Tom is responsible for Southern California commercial property development, particularly urban infill and mixed-use development. He is overseeing development of Ivy Station, a mixed-use property at the Culver City EXPO station and recently completed the Garey Building, a residential/retail property in the downtown LA Arts District. Past projects include the 1.8 million square foot Exchange mixed-use development in Hawthorne and

over 350,000 square feet of commercial space in Calabasas and Santa Monica. He is a member of ULI, ICSC, US Green Building Council, and serves as a Board Member of the California Business Properties Association. He is past President of the Executive Board of the Southern California chapter of NAIOP and a current member of the corporate Board of Directors. Tom is a USGBC LEED Accredited Professional. Education: University

of Southern California, BArchitecture; University of Southern California, MRED

Jim Suhr, principal of James Suhr & Associates LLC, has focused on urban infill development throughout his 40+ year career in Southern California real estate. Jim has been involved in developing a number of transit-oriented mixed-use projects, including The Culver Studios in Culver City and Wilshire Vermont Station in Koreatown, as well as industrial, office, apartment, condominium, hotel and historic rehab projects across Southern California. Jim has provided management and advisory services to public and private sector clients including Hackman Capital Partners, Hilton Universal City, Four Seasons Hotels, the State Bar of California, the Port of Los Angeles, and many others. Prior to forming JSA, he held positions with BRE Properties, Newhall Land Farming, Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., and The Ratkovich Company. He is a graduate of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and School of Urban Planning.

Sol Blumenfeld is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and received Master Degrees in city planning from the Graduate School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and in landscape architecture from California Polytechnic University. He has worked in the areas of architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, urban design and land planning in the public and private sectors as a Planning Director, Community Development Director and Program Administrator.

As an experienced land use lawyer, Elisa Paster is a committed advocate for her clients, guiding and assisting them with development and environmental approvals, planning and placemaking. She specializes in navigating complex entitlement and environmental processes across California, including Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City, Long Beach, Glendale, Beverly Hills, Orange County, the unincorporated County of Los Angeles, and Northern California. Elisa is involved in all aspects of the development process: assisting in due diligence stages, strategizing on development and redevelopment of land, processing applications and overseeing environmental compliance (CEQA/NEPA), representing clients in front of public bodies, including appellate bodies, and defending the entitlements in litigation.

Elisa regularly represents private developers in development of hotels and large-scale developments, mid- size developers in transformative urban mixed- use projects inside and outside former redevelopment areas, and a wide variety of property owners in the Coastal Zone. An important part of Elisa’s practice involves working with affordable housing developers and streamlining the process for these projects. She has consistently taken on complex land use challenges, big or small, and provided the necessary level of advice and guidance to get the job done through effective legal advocacy, strategic advice and personal relationships. Whether a project involves strategic advisement or a full environmental and planning process, Elisa’s extensive range of experience in land use and environmental law is an asset to her clients.

Before law school, she worked as a planner for five years and she is well respected in the professional planning community. Her previous “behind the counter” experience allows her to think creatively about legal issues and provides clients with a unique perspective.

Elisa is a long time Boardmember of Menorah Housing, a provider of low-income senior housing, and the past president of the Westside Urban Forum. She is former member of the City of Santa Monica Planning Commission and a frequent speaker at law, real estate and planning conferences. She is a frequent guest lecturer for Urban Land Institute panels as well.

Elisa is admitted to practice law in Missouri, New Mexico and California.