Next Generation Developers – Up-and-Coming Players Changing Philly’s Landscape

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  Ugochukwu Opara

  Chief Solution Officer

  Opara LLC

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  Devon Caudle

  Managing Partner

  Consult With Caudle

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  Alex Robles

  Managing Partner

  Voyage Investments

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  Kratma Saini Sood

  Managing Partner,

  Apex Vista

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  Ken Weinstein

  Ken is an active entrepreneur and real estate developer in the Philadelphia area. He serves as President of Philly Office Retail, which has renovated and restored more than 300 vacant and deteriorated commercial and residential units in the Philadelphia region during the past 30 years. Philly Office Retail currently owns and manages more than 800,000 square feet of commercial and residential space in the Philadelphia region and has received four Preservation Alliance Awards for its adaptive reuse projects. Ken founded and operated Cresheim Cottage Cafe from 1996 until 2004, Trolley Car Diner, Deli and Ice Cream Shoppe in Mt. Airy from 2000 until 2019 and Trolley Car Cafe, serving breakfast and lunch and hosting private events in East Falls since 2010. Previously, Ken served as Chief of Staff for Philadelphia City Councilwoman Happy Fernandez from 1991-1995 and currently serves as President of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), as a Mayoral appointee, and Chair of the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District which he co-founded in 2007. Ken is Founder of the Trolley Car Teacher’s Fund, which contributes $25,000/year in grants to public school teachers and Trolley Car Table Tennis Club, the only full-time table tennis club in the Philadelphia region. Ken was an Organizer/Board Member of Valley Green Bank for 8 years until it was sold to Univest Bank in January 2015. Ken regularly lectures on subjects ranging from real estate development to entrepreneurship to social impact investing and taught a graduate level class, entitled “Empowering Communities Through Real Estate Development,” at University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government. In 2015, Ken founded Jumpstart Germantown, an award-winning community development program that works to revitalize the Germantown section of Philadelphia, and surrounding communities, by providing training, mentoring, networking and financial resources to local aspiring developers. Now with seven Programs throughout the City of Philadelphia, Jumpstart Philly has graduated more than 1,000 mentees from its training programs and made hundreds of loans to its participants. In 2004, Ken was awarded the Business Leader of the Year Award by West Mt. Airy Neighbors, in 2005 was given the Community Service Award by the Center City Proprietors Association, in 2006 was named one of Philadelphia’s 101 Connectors by Leadership Philadelphia, in 2009 received the Distinguished Leadership Award by Community College of Philadelphia, in 2010 received the My Block, My Business Award by the Empowerment Group, in 2011 was awarded the Edgar Baker Community Service Award by East Mt. Airy Neighbors, the 2012 Retailer of the Year Award by the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and was honored by the Philadelphia Parks Alliance in 2013. In 2015, Ken received honors by the Waldorf School of Philadelphia, the Wissahickon Charter School and the Philadelphia Business Journal as “Do Gooder of the Year.” In 2018, Ken was honored by Mt. Airy USA and Historic Germantown as a community champion, by the Commonwealth Youth Choirs with its Founder’s Award, by SustainPHL with its Social Impact Award and by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia with its ImpactPHL Award. Ken’s mission is to revitalize neighborhoods by renovating vacant, deteriorated properties along Philadelphia’s commercial corridors. He believes that you can do well by doing good.

  Philly Office Retail

  President

  Moderator

  Ken Weinstein

  President

  Philly Office Retail

Adaptive Reuse Renaissance – Converting Offices, Schools & More into Apartments

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  Michael Markman

  As President, Michael Markman oversees acquisitions, leasing, financing and development for BET Investments, a real estate management and development company that owns, manages, develops and leases shopping centers, office buildings and apartment complexes throughout the United States. Mr. Markman was formerly general counsel of a publicly traded New York Stock Exchange real estate investment trust (REIT) with over $500 million in assets where he managed all legal matters. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the Temple University School of Law and is member of the Pennsylvania Bar. He is a Commissioner in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, past chairman Abington Township Planning Commission, a member of the Board of Directors of the John A. Robbins Company and on the Board of Trustees at Ursinus College. Mr. Markman is a frequent speaker on industry topics and serves on the boards of various charitable groups.

  BET Investments

  President

  Michael Markman

  President

  BET Investments

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  Connor Burke

  Partner

  Alterra Property Group

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  Sean Edwards

  Sean Edwards is the President of Rittenhouse Communications Group (RCG), a design build technology integrator for multi-family and hospitality sectors. RCG’s goal is to provide a single pane of glass redundant building technology solutions for a single asset, or a nationwide portfolio.

  Rittenhouse Communications Group

  President

  Sean Edwards

  President

  Rittenhouse Communications Group

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  Fran Coyne

  Senior Managing Director

  JLL

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  Josh Broderson

  Joshua Broderson concentrates his practice on commercial and residential real estate and business matters. Josh counsels clients on all phases of real estate, including: Acquisitions and dispositions Lending Leasing Joint ventures Land use and development

  Blank Rome

  Partner

  Moderator

  Josh Broderson

  Partner

  Blank Rome

Building Amid Headwinds – Development, Construction & Finance

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  Brian Murray

  CEO

  Shift Capital

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  Lorraine Wilson-Drake

  Lorraine Wilson-Drake is the Owner of Wilson-Drake Development, LLC, a company that provides well designed, moderately priced apartments in the City of Philadelphia. The company develops exclusively in neighborhoods that have higher levels of poverty and disinvestment. The value proposition is an affordable apartment with good amenities in a neighborhood that is undergoing change. Lorraine is extremely proud of the niche she has carved out and the social impact of her developments. In addition to providing quality housing, her developments have impacted crime and safety and increased surrounding property values. Currently, she is developing 3 projects in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Originally from San Francisco, Lorraine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from San Francisco State University. She also holds an M.A. in Journalism and an M.B.A from Columbia University. Lorraine spent seventeen years in sales and marketing in the television industry working for CBS, FOX Television Network, ESPN and ABC Television Network. She also spent time in business development at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, attracting companies and investment to Harlem. Her last job before becoming an entrepreneur was Vice President of Sales at ABC Television Network. She married and moved to Philadelphia in 2001. While searching for a place to live in Philadelphia, she saw a gap in the housing market for moderately priced apartments with good amenities. The concept of affordable luxury housing has been extremely successful for Wilson-Drake and they have completed sixteen projects since inception. Lorraine lives in Cherry Hill, NJ with her husband and business partner Anthony Drake and their son AJ. In her spare time she enjoys running races and completing triathlons. Last year she completed both the Chicago and New York Marathons.

  Wilson-Drake Development

  President

  Lorraine Wilson-Drake

  President

  Wilson-Drake Development

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  Zak Klinvex

  CIO

  Post Brothers

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  Maria Sourbeer

  Maria Sourbeer has made a career out of bridging the gap between her capabilities as an architect/developer and her responsibilities as a community member. She believes that a beautiful and well-designed space has a positive influence on a basic human level. She's carried this idea through from her experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer, to her current position as Executive Vice President of Development for Mosaic Development Partners. At Mosaic, Maria leads the community development team, guiding development strategy and execution through construction completion and stabilization. She also serves as mentor and cross-collaborator for the team to ensure the highest standard of quality is continuously delivered on projects. Together with the Mosaic team, Maria finds creative ways to develop real estate and bring jobs, homes and commercial enterprise to challenged urban neighborhoods. Maria has over 20 years of professional experience and continues to grow through her love of family, work and play. Outside of Mosaic, she dedicates volunteer efforts to the Community Design Collaborative, Norris Square Community Alliance, Impact Loan Fund and the South Philly Food Coop.

  Mosaic Development

  EVP

  Maria Sourbeer

  EVP

  Mosaic Development

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  Bryan Cohen

  Co-Founder

  Full Court Construction

• Moderator

  Paul Salvo

  Founder and CEO

  SC Capital