Long Island's Commercial Balancing Act

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  Ryan Porter

  Ryan Porter brings more than 16 years of combined experience in the financial services and real estate industries to his role at Renaissance. Ryan began his career in 2001 as a derivatives trader on the American Stock Exchange for Susquehanna International Group. In 2004, Ryan took a position and partial ownership opportunity at VIG Capital, a start-up hedge fund consulting firm. Subsequently, in 2005, Ryan was offered the opportunity to return to the Susquehanna umbrella as an Institutional Sales Trader with a focus on Real Estate Investment Trust analysis. In 2006, Ryan started GreenCliff Property Management, LLC where he began acquiring properties in Pennsylvania and New York. Renaissance Downtowns took notice of Mr. Porter’s successes in both business and real estate, bringing him onto the team in 2007. Mr. Porter now leads Renaissance’s project and design work, working hand in hand with the Company’s partner municipalities. Mr. Porter oversees several Renaissance development teams which have over $10 Billion in mixed-use development opportunities under management. He is responsible for coordinating all necessary tasks and ensuring the project remains on track, ultimately implementing a shared downtown revitalization vision.

  Renaissance Downtowns

  President & Co-CEO

  Ryan Porter

  President & Co-CEO

  Renaissance Downtowns

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  Daniel Abbondandolo

  Mr. Abbondandolo is a Senior Director in the Capital Markets Group of Cushman & Wakefield, where he focuses on investment sales in Nassau & Queens County. Previously, he was a Director of Sales at Massey Knakal Realty Services, which was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield on December 31, 2014. Born and raised on the North Shore of Long Island, Mr. Abbondandolo attended Siena College where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, minored in History and Business Marketing and served as the Captain of the Men’s Division I Golf Team. Upon graduation he spent time as a professional golfer in Florida competing on numerous local and national golf tours. He competed on the Bridgestone Hooters Tour, based out of Orlando where he had several top finishes. Daniel returned to amateur golf where he still competes in some of the most prestigious tournaments in the Metropolitan section. Prior to Massey Knakal, Daniel was Executive Vice President of Business Development at Freedom Abstract Corp. / Infiniti Abstract LLC. A Long Island-based Title Company specializing in commercial and residential transactions along with representing institutional lenders. He managed the Queens and Brooklyn territory and built relationships with commercial and residential attorneys, developers, and real estate brokers. Daniel was also a Co-Founder at RD Empire Realty Inc., a boutique real estate firm focusing on residential and commercial transactions based out of Kew Gardens, Garden City, and a satellite office in Manhattan. Prior to forming RD Empire Realty, Daniel was a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson at Douglas Elliman in East Norwich and the Broadway office in Manhattan. Daniel began his real estate career as a National Sales Executive at Titleserv National & Settlement Corp. in Woodbury, NY where he became the top sales executive within his first year with the company.

  Cushman & Wakefield

  Senior Director, Capital Markets

  Daniel Abbondandolo

  Senior Director, Capital Markets

  Cushman & Wakefield

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  Joseph Rigazio

  Joseph Rigazio is the CEO of Talisen Construction Corporation. Talisen is a commercial construction firm founded in the New York Metro marketplace in 2009. Focusing on the Healthcare and Education markets has brought Talisen success in the hospital, ambulatory centers, medical office buildings, charter schools, private universities, and special projects areas. Trained in both Electrical Engineering, Business Economics, and Construction Management, Joseph entered the professional world with a strong vision. After a 23-year-long career in technology, in which he managed Fortune 100 company relationships in sales management, ran marketing organizations, and ultimately, lead a major business unit at Texas Instruments, Joseph chose to utilize his expertise and leadership skills to start Talisen. Concentrating on growing a team bonded by a common vision, Talisen has become a trailblazer in the New York construction field. Focused investments on employees, processes, and the NY Metro subcontractor ecosystem, along with an innovative approach to project management, differentiates Talisen from the competition. Founded on the key tenants of safety and collaboration, Talisen has grown into a premier New York construction firm that truly partners with their clients to bring their vision to life.

