Opening Remarks

• 

  Joy Styles

  Councilwoman

  Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

Analyzing Nashville's Construction Opportunities & Challenges

Learn how the region is overcoming current economic challenges, the strategies that are being put in place and what the city is learning from these obstacles.

• 

  Rebecca Ozols Goss

  Rebecca is Bell Construction’s first female owner and serves as Vice President of Growth & Strategy, leading business development and marketing while driving organizational growth and strengthening BELL’s industry position. She partners with the executive team to cultivate key relationships and advance strategic priorities, playing a pivotal role in building BELL’s brand as a leading Southeast construction company. A recognized industry leader, Rebecca has received the Nashville Business Journal’s Women of Influence and annual CRE Award, as well as NAIOP’s Developing Leader of the Year, honoring her impact on Nashville and Middle Tennessee’s commercial real estate industry. Committed to community investment, Rebecca serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee, is past president of SMPS, and is active in Nashville Rotary, ULI, and the Metro Nashville Design Review Committee. She also raised over $130,000 for the Nashville Business Incubation Center to support diverse business enterprises in the region.

  Bell Construction

  Member, VP of Growth and Strategy

  Rebecca Ozols Goss

  Member, VP of Growth and Strategy

  Bell Construction

• 

  Paul Lawson

  As Vice President and General Manager for Turner’s Nashville office, Paul provides leadership and management for all business unit activities and is responsible for establishing all short- and long-range plans for Turner’s work in the market. A Murfreesboro native, and an 18-year career veteran of Turner, he has been an instrumental leader in local healthcare and commercial projects. He has held multiple roles in his career, including project engineer, project manager, project executive, special projects division (SPD) manager, and business manager for the Nashville office. Lawson is an advocate for workforce development throughout the region, citing the opportunity and potential economic impact created by a healthy trade industry. He is the chairman of the Rutherford Works Construction Council, a board member for the Associated General Contractors of America and a member of the State of Tennessee Building Finance Committee.

  Turner Construction

  VP and General Manager

  Paul Lawson

  VP and General Manager

  Turner Construction

• 

  Jon English

  Jon English, CEO and founder of Commercial Industrial Construction, Inc., actively runs projects from the field and guides the company’s project management team. He is known for his ability to budget projects accurately from his head and generate solutions when no other GC can. His comprehensive construction foundation began as a child working with his father on home framing jobs in the summers. In 1990 he began work as a superintendent on out-of-the-ground extended-stay hotel projects. He managed those and other projects for commercial contractors in Louisville, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; and in Nashville. After a short time at another Nashville general contractor, English decided to launch his own company in 2003 from a desire to create an environment that encourages and rewards the "all-stars." By offering equal opportunity for all to make an impact and rewarding those who do so, he ensures an environment where everyone strives for their personal best as well as the best for the company and clients. Rather than limiting people by their title or rewarding mediocrity, every member of the CIC family has the opportunity to continually grow in skills, responsibility, and rewards. From those goals he fostered what has become a tight-knit family of loyal, hard-working people.

  Commercial Industrial Construction

  CEO & Founder

  Jon English

  CEO & Founder

  Commercial Industrial Construction

• 

  Joseph Ferrell

  Joseph Ferrell is the Chief Executive Officer and Principal Partner with Building Engineering-Consultants, Inc. (BE-CI). His areas of expertise are related to the building enclosure, design, project management, and on-site quality assurance observations, specializing in roofing, waterproofing, and building envelope systems. He has nearly 20 years’ experience related to forensic investigation of building envelope systems and the design of steel building components, roofing systems, below-grade and plaza deck waterproofing, sealants, wall cladding and curtain wall systems. During this experience he as performed over 1,000’s QA/QC site visits, leak investigations and testing of roof installations, plaza deck waterproofing, sealants, metal wall panels, masonry, stucco, EIFS and curtain wall systems.

  Building Engineering-Consultants, Inc. (BE-CI)

  CEO & Principal Partner

  Joseph Ferrell

  CEO & Principal Partner

  Building Engineering-Consultants, Inc. (BE-CI)

• 

  Brooks Rutledge

  Vice President

  Layton Construction Company

• 

  David Creed

  Creed Investment Company’s President, David W. Creed, has developed nearly $50,000,000 of creative office and retail product. These incredible investments can be found in the best locations imaginable in downtown Nashville, the Gulch, Sidco Drive, and Main Street Cincinnati. David’s commercial real estate career began in 2008 with CBRE in Memphis, TN following graduation from Middle Tennessee State University. His first venture into investment real estate began in 2009 during the recession when David and several young entrepreneurs pooled the small amount they had together to buy foreclosed homes for renovation, lease up, and sale. By late 2009, David moved to Nashville to join the commercial estate team at Colliers Turley Martin & Tucker and for the next several years he focused on office and industrial brokerage services. In 2013, David joined the Nashville office of SVN as Partner and Managing Director where he focused on investment services and brokerage. While serving SVN as a Managing Director, David formed several successful real estate partnerships to purchase urban properties and develop adaptive reuse projects which ultimately led to the formation of Creed Investment Company. David resides in Franklin, TN with his wife, Adrianne, and his two children Solomon and Lana Belle. Adrianne leads Creed Investment Company’s philanthropic giving program and is actively engaged in the community.

  Creed Investment Company

  President

  Moderator

  David Creed

  President

  Creed Investment Company

The Future of Nashville's Development Pipeline

Learn about the current development projects and how they are shaping the region through site selection, trends, innovations and more.

• 

  Meg Epstein

  Born in California, but today calls Nashville, Tennessee home, real estate developer Meg Epstein has over a decade of experience creating efficient, modern lifestyles for people where it matters most: their homes and neighborhoods. Developing and establishing spaces that support whole living and simplify home and work life for individuals is a personal passion of hers.

  CA South

  CEO & Founder

  Meg Epstein

  CEO & Founder

  CA South

• 

  Liz Palmer

  Responsibilities: Sourcing and executing development opportunities in Tennessee. Prior Experience: – Most Recently: She was with Clarendon Creek Partners advising investors on all property types in Nashville. – Prior to Clarendon Creek Partners, she was a Vice President for Acquisitions and Development with Fisher Brothers in New York. Her responsibilities included real estate acquisitions, financings and development. During her time there, she participated in over $1 billion in real estate development. In addition, Liz was a member of the Lionheart mezzanine investment team, originating and closing mezzanine investments for development and traditional assets. – Prior to Fisher Brothers, she was an Associate in Real Estate Acquisitions for The City Investment Fund, L.P, a $770 million investment fund designed to pursue opportunistic real estate investment activities exclusively within the five boroughs of the City of New York. She was involved in over $2 billion of acquisitions, and part of the fund’s management and dispositions. Education: – Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Vanderbilt University – MBA in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University

  Middle Street Partners

  Director, Development

  Liz Palmer

  Director, Development

  Middle Street Partners

• 

  Evan Holladay

  Evan is a real estate developer with experience developing over $531 million in projects and 2,416 multifamily units. He is the Founder and CEO of Holladay Ventures, where he and his team specialize in creating and investing in workforce, affordable, and mixed-income communities. Their approach is guided by intentional design, sustainability, and thoughtful place-making, all underscored by a commitment to providing supportive services in partnership with non-profit organizations. This holistic approach aims to create better outcomes for residents and communities alike. Evan’s passion for mentorship and education led him to create Affordable Development Mastery and become a mentor for the Real Estate Developer Academy (RED), a collaborative effort with Amazon, ULMT, and Nashville State. In these programs, he serves as a teacher and mentor, sharing his expertise and guiding the next generation of real estate developers. Outside of Holladay Ventures, Evan enjoys mountain biking, spending time with family, hiking, immersing himself in nature, improving his Spanish, reading, and exploring the world. Fun Fact: Evan has reached a cold plunge record of 10 minutes!

  Holladay Ventures

  Founder and CEO

  Evan Holladay

  Founder and CEO

  Holladay Ventures

• 

  Chris Ellis

  Chris is the Business Development Director, Ohio at Nuveen Green Capital. Chris has over twenty years of experience in commercial real estate, including working in areas of accounting, asset management, acquisitions, dispositions, underwriting, financing and investor relations. Prior to Greenworks Lending, Chris was Vice President, Investor Relations at White Oak Partners. Additionally, Chris spent eleven years with Washington Prime Group, formally Glimcher Realty Trust, as Senior Director, Investments, where he sourced new acquisition opportunities, oversaw the financial underwriting function, managed the relationships with joint venture partners, and oversaw financial projections on development and redevelopment opportunities. He also spent 10 years at Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), in the Real Estate Accounting and the Real Estate Investment Division, where he managed several portfolios totaling over $1.5 billion in market value consisting of various property types. Chris received his MBA from The Dauch School of Business at Ashland University and his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in Ohio.

  Nuveen Green Capital

  Senior Director, Originations

  Chris Ellis

  Senior Director, Originations

  Nuveen Green Capital

• 

  Kelly Cathey

  Kelly Cathey is a Co-Managing Director of Gensler’s Nashville Office and a Registered Architect. She has spent more than 25 years working across multiple markets including office, retail, mixed use, civic, and industrial, leading teams to deliver relevant, transformational projects. Kelly moved to Nashville in 2011 after more than a decade working in the western U.S, including founding a successful architecture practice in Honolulu, HI. In Nashville, she has been engaged in an unprecedented period of growth and development throughout the city and the region. As an architect and project manager, she has contributed to many signature projects across the city, including the planning and delivery of Circle South Office Tower, Fifth and Broadway, and the Nashville Yards Mixed Use Development which includes Amazon Tower 1 and 2 and Pinnacle Tower 3 Kelly thrives in fast-paced, high-pressure environments with a specialty for driving decisions through effective communication and rigorous evaluation of outcomes. Since joining Gensler in 2022 to open the Nashville office, her leadership has charted a path for continued growth through design excellence and client service. She is passionate about cultivating a culture where hard work, great ideas, and meaningful collaboration yield courageous design solutions. She has served as a member of the AIA Middle Tennessee Board of Directors and the AIA State of Tennessee Board of Directors. Some of Kelly’s fondest memories are linked to her time teaching at the University of Hawaii, and she looks forward to any opportunity to engage in academic discourse with her peers. Kelly graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University’s School of Architecture in May 2000.

  Gensler

  Co‑Managing Director, Senior Associate

  Moderator

  Kelly Cathey

  Co‑Managing Director, Senior Associate

  Gensler