Southern California Multifamily Updates: What You Need To Know For 2021

Michael E. Johnson is President and Chief Executive Officer of UrbanCore Development, LLC which he founded in 2012 to focus on public-private, mixed-income residential development projects. Prior to establishing UrbanCore, Mr. Johnson was the President of Em Johnson Interest, Inc., a real estate development company based in San Francisco for 20 years. Over the combined last 25 years, his companies have been one of the largest African American businesses in the Bay Area. This is as a result of recent completion or current undertaking of over $800 million in project development activity, representing over 3,000 housing units and several mixed-use projects. He has served as the Managing Partner of award winning redevelopment projects such as the Fillmore Heritage Center, an $85 million mixed-use project in San Francisco; the $32 million Easter Hill HOPE VI project in Richmond, California; and the $45 million Mary Helen Roger Senior Center in San Francisco. Mr. Johnson has recently completed projects in Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego. This includes the completion of the $40 million Cannery Place 180-unit Affordable Housing project in Sacramento, the $35 million Warren-Eviva both in Sacramento (118 units), and the $50 million Eviva-Mission Bay project in San Francisco (129 units). UrbanCore also is currently completing construction on the largest modular housing project in Oakland, the $56 million, 110-unit Coliseum Connections apartment project scheduled to begin occupancy in March 2019, and is in the final pre-construction phase of the LakeHouse Commons - mixed income $250 million apartment project near Lake Merritt, and in Oakland which is schedule to break ground in the 3rd quarter of 2019. Mr. Johnson previously was a co-Managing Partner of the $102 million North Beach Place redevelopment project completed 2004, which has received numerous awards. Mr. Johnson has two degrees - a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Urban Planning in 1976, and a Master of Architecture with a concentration in Real Estate Development in 1979, from the University of Maryland and the Georgia Institute of Technology respectively. While at the Maryland, Michael was a student-athlete as a member of the track & field team, and was an Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in 1974. Mr. Johnson is currently a Member of the University of Maryland’s Board of Trustees and also serves on the Oakland Zoo Planning Advisory Committee, along with serving on the Board of the national non-profit Neighborhood Development Collaborative. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for the St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Oakland, on the Planning Commission, YMCA and Library Boards while in Atlanta, and the Board of Glide Memorial Church’s Housing Corporation in San Francisco. Mr. Johnson also lectures regularly at the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development.

Sara Neff is the Head of ESG, Lendlease Americas, where she provides leadership and management oversight in developing, implementing and driving Lendlease's corporate sustainability framework in the Americas region, with the goal of achieving absolute zero carbon across all scopes by 2040. Prior to that role, she served as Senior Vice President, Sustainability at Kilroy Realty Corporation. Ms. Neff was instrumental in the architecture, initiation and execution of Kilroy’s sustainability program. Under her leadership, Kilroy has been recognized as a leader among publicly traded real estate companies on sustainability in the Americas by GRESB for seven of the last eight years and achieved carbon neutral operations at the end of 2020. She is a LEED Fellow and holds a BS from Stanford and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Henry Manoucheri’s successful real estate career spans over 30 years. Henry began his career at Marcus & Millichap in 1985 and became one of their top brokers, being recognized throughout California as well as nationally. He has brokered over $500,000,000 worth of transactions in apartment buildings, office buildings, industrial properties, shopping centers and land. After leaving M&M, Henry launched his own privately held acquisitions business, as principal. In less than six months the number of apartments owned grew 200% from 400 to 1,200 units. Having demonstrated a detailed knowledge of acquisitions, operations and construction, Henry was able to partner with Bank of America to acquire and renovate a large apartment community in Carlsbad, CA. The asset was acquired at a purchase price of $50,700,000 with $10,500,000 in equity from Bank of America and $1,200,000 of equity from high net-worth investors. After successfully renovating the property and enhancing day-to-day operations, Henry sold the property four years later for $78,000,000 generating a profit of nearly $9,500,000 for himself and his investors. From this point forward a career of buying significant, well located apartment communities in Southern California began, acquiring 100+ unit properties throughout Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Ventura and San Diego County. Trisail of Bank of America and Urdang Advisors completed 10 large transactions with Henry over a successful 10 year relationship with acquisitions ranging from 200 to 450 units on transactions of $20 million to $70 million. This provided the economic platform for Henry to grow the portfolio to over 4,000 units. Additionally, Henry continued improving and refinancing smaller apartment communities, delivering 400 – 800% total returns to his investors over time. Henry, supported by research and analysis, sensed a changing marketplace and began selling select assets at record prices and cap rates from 2006 to 2008. The vast majority of sales were not used in trade, but rather to fund future acquisitions during the next down-cycle and to provide returns to investors. With over 30 years of experience in the business, Mr Manoucheri has been able to successfully navigate the company through difficult times by focusing on value-add propositions, detailed operations, and favorable financing opportunities, thereby profiting even during down cycles. This devotion to discipline, hard work , continuous examination of operating results and a hands-on approach has enabled Henry to deliver an average return of 22% percent annually across numerous assets, based on cash flow, and a return of over 60% per annum on assets sold. Currently the company is engaged in expanding its current holdings by acquiring new, value-add opportunities from various sellers, troubled borrowers, and financial institutions alike. Henry holds a BS in Finance and Real Estate from Cal State, Northridge, CA.

Jerome A. Fink is a co-founder & Managing Partner of The Bascom Group, LLC. Bascom has completed over $12.0 billion in multi-family and commercial value-added transactions since 1996 including more than 300 multifamily properties and 80,000 units. Bascom has ranked among the top 50 multifamily owners in the U.S. Bascom’s subsidiaries and joint ventures include the Southern California Industrial Fund, Rushmore Properties, Bascom Portfolio Advisors, Shubin Nadal Associates, Spirit Bascom Ventures, REDA Bascom Ventures, MHF RM Holdings, Bascom Northwest Ventures, Bascom Arizona Ventures, Harbor Associates, Village Partner Ventures, and the Realm Group. Bascom’s subsidiaries also include Premier Business Centers, the largest privately held executive suite company in the U.S. Prior to founding Bascom, Mr. Fink acted as Senior Acquisitions and Sales Manager from 1991 to 1995 for Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company. His responsibilities included market assessment, property identification and negotiation, and the acquisition and disposition of real estate investments. Mr. Fink holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master of Business Administration in Real Estate and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Managements (IREM) and Turnaround Management Association (TMA). Mr. Fink is a licensed real estate broker in the state of California, a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a Certified Property Manager (CPM), a Certified Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor (CM&AA), and a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP). He has appeared as a guest speaker at various functions, including those for the Urban Land Institute, University of California Los Angeles and Irvine, University of Southern California, and other assorted industry events. Mr. Fink previously served on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association and is currently a member of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Executive Committee.  He has previously served on the board for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) California Coast chapter and is currently a member of the World Presidents Organization (WPO). In 2004, Mr. Fink was awarded the Apartment Executive of the Year by the Real Estate Conference Group, the industry's largest and most prestigious multifamily conference on the West Coast, and was later awarded the Rising Star award by the University of California Irvine Center for Real Estate in 2008. Mr. Fink was also recognized in the 2011 Multi-Family Executive Magazine. In 2016, Mr. Fink was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Orange County.

Megan Cordes is an Account Manager for SunPower’s New Homes division, a manufacturer and installer of high efficiency solar electric systems. Megan has been with SunPower since 2019. Prior to SunPower, Megan was with ConSol where she was the lead technical consultant to the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) on building codes and standards. She worked closely with top production builders in California and their representatives at CBIA to provide building industry insight into the code development, adoption, and implementation process. She has also worked for the California Energy Commission and Paramount Solar. She is on the board of the California Professional Women in Building (PWB) as the Chair of the Legislative Committee and is the Chair of the Building Products Efficiency Council for CBIA. She has an extensive background in energy policy and building science and has worked with builders, government agencies, utilities, and other industry stakeholders to promote and execute energy efficiency and renewable projects and programs throughout her career. Megan received a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a concentration in Environmental Studies.

Patrick Sterns is SunPower’s Multifamily Account Manager. With 10 over years of experience in residential and commercial solar project development and, Patrick has worked with both market rate and affordable housing developers. He is passionate about helping builders navigate the new code landscape and integrate solar and storage into their communities seamlessly from inception to completion.

Matt Brost is Sr. Director of Sales for SunPower’s New Homes division. Matt has 25 years of experience in the energy sector working with large public and private clients. He currently leads SunPower’s sales channel focused on residential developers and builders, a business segment SunPower launched in 2006. During his 14-year career at SunPower Matt has worked to increase energy efficiency and solar electric adoption by builders and developers. In this time, SunPower has developed partnerships with most of the Top US builders and has completed more than 55,000 new solar homes. Matt has been deeply engaged in policy relating to California solar and energy codes throughout his career, including the 2019 Title 24 Standards. Prior to joining SunPower Matt was Vice President of RLW Analytics, a nationwide energy consulting firm focused on energy policy, demand-side management, load forecasting and measurement and verification. He holds an Environmental Studies degree in Energy Management and Design.

Nolan Zail is a founding principal of Impact Urban, a real estate development company that advances innovation, sustainability and equity to create positive impacts in urban environments. Nolan contributes over 30 years of experience in real estate development including design and construction, developing and re-developing residential, commercial, historic and mixed-use projects. Nolan’s mixed-use and residential development experience includes founding principal of Transform Urban (CA), Senior Vice President of Development with Carmel Partners (CA) and development manager with Santa Clara Development Co. (CA). In addition, Nolan has commercial development experience with Cushman & Wakefield (NY) and non-profit housing redevelopment experience with Common Ground Community (NY). Prior to real estate, Mr. Zail has worked for award winning architectural firms on residential and commercial projects. Nolan was the Project Executive with Carmel Partners for UC Davis West Village, a 130-acre planned net zero energy mixed-use development that received the Urban Land Institute Global Award of Excellence. Nolan received a Master of Science (Real Estate) from New York University; a Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Horticulture) from the University of Melbourne; and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Notable Projects include UC Davis West Village, Davis, CA; Grand Central Terminal Redevelopment, New York; Prince George Affordable Housing Redevelopment, NY and ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia.