associated General Contractors of California and is also active with the Coalition for Adequate School Housing and the Design-Build Institute of America.

  McCarthy Building Companies

  Vice President Project Executive

  Moderator

  Sarah Carr

  Vice President Project Executive

  McCarthy Building Companies

Industrial Construction & Development

Identifying Hot Spots, Discussing The Current Demand For Space & Its Impact on New Development

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  Scott Mulkay

  President, Construction

  Birtcher Development

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  D.J. Arellano

  VP, Development & Entitlements

  Prologis

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  Jay Tanjuan

  Jay is director of Development for the Scannell Properties Southern California office, responsible for site acquisition, due diligence, entitlements, construction management, marketing, leasing and dispositions for ground-up development projects throughout Southern California. Prior to joining Scannell Properties, Jay was a senior development manager for Panattoni Development Company and was an office tenant rep broker with JLL in Orange County. Prior to his career in commercial real estate, Jay served six years in the U.S. Navy in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom as a supply officer in logistics/supply chain management. Jay is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science with Merit in Economics and was a member of the Division I Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Irvine, Master of Science in Construction Management from Louisiana State University and a Master of Science in International Real Estate from Florida International University. Jay is an active member of NAIOP, serving on the board of directors of the NAIOP Inland Empire chapter and a chapter sponsor for SIOR Inland Empire and Orange County.

  Scannell Properties

  Director, Development

  Jay Tanjuan

  Director, Development

  Scannell Properties

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  Victor Alia

  Director, Development

  Dedeaux Properties

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  Michael Cucchiara

  Mike leads Nexamp’s organic development in New York and New Jersey. Mike’s team is responsible for site organization, permitting, and internal coordination with Nexamp’s design and engineering teams – brining construction ready community solar and C/I projects to a growing pipeline of Nexamp assets. Mike began his career as a high school biology teacher in NYC before moving into the clean energy space in 2011 with Next Step Living, a Boston based energy efficiency and residential solar sales company. Mike worked as an energy auditor, outreach/lead generation manager, and was GM of the Connecticut office in 2014. Mike holds a B.S in biology from Colgate University and M.S. in energy management from the New York Institute of Technology. If you don’t find Mike presenting before a planning board or meeting with landowners, you might find him enjoying time with his family at youth hockey games or skiing.

  Nexamp

  SVP

  Michael Cucchiara

  SVP

  Nexamp

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  Fernando Villa

  Fernando Villa has significant land use, regulatory, real estate and litigation experience helping clients secure entitlements while mitigating development risk. He advises clients on entitlements and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review for complex development projects and on reducing exposure to environmental liabilities. Fernando’s entitlement work spans industrial, mixed-use, residential, commercial and retail developments. He is particularly experienced with Brownfield redevelopment, merging his knowledge of real estate development with a deep understanding of environmental regulation to help clients complete projects while mitigating environmental risks.

  Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

  Partner, Land Use

  Moderator

  Fernando Villa

  Partner, Land Use

  Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP