Atlanta State of the Market

Carl Hudson

Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Clark Dean

Executive Managing Director & Partner
Transwestern

Clark Dean helps directs Transwestern’s Occupier Solutions business and is the founder of the company’s Transaction Sciences platform, which operates across service lines. Clark is a member of Transwestern’s Board of Directors and its National Occupier Solutions Steering Committee. He also helps lead the company’s global partnerships with BNP Paribas Real Estate and Devencore. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS With a background in biomedical engineering, management consulting, and financial structuring, Clark is known for being a disruptive innovator in the brokerage industry. His Transaction Sciences practice combines robust brokerage capabilities with behavioral science, organizational science, and decision science to deliver real estate solutions that optimize culture, function, and economics for occupiers and investors. Prior to joining Transwestern, Clark was a founding principal of Studley’s Corporate Services Group where he spent over a decade working on some of the firm’s largest and most complex assignments. Before that, Clark was a management consultant and later chief operating officer for a management consulting firm specializing in strategic and operational consulting for insurance and financial service companies. He began his real estate career with Studley as a financial analyst in Washington, DC.

Mark Toro

Founder, Chief Vision Officer
Toro Development Company

MARK TORO founded Atlanta-based Toro Development Company in 2021 to create value by building community. As Chief Vision Officer, Toro will use a metric-driven approach to identify properties that have significant potential based on the promise of the locale. He and his team have multi-dimensional experience, positioning Toro Development Company to choose the right use or mix of uses for each redevelopment. Prior to starting Toro Development Company, Toro cofounded and led the North American Properties (NAP) Atlanta office where he oversaw $3.1 billion in real estate development, totaling 9.4 million square feet. He delivered industry-leading returns to his capital partners, became known nationally as a leader in experience-driven commercial real estate and left a legacy of great communities. His successes at NAP include the repositioning of Atlantic Station, development of Alpharetta’s $1 billion Avalon and the redevelopment of Colony Square. Toro currently serves on ICSC’s Board of Trustees, Midtown Alliance’s Board of Directors and serves as vice chair of the City of Refuge Board, where he chaired the $25 million “Shining the Light” capital campaign. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The ATL, a State authority that governs the expansion of public transportation in Metro Atlanta. Before cofounding NAP’s Atlanta office in 1996, Toro served in several leadership positions with Faison and Cousins Properties. He has developed, redeveloped or repositioned more than 70 properties totaling almost 30 million square feet during his career. He attended Rutgers University, where he met his wife, Nancy.

Chris Ahrenkiel

EVP
Selig Enterprises

As Executive Vice President of Commercial Leasing and Office Development, Ahrenkiel is responsible for activating office developments on many of Selig’s prime land holdings across Atlanta. Chris came to Selig in 2018, after 11 years with Tishman Speyer, where he was the Atlanta Managing Director, overseeing the firm’s activities in the region. Most recently, he was responsible for the development, leasing and sale of Three Alliance Center, a +500,000 SF trophy office development which set an Atlanta pricing record, trading for $534/SF. Prior to that, Chris led the leasing for Two Alliance, Colony Square, Midtown Plaza, Interstate North and Palisades. Chris started his commercial real estate career at Trizec Properties. Ahrenkiel is very involved in the community, serving on the Board of Directors of InvestAtlanta, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors. In 2017, Ahrenkiel graduated Leadership Atlanta and remains actively involved. In 2015, he was named as one of Atlanta’s 40 under 40 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and is consistently recognized by the publication as a Who’s Who in Commercial Real Estate as well as a Top Producer. Previously, Chris served on the Board of REGA (Real Estate Group of Atlanta), Georgia Institute of Real Estate, Georgia State University Real Estate Alumni Board and was a co- founder of NAIOP Future Leaders (NFL). Chris graduated with a B.B.A. from the University of Georgia (1998) and with an M.B.A. with a concentration in Commercial Real Estate from Georgia State University (2003). When not working or volunteering, Chris enjoys spending time with his two sons, Byrne and Porter.

Tony Zivalich, Jr.

Executive Director, Real Estate Development
Georgia Institute of Technology

Tony has over 34 years experience in providing strategic real estate advisory services for corporate users and non-profit institutions. In particular, Tony has worked closely with clients to develop programs with real world, actionable strategies to align their real estate obligations with their ownership, cost, quality and location objectives. Tony has extensive experience in providing portfolio reviews and analysis, highest and best use studies, occupancy cost benchmarking, merger and acquistion services, development advisory, master planning, site slection, tenant representation, transaction management, financial analysis and ownership structures. His experience involves working across a wide range of asset classes including office, retail, data centers, and headquarters facilities and transaction types including acquisitions, dispositions, build-to-suits and sale-leaseback transactions. Some of Tony's distinguished list of clients include SunTrust, McKesson, Ernst and Young, Georgia Tech, Siemens, Microsoft, Sprint, Mellon Bank, Equifax, Wellpoint, Darden Restaurants and Woodruff Arts Center.

Bill Halter

Partner
Cooper Carry

Bill Halter joined COOPER CARRY in 2010 as Director in the Office Workplace Studio and was named Principal in 2015. He has spent the last 30 years specializing in the design of corporate and commercial office buildings. While with COOPER CARRY, Bill has led the master planning and office design teams for the 300,000 SF Riverwood 200, the 585,000 SF Park Center (State Farm) One, the 240,000 SF Intergraph Headquarters, the 275,000 SF Mylan Pharmaceutical Headquarters and the Georgia Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal. Bill’s designs have received accolades from the American Institute of Architects and have been featured in publications such as Architectural Record. He has also been a key speaker at several conferences, including the 2011 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Infrastructure Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. He spent four-and-a-half years in China speaking on the virtues of a well-planned infrastructure in the form of exhibition centers and transit to manage urban transformation. Bill is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB), and is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED). Bill is a member of CoreNet and the ULI – currently serving on the Public Development Infrastructure Council (PDIC). He has also served on the Atlanta Urban Design Commission. Bill hold a Bachelor in Architecture from Ohio State University, a Master in Architecture and Urban Design from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is registered to practice in four states.

Jeramy Ragsdale

Founder & Principal
Thrive Senior Living

Jeff Stein

Owner
Stein Investment Group

David Kahn

Managing Analyst
CoStar Group

David Kahn is a Managing Analyst for CoStar Group, concentrating on the Southern United States. David serves as the resident expert on the South, covering regional economic and real estate trends. He also leads a team of analysts that provide granular insights into all commercial property types on the market and submarket level. David presents on market conditions to lenders, developers, brokers and owners, and is a frequent speaker at industry events hosted by Bisnow, ULI, CCIM, ICSC and various Economic Development Corporations.

James Kelly

Director
Hunt Real Estate Capital

James Kelly is a Director with Hunt Real Estate Capital. Mr. Kelly is based in the Atlanta office and is responsible for structuring and financing multifamily and commercial real estate through Hunt’s mortgage banking platform. Hunt offers Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and FHA executions as well as its proprietary products, which include fixed rate, bridge, and equity. Mr. Kelly has 21 years of commercial real estate experience in mortgage banking, securitization, underwriting, and asset management. Before joining Hunt in 2010, Mr. Kelly valued loan portfolios, failed bank assets, and distressed banks on behalf of private institutional investors seeking acquisitions. Prior to this role, Mr. Kelly was a Senior Production Associate at CWCapital where he focused on the origination of CMBS, Mezzanine, and Bridge loans. Mr. Kelly earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Virginia Tech. Mr. Kelly is an active member of the Real Estate Group of Atlanta (REGA) and the Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (REIAC).

Tim Doherty

EVP, Head of Investments
Safehold & iStar

Tim Doherty currently serves as Executive Vice President, Head of Investments. In this role, Mr. Doherty leads the investment team of Safehold Inc (NYSE: SAFE), a public REIT focused on the acquisition and creation of ground lease investments across all property types nationwide. Safehold is the first publicly traded company focused solely on ground lease investments and is externally managed by iStar. Mr. Doherty worked at iStar between 2000 and 2008 and recently rejoined iStar in 2013. Prior to becoming the Head of Ground Lease Investments, he focused on structured finance having worked on over 60 transactions totaling more than $5 billion during his tenure at iStar. The transaction structure types included first mortgage, mezzanine, B-notes, preferred equity, DIP financing, participations and corporate finance investments and included all traditional property types (office, retail, hotel and industrial) and non-traditional product types (self-storage, entertainment and land). Prior to his latest tenure at iStar, Mr. Doherty co-founded and operated Shem Creek Capital (“SCC”), a boutique real estate finance fund located in Boston, MA. Prior to joining iStar Financial in 2000, Mr. Doherty was at Archon Group, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, investing on behalf of the Whitehall funds. He received his BS in Finance from Georgetown University.