  Talisen Construction Corporation

  Principal & CEO

  Joseph Rigazio

  Principal & CEO

  Talisen Construction Corporation

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  Phil Heilpern

  Phil Heilpern is a Senior Vice President with CBRE, Inc. in their Melville, Long Island office. Phil started with CBRE in 1985 and is the Long Island Practice Leader for tenant representation and investment property sales. He has completed some of Long Island’s interesting and complicated transactions – many of which have changed the landscape of the Long Island region. Phil and his team has represented many of the largest corporations on Long Island in their needs for space. These transactions total over 40 million square feet with over $2 billion in consideration.

  CBRE

  SVP

  Phil Heilpern

  SVP

  CBRE

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  Nicole Barthelemy

  Nicole Barthelemy is a Principal in Berdon LLP’s Audit Department with more than 10 years of professional experience in public accounting. Nicole provides an array of accounting, auditing, and tax services for clients throughout the real estate and hospitality industries. She works closely with real estate owners, managers, developers, and investors as well as REITs, that are involved in a broad spectrum of properties — among them residential, commercial, retail, and shopping malls as well as properties under development. In the hospitality arena, she has a particular specialty in guiding clients in the food and beverage sector. Nicole’s areas of expertise include: Preparing and reviewing GAAP, income tax basis, and special purpose financial statements Reviewing partnership and corporate tax returns Performing certiorari filings and operating expense and real estate escalation audits Developing tax projections for potential sales and purchases as well as determining the tax implications of various types of debt restructuring and like-kind exchanges Analyzing new construction developments Advising startups and growing businesses on tax planning and guiding them in setting up and maintaining records

  Berdon

  Principal

  Moderator

  Nicole Barthelemy

  Principal

  Berdon

Urban Suburbia: Bringing New Life to Long Island

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  Steven Dubb

  Steven Dubb is a principal of The Beechwood Organization (www.beechwoodhomes.com) founded by his father Michael Dubb in 1985. Beechwood is the leading developer of residential housing and sophisticated lifestyle communities on Long Island, and one of the largest in New York State, having built 7,000 homes and 60 communities with new sites in development from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens across Nassau and Suffolk Counties to the Hamptons. Brand names include Arverne by the Sea, Bishops Pond, Country Pointe, Harbor Pointe, Marina Pointe, Meadowbrook Pointe and The Vanderbilt. Transitioning from small builder to national leader, the National Association of Home Builders cited Beechwood a Top 250 builder for 2018 in the United States where it has also ranked 116th in Professional Builder Magazine’s Housing Giants Top 400. Long Island Business News cited Beechwood as “the most prolific home builder on Long Island” and in 2018 named it Residential Developer of the Year for the fifth year running. Dubb is responsible for developing the company’s acquisition and construction loans; sourcing and structuring acquisitions; managing leasing for commercial holdings; and diversifying the Beechwood Homes brand. Dubb is regularly tapped for his real estate market views by media and industry panels including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Real Deal, Long Island Business News, Newsday, LI Pulse, Haute Living, Hamptons Magazine, Curbed Hamptons, Dan’s Behind the Hedges, NBC NY Open House, CUNY TV The Stoler Report, The Fordham Real Estate Institute and Mortgage Bankers Association of New York. Dubb is a Professional Builder 40 Under 40 rising star; and a Long Island Builders Institute board member. Dubb graduated from New York University where he specialized in real estate. He was with Credit Suisse in its Real Estate Finance and Securitization Group before joining the family business in 2008. Dubb is an active supporter of STOKED (www.stoked.org), a charity promoting personal development, academic achievement and healthy living to the under-served youth through action sports culture. The born and bred Long Islander from Oyster Bay resides in both Manhattan and Amagansett. He regularly covers the 100+ mile stretch of Beechwood projects from New York City and across Long Island where he can also be found surfing the shores of the Rockaways and the Hamptons

