The Future of Atlanta Office

Jim Irwin is the President of New City, LLC and directs the company’s real estate development and consulting operations, as well as new business pursuits. Over the course of his career, Jim has been responsible for over $500 million of new investment around the United States. Prior to founding New City, Jim served as a Senior Vice President at Jamestown Properties, leading the development of Ponce City Market, a 2.1 million square foot former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution facility that was originally constructed in the 1920’s. During its redevelopment, the project was one of the largest and most significant historic renovations underway in the United States. Jim began his career in real estate working for Atlanta-based Barry Real Estate Companies. Among other projects, Jim managed the development of a FBI Regional Headquarters, a $60 million-build-to-suit project in Minneapolis, and Harrison Square, a 16 acre mixed-use development in Fort Wayne, Indiana, anchored by an 8,000 seat minor league ballpark associated with the San Diego Padres. Since it opened to the public, the ballpark has been named “best overall minor league baseball experience” in the country four separate years. Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College, where he played football for four years. After college, he served as a legislative aide to two U.S. senators and a U.S. representative before returning to Atlanta to pursue a MBA with a concentration in real estate finance at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Jim and his wife, Elisabeth, have three young children.

Brooke Dewey has over sixteen years of commercial real estate experience in the Atlanta market. As an Executive Vice President with Jones Lang LaSalle, Ms. Dewey has been actively involved in the leasing and marketing efforts for over fifteen million square feet in Atlanta. Ms. Dewey has extensive experience in office project repositioning and market reintroduction. With a strong background in marketing, Brooke has been successful in developing effective messaging and strategic brand solutions for her clients. These efforts have resulted in over 5 Million SF of lease transactions for clients that have included Sumitomo Life Realty (N.Y.) Inc., J.P. Morgan, Piedmont Office Realty Trust, CB Richard Ellis Investors, Macquarie and Archon Group. Ms. Dewey’s current Landlord clients include, MetLife Real Estate, Zeller Realty, Crocker Partners, Preferred Office Properties, The Simpson Organization and OA Development.

Ms. Kerr is a managing director responsible for development, asset management, leasing, and acquisition activities in Hines’ Southeast Region. She is currently managing the development of T3 West Midtown and Atlantic Yards, three new creative office buildings totaling 750,000 square feet in Midtown, Atlanta. Ms. Kerr is also responsible for ongoing asset management of 2.8 million square feet of Class A properties in Georgia and North Carolina on behalf of third-party clients, as well as a five-building portfolio totaling two million square feet in Atlanta. Since joining Hines in 1994, she has been involved in acquisitions totaling approximately $425 million and developments totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet. Within the Southeast Region, she has overseen asset management for a portfolio of approximately 6 million square feet, completed over $725 million in debt financings and disposed of more than $1.1 billion of office properties. Ms. Kerr received a BS in Accounting from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an MBA from J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.

Errol is currently the Vice President for the Atlantic Territory at WeWork with responsibility for WeWork Building Communities on the East Coast, excluding New York. Prior to WeWork, Errol was a VP with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) with responsibility for brand leadership, strategy, new business development, and brand operations. Before IHG, he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company where he worked with Global Consumer and Retail clients on Marketing, Organizational, and Growth topics. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from University of Notre Dame.

Angela Threadgill serves as executive director of the Decatur Development Authorities and is the planning and economic development director for the City of Decatur, populated by 25,000 residents and 960 businesses within 4.7 square miles. Threadgill is responsible for Decatur’s current and long-range planning functions and partners with key stakeholders in the public and private sector to encourage positive development outcomes that align with the City’s adopted plans and policies. She is presently guiding public participation in the City of Decatur’s 2020 strategic plan, which will set priorities in land use, transportation and economic development for the next decade. Previously, Threadgill served as a senior urban planner for the City and County of San Francisco and the City of Atlanta’s Office of Planning and Urban Design Commission. She is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, where she received a BFA in Historic Preservation from the School of Building Arts. She presently serves on the boards of Easements Atlanta, Inc., the Decatur Arts Alliance, and the Decatur Tourism Bureau.