Jeff Fuqua

Founding Principal
Fuqua Development

Jeffrey S. Fuqua is the founder of Fuqua Development, LP. He was previously Board Member, Partner & President of The Sembler Company. In his nearly 25-year tenure there, Fuqua developed in excess of 14 million square feet in over 80 projects valued at $4 billion. During Jeff's tenure with Sembler, The Atlanta Business Chronicle named The Sembler Company Top Developer for eleven consecutive years since 2000. Major real estate projects include The Prado, Town Brookhaven, Edgewood Retail District, Lindbergh Plaza, Perimeter Place, Lenox Marketplace in Atlanta. In Florida, Fuqua developed Legacy in Palm Beach Gardens, and Boynton Beach Town Center.

Paul Xhajanka

Real Estate Manager
Kroger

Tonya Creekmore

SVP
Brixmor Property Group

With over 26 years of experience, Tonya Creekmore joined Brixmor Property Group in 2016 as Senior Vice President in the National Accounts Department to grow the company’s entertainment, food and beverage sector creating merchandising mixes to better serve the communities Brixmor serves. Brixmor is a REIT owning and operating over 470 retail centers comprising approximately 80 million square feet. Before joining Brixmor, Tonya was a Partner at Avison Young for over 5 years in their Retail Advisory Services Group. Tonya’s responsibilities include growing Avison Young’s 3rd party asset management, leasing and development for retail assets including enclosed malls, open air shopping centers and mixed use properties. Before joining Avison Young, Tonya was a Vice President at General Growth Properties responsible for Big Box and Peripheral Land Leasing and Development for the East coast. Her responsibilities included strategic planning and re-merchandising of anchor tenant vacancies, followed by leading the marketing and negotiating with catalyst anchor tenants. Tonya’s portfolio exceeded 18 million square along the east coast. Prior to General Growth Properties, Tonya was a Partner at North American Properties for over six years where she negotiated catalyst anchor tenant transactions, oversaw the development and leasing of power centers, mixed use and grocery anchored developments. Prior to North American Properties, Tonya was a Senior Leasing Representative for Ben Carter Properties for 10 years.

Tom Underwood

Operations Director
Hoar Construction

Tom Underwood is the Operations Director for Hoar Construction’s Atlanta Office. With more than 25 years of experience in all areas of commercial construction valued at more than $1 billion, Tom has worked across multiple industry sectors including government, K-12, higher education, commercial, hospitality, multifamily, and healthcare. Tom joined Hoar’s Atlanta team in fall 2018 and manages projects, field staff, and overall strategic growth for the office. Through multiple management roles over his career, he has excelled in operational leadership, profit and loss management, strategic planning, client management, and people development. The Atlanta team is currently working on several high-profile projects around the metro area including the Colony Square renovation, the Vireo 27-story multifamily high rise in Midtown, renovation of the Atlantic Station Central Park, and The Gentry, a 21-story multifamily high rise in Buckhead. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in Building Construction from Auburn University. He is certified as a Construction Documents Technologist and Construction Contract Administrator by the Construction Specification Institute and as a Professional Constructor by the American Institute of Constructors. Recent project accomplishments include the AGC 2017 Build GA Award for Atlantic House and the ACI Parking Deck Award 2017 for the Atlantic House Parking Deck. Tom has completed multiple endurance sports events, including the 2014 Ironman Florida. Tom lives in Roswell with his wife, Jill, and their two children, Griggs and Ridley.

Greg Hunsberger

Regional VP, Preconstruction
Brasfield & Gorrie

Curious and mechanically inclined, Greg has always been fascinated by construction. Influenced by his grandfathers, who were both builders, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in construction by the end of high school. After earning his civil engineering degree, Greg spent two years as an estimator and scheduler in the oil and gas industry before taking a position with Brasfield & Gorrie. He began in estimating and then transitioned to project management on the Georgia Aquarium. His experience on this vast project gave him a clearer understanding of how the budget and schedule established at the outset of a project tie into the construction process and evolve to make it—and the facility—successful. Passionate about preconstruction, Greg returned to estimating and established himself as a leader with a penchant for developing a solid preconstruction foundation for projects in any market sector. Respected by colleagues and sought after by clients, he delivers thorough, accurate budgets and schedules. One of the largest construction companies in the nation, Brasfield & Gorrie estimated approximately $12 billion in construction value in 2018. As corporate preconstruction director, Greg leads Brasfield & Gorrie’s preconstruction efforts, solidifying effective processes for developing accurate budgets, schedules, and preliminary building plans; monitoring market fluctuations and industry dynamics; and assessing how conditions affect construction pricing and scheduling. He implements the latest preconstruction processes and disseminates information across the company to ensure that our clients receive the most robust preconstruction services as well as the most accurate, comprehensive, competitive budgets for their projects.

Hunter Richardson

EVP - Development
Portman Holdings

Hunter is responsible for development and construction of all Portman projects in the United States. He is integrally involved in all development and construction tasks that need to be undertaken for the successful completion of each project. Hunter has over 30 years of experience working on multiple product types, including town centers, sports and entertainment venues, museums and resorts. He previously served as Managing Director for OliverMcMillan for Buckhead Atlanta, as well as Chief Operating Officer of Richardson Development Group, where he specialized in large-scale, mixed-use projects. Hunter also worked with Turner Sports & Entertainment, and Himmel/Miller Klutznick Davis Grey. He earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Michael Russell Sr.

CEO
H.J. Russell & Company

Michael Russell was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of H. J. Russell & Company in October 2003 succeeding his father, Herman Russell, who founded the company in 1952 and led it for 50 years. A 28-year veteran of the construction and real estate development industry, Michael is charged with leading the Company to greater heights as it embarks on its next fifty years. The Company’s operational focus will be in construction and program management, real estate development and property management. Michael is also Vice Chairman of Concessions International, an innovator in the airport food and beverage concessions industry. He is actively involved in the strategic direction and growth initiatives of Concessions. The Russell Companies, which consists of H. J. Russell & Company and Concessions International, employs more than 2,000 individuals with operations in 10 major cities including its Atlanta headquarters, Dallas, Washington DC, Miami, Raleigh, Seattle, Denver, and the USVI. Michael is very active in the community involved in business and civic organizations. He serves on the boards of various organizations including the Metro Atlanta Chamber (Executive Committee), Commerce Club, SunTrust Atlanta Bank Advisory Board, Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business Advisory Board, and University of Virginia Foundation Board. Michael is also a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club and 100 Black Men.

Bob Voyles

CEO
Seven Oaks Company

Bob Voyles Principal, Chief Executive Officer Bob Voyles founded Seven Oaks Company in 2004 and is responsible for the strategic direction and deal sourcing for the company. Bob’s portfolio of projects at Seven Oaks and in his former position as Senior Development Officer at Hines, include the following: Developed over 3 million SF of Class A award-winning, mixed-use and office-oriented development throughout metro Atlanta, Developed headquarters facilities for King & Spalding, InterContinental Hotels Group, MCI-SE Region, and HomeBanc, Acquired three Class A office projects totaling 1.7 million SF, and asset managed over 6 million SF of Class A commercial office, Developed land projects in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida totaling approximately 1,800 acres and nearly $1 billion in total development value, Structured finances of nearly $1 billion in real estate projects with institutional partners such as GEAM, GM Pension Trust, Calpers and GE Capital, as well as entrepreneurial partners such as The Brookdale Group, St. Joe and the DeMoss Foundation. Bob holds numerous positions in local civic, community and charitable organizations: Perimeter Community Improvement District (CID) Board; Founder and Chairman (2004-2010), Georgia Regional Transportation Authority; Member; Chair, Land Development, Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; Board of Advisors Member, Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Stadium Authority; Board Member; Chair, construction Committee, Metropolitan Atlanta CID Coalition; Co-Chair, Livable Communities Coalition; Board Member, Young Life-Africa; Board Member, Church of the Apostles; former Vestry Member and Church Warden.

John Shlesinger

Vice Chairman
CBRE

Lisa Dunavin

Managing Principal
Cresa

Hal Barry

Chairman
Barry Real Estate Companies

Dan DuPree

CEO
Preferred Apartment Communities

W. Allen Morris

Chairman & CEO
The Allen Morris Company

W. Allen Morris is Chairman and C.E.O. of The Allen Morris Company. He is a licensed Real Estate Broker, Mortgage Broker, and holds the professional designations of CPM (Certified Property Manager of the Institute of Real Estate Management) and SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors). He is a past President of the Florida CCIM Chapter (Certified Commercial Investment Member of the Realtors National Marketing Institute) as well as holding the prestigious CRE designation (Counselor of Real Estate) and FRICS, as a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. . The Allen Morris Company, in its 58 th year, is one of the largest developers and managers of office buildings in the State of Florida, completing 80 office, industrial, multi-family, mixed-use, and retail projects around Florida and Georgia. Their headquarter office project , a Mediterranean-Revival style office building in the center of Downtown Coral Gables called Alhambra Towers, has won nine awards including "The Best of South Florida -Platinum Award's", “NAIOP 2003 Project of the Year - all categories" and the “2006 Community Advancement Award for Commercial Project of the Year” in Florida from the Developers & Builders Alliance. In 2013 the company launched Allen Morris Residential, and currently has five projects under construction: the 1.3 million square foot, 58-story luxury hotel and condominium - SLS LUX Brickell - a joint venture with Related Group; the 348-unit residential multi-family, $70 million Hermitage Apartment Homes in St. Petersburg, Florida; the $68 million Maitland City Centre, creating a new mixed-use downtown for the City of Maitland, Florida, combining the new City Hall, Central Park and Festival Street with residential apartments, live-work- office suites, and a Festival Marketplace with shops and restaurants; and Star Metals, Atlanta, a $250 million mixed use project with a 409 unit luxury, multi-family residential, a 12-story, Class “A”, 185,000 square foot office building and 46,000 square feet of retail and restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Morris has appeared as a leading authority on real estate topics as a frequent guest on the Fox Business News show CAVUTO with Neil Cavuto, on the Fox Business Morning Break with Charles Payne and in the Strategy Room with Eric Bolling. In addition to being an Officer and Director of more than thirty-five different real estate-related companies and President of a charitable Foundation and art museum, Mr. Morris was also Past-Chairman and Advisory Board member of Wachovia Bank of Miami. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received the top student in Marketing and Management studies. Mr. Morris is also very civic minded and having lived his whole life in Coral Gables feels very strongly about his City Beautiful. He is the former Chairman of the Florida Chapter YPO (Young Presidents' Organization), and currently a member of WPO (World Presidents' Organization), Executive Committee and Board member of The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Miami-Dade County (chairman of their VeritageMiami Wine and Food Festival) and a lifetime senior member of the Orange Bowl Committee. He has served on many national and local real estate boards and many local philanthropic boards. Mr. Morris has traveled extensively working with international clients, and served Florida on Economic Missions to Europe and Asia. He is also a licensed Commercial Pilot, flying himself on most of his business travel. For fun he spends time diving reefs as a certified scuba diver and is a Tae Kwon Do Master (fourth degree black belt). He has received numerous professional distinctions including the 2009 South Florida Business Leader of the Year Award in Real Estate, the 2011 REAL Trend Setter Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the 2014 Business Leader of the Year from the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, the 2016 Miami -Dade County Chairman of the Year Apogee Award from South Florida Business and Wealth magazine. He is a recipient of the Institute of Human Relations Award given by the American Jewish Committee and the prestigious Hickok Award from the Young Presidents’ Organization. His favorite saying sits on the edge of his desk facing visitors “How CAN it be done?”

Katya Demina

Event Producer
Bisnow