  The Beechwood Organization

  Principal

  Steven Dubb

  Principal

  The Beechwood Organization

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  Jim Coughlan

  Mr. Coughlan [Jim] is a Principal of TRITEC Real Estate Company and was a co-founder of the Company in 1986 with his brother, Bob. TRITEC has three operating entities - TRITEC Development Group, TRITEC Building Company and TRITEC Asset Management - with offices on Long Island and Washington, D.C. TRITEC has developed apartments, mixed-use complexes, industrial parks, mid-rise office buildings, hotels, medical office buildings, R&D facilities and industrial buildings. Notable projects include: Ronkonkoma Hub, Ronkonkoma, NY New Village at Patchogue, NY Dealertrack, 3400 New Hyde Park Road, North Hills, NY 100 & 102 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, NY Kennedy Row, Washington, DC Kincora, Sterling, Virginia St. Anthony’s High School Student Center, South Huntington, NY Stony Brook Technology Center, East Setauket, NY Jim is actively involved with a number of charitable and not-for-profit organizations, including his role as Chairman of the Board for the Long Island Community Development Corporation and as Secretary for the Long Island Builders Institute. Jim also serves on Stony Brook Medicine's Development Council. Jim is a 1984 graduate of Brown University, a member of the Brown Alumni Association and serves as an interviewer for prospective candidates for admission from Long Island. Jim is married, has raised four children and lives in Setauket with his wife, Betsy.

  TRITEC Real Estate Company

  Principal

  Jim Coughlan

  Principal

  TRITEC Real Estate Company

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  Russell Tepper

  Russell Tepper serves as Mill Creek Residential’s Senior Managing Director for development activities in the Northeast region including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. His duties include leading this regional division of Mill Creek for both ground-up and adaptive reuse developments, while furthering its objective to create tailored residential communities that cater to surrounding neighborhoods’ needs. Prior to joining Mill Creek in 2014, Mr. Tepper was Vice President of Development at Matrix Development Group, where he managed the company’s urban redevelopment portfolio, seeking out new acquisitions of residential and mixed-use properties throughout New Jersey and suburban Philadelphia. Throughout his career, he has been involved in the entitlement, development and construction of over 4,500 multifamily apartment homes and 5 million SF of commercial space. Mr. Tepper is licensed in the State of New Jersey and earned a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in finance and international business from the University of Delaware.

  Mill Creek Residential Trust

  Senior Managing Director, Development

  Russell Tepper

  Senior Managing Director, Development

  Mill Creek Residential Trust

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  Jose Cruz

  Jose is a senior managing director and co-office head in the New Jersey office of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He joins JLL as part of the HFF acquisition and is a member of the firm’s leadership committee. Jose specializes in investment advisory throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and also oversees the day-to-day operations of the firm’s New Jersey office. During the course of his more than 25-year commercial real estate career, he’s been involved in more than $62 billion of office, industrial, retail, multifamily and land sales. Jose started at HFF in March 2010. Before that, he was the executive director of Cushman & Wakefield’s New York area investment sales group where he spent more than 17 years. He began his real estate career as a real estate analyst at PaineWebber, UBS, Inc.

  JLL

  Senior MD

  Jose Cruz

  Senior MD

  JLL

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  Christopher Capece

  Christopher Capece is the Vice President of Development responsible for acquisition and development activity on Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut for AvalonBay Communities, Inc. AvalonBay is a $26BN Real Estate Investment Trust in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing high-quality apartment communities in high-barrier-to- entry submarkets in the United States. Mr. Capece has been involved in the development of over 2,600 units and is currently the developer for some of the largest developments in the New York Metro submarket. Mr. Capece is currently responsible for the development of Avalon Yonkers Waterfront, a 590- unit Transit-Oriented-Development located on the Hudson River waterfront. Most recently, Mr. Capece was responsible for the development of Avalon Great Neck, a 191-unit waterfront apartment community located on Manhasset Bay in Great Neck, NY and Avalon Rockville Centre II, a 165-unit Transit-Oriented-Development, completed in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Prior to that, Mr. Capece was responsible for development at Avalon Huntington Station, a 379- unit Transit-Oriented Development community within walking distance of the Huntington LIRR Station. Mr. Capece was the developer for Avalon Garden City, a 204-unit apartment community located on Stewart Avenue in Garden City which was completed in 2013. In 2012, Mr. Capece completed construction on Avalon Rockville Centre, a 349-unit Transit-Oriented-Development community comprised of 2 podium buildings located within walking distance of the Rockville Centre LIRR station and its downtown. In 2007, Mr. Capece completed Avalon Glen Cove North, a 111-unit mid-rise apartment community in downtown Glen Cove, NY and in 2005 he completed the redevelopment of Avalon Towers, a 109-unit ocean-front high-rise community located on the boardwalk in Long Beach, NY. Before joining AvalonBay in 2004, Mr. Capece spent 6 years with a London based consulting firm where he was responsible for providing consulting solutions to financial service and private sector clients in the NY Metro region. Christopher Capece is an active member of several housing advocacy groups and non-profit organizations in the NY Metro area. Mr. Capece sits on the Board of George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, is a member of the Long Island Builder’s Institute (LIBI) Executive Committee & Board of Directors, and in 2009 was named as one of Long Island’s Forty Under 40 by Long Island Business News. He sits on the corporate board of the YMCA of Long Island where he serves as the Chairman of the YMCA’s Nominating Committee, is the former Chairman of Action Long Island’s Housing Task Force, and previously served on the board of Harlem RBI’s All-Star Committee in NYC. Mr. Capece is a graduate of The Energeia Partnership at Molloy College and has been an active member of Habitat for Humanity where he helped to coordinate the construction of several homes for deserving families on Long Island. Mr. Capece holds dual MBA degrees from Columbia University and London Business School and graduated from The George Washington University with a BA in Finance. Chris lives in New York with his wife, Frances and their children, Abigail and Katharine.

  AvalonBay

  VP of Development

  Christopher Capece

  VP of Development

  AvalonBay

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  Andrew Walsh

  Prior to joining ERG, Andrew Walsh was a Partner at Gabriel Real Estate Group and specialized in acquisitions, development and sourcing equity. This gave him a keen ability to price the current market. He was also involved in the development of condominiums and hotels with an emphasis on design, structure and use. Walsh has been in commercial brokerage for the past 12 years and has gained key relationships in the New York City real estate market. In 2015, Walsh became Director of Finance and in 2017, he became Partner at ERG. He brings an extensive commercial appraisal and asset management background to the team. Walsh has traveled extensively in Europe, South America and Asia. He spent over four months living in China for a work related project right before the 2008 Olympics. He is an avid ice hockey player and plays for the Long Island Scouts. He is involved in local charities and fundraising activities. When Andrew is not brokering transactions, he enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, daughter and twins.

  ERG

  Partner & Director of Finance

  Andrew Walsh

  Partner & Director of Finance

  ERG

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  John Schmuck

  John specializes in serving clients in the real estate and construction industries. As a Partner with over twenty years of experience, John provides audit, tax, cost segregation services and management advisory services to owners, operators, developers, home builders and contractors. John’s work includes the planning and supervision of various audit engagements, as well as the review of various partnership, corporate and individual tax returns and the analysis of the purchase, sale and financing of real estate transactions. In addition to the above, John has developed a good understanding of International Financing Reporting Standards (IFRS) and their effect on the financial statements of real estate owners and developers. John also participates in several of the firm’s committees, including the Real Estate and Construction Practice Group, the Best Practice Group and the Cost Segregation Group. In addition to John’s CPA license, John is one of less than 100 professionals in the Tri-State area to hold the Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation, attesting to his extensive experience and expertise in the construction industry. John is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of CPAs, the Construction Financial Management Association and formerly served on the board of the Greater New York Construction User’s Council.

  Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP

  Partner

  Moderator

  John Schmuck

  Partner

  Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP