The Future of Atlanta Retail, Mixed-Use & Entertainment

Thad Sheely is the Chief Operating Officer of the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club and Philips Arena and oversees all aspects of team and arena business operations and real estate development. Sheely manages the operations and planning for the re-imagination of Philips Arena. Philips Arena is consistently ranked among North America's Top 10 arenas and will be upgraded with almost $200M of improvements in the coming years. Sheely is the point person for the design and construction of team's the 90,000 SF new practice facility, part of Emory Sports Medicine Complex. The complex combines sports, medicine and science with three industry-leading tenants; the Atlanta Hawks, Emory Orthopedics and the Peak Performance Project, P3 the leader in athlete training and analysis. This partnership is designed to provide world-class medical and training to the Hawks and the Atlanta community Sheely also oversees business operations for the team including Accounting and Finance, Analytics, IT and Human Resources. Joining the Atlanta Hawks and Philips. Arena in 2015 with over 20 years of sports and real estate experience, Sheely's previous projects included the development of Hudson Yards for the Related Companies, a 28-acre mixed-use property on Manhattan's West Side, designing and planning their public experience, and managing the operations of the $20 billion development. Prior to Hudson Yards, Sheely led the stadium development and financing for major sports facilities including MetLife Stadium for the New York Jets and Giants, and American Airlines Arena for the Miami Heat. His professional contributions have distinguished Sheely in the industry as Sports Business Journal selected him for their Forty under 40 Award in 2010, and Billboard Magazine recognized MetLife Stadium, while under his direction, as the #1 top-grossing stadium in the world in 2010 and 2011. Sheely holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies from Columbia College. Sheely lives in Atlanta's Morningside area with his wife and two sons.

Vaughn D. Irons ​is the Chief Executive Officer of APD Solutions, an award winning national community economic development firm providing Advisory, Program Management and Development Services. In that capacity Irons is responsible for APD's strategic direction, operations, financial performance, and implementation activities. Under his leadership, APDS has been acknowledged with the 2017 Business of the Year Award from the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, a Pacesetter Award by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2012 for Top Privately Held Company in Metro Atlanta, growing APDS by 1193% in his first 3 years. Irons has also been personally awarded the ICSC John T. Riordan Scholarship for 2016 and the 2014 CEO of the Year by the Georgia Business Council in conjunction with the Atlanta Business Journal. Mr. Irons is the master developer for Atlanta Sports City (ASC), the 190 acre sports and entertainment destination planned in the newly formed city of Stonecrest, Georgia. Located adjacent to the Mall at Stonecrest, ASC will feature indoor and outdoor sports facilities, restaurants, retail shops, entertainment venues, an extreme sports area, meeting and event space, hotels and a 15,000 seat professional stadium. Prior to APD Solutions, Mr. Irons served for nearly 12 years at Freddie Mac as National Director of Housing & Community Investment. During that tenure he led a team tasked with assisting Freddie Mac’s customers in developing solutions to their community’s housing finance needs. Mr. Irons was also responsible for the oversight of activities and initiatives that involved minority lending, community development lending, homeownership counseling and Gulf Coast rebuilding activities post-Katrina. Previously, Mr. Irons also served as Director of Housing for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta where he established and managed a program, which provided housing counseling services to over 4,000 families annually. Before coming to CCCS, Mr. Irons worked for the Fulton County, Georgia Board of Commissioners, often handling real estate development and zoning related concerns. Mr. Irons began his career in Consumer Banking for Syracuse Savings Bank and later for Fleet Bank of New York before he went on to work for the Human Rights Commission of Onondaga County, New York. Mr. Irons is very involved in community-based issues where he serves on the Board of the National Association of Home Builders, Leadership DeKalb, Women's Resource Center Against Domestic Violence, the DeKalb Chamber, the YMCA of South DeKalb. Previous volunteer and board appointments include multiple terms as President of Atlanta-Fulton-DeKalb Housing Partnership, Vice-chairman for the Fulton County Housing Community Development Corporation, Board of Directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Mercy Housing Southeast, and the Neighborhood Development Foundation of New Orleans. Mr. Irons holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, an undergraduate degree in Urban Policy from Syracuse University, and will complete his Master’s of Real Estate from Georgia State University in December 2017. He also has a graduate-level certification in Housing and Community Development also from the University of Maryland College Park and a certificate from the University of Southern California Ross Minority Program in Real Estate Development. Irons also holds the designation of Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS).

An expert in developing complex, large-scale mixed-use developments, John brings a passion for creating great places to Toro Development Company. Kelley leads all aspects of commercial development, applying a collaborative approach that blends creative thinking with technical expertise. With over 23 years of experience, Kelley has developed nearly six million square feet of award-winning projects with a combined valuation of more than $2 billion. Prior to joining Toro Development Company, Kelley served as Partner and Senior Vice President of Commercial Development at North American Properties where he led the mixed-use development platform for the company’s Atlanta office. During that time, he oversaw the ground-up development of Avalon, the $1 billion “urbanburb” in Alpharetta, and the iconic transformation of Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta. John graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree and earned an MBA in Real Estate from the University of Georgia.

Chad DuBeau is the Senior Managing Director of Mill Creek's development efforts in the North Florida and Atlanta, where he is responsible for pursuing new development opportunities, product design, and the pursuit of entitlements to meet all local jurisdictional requirements. Prior to this position, Chad served as Managing Director in Mill Creek's Mid-Atlantic region where he notably had oversight of the 703-unit apartment community, Avenir Place, at the Dunn Loring Metro Station in Merrifield, Virginia. Prior to joining Mill Creek, Chad was a Managing Director with Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) and was with the company from 2004 through 2010. Prior to joining TCR, Mr. DuBeau was a Regional Operations Manager/Team Leader with the Bozzuto Group, a role in which he was active throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with a concentration on the Washington, DC and Baltimore markets.  At Bozzuto, he was responsible for all phases of development for multiple product categories, including multifamily homes, town homes and single-family homes, and land development projects.  Prior to Bozzuto, he worked as a Project Manager for Milestone Communities and as Project Engineer for VIKA, Inc. Chad obtained a BS from University of Delaware in Civil and Environmental Engineering and an MBA from the George Washington University.

Wesley DeFoor is a native of Atlanta and a partner of Cornerstone Development Partners, LLC. He is an instrumental part of the site selection, entitlement and design/construction management process. Through his 17 year career Wesley has achieved success in multiple facets of the industry including construction, leasing, and development. Wesley began his career in the construction business working for the Fortune Johnson Company. Following Fortune Johnson Company, Wesley transitioned into commercial real estate brokerage when he joined Advantis Realty (formerly Bryant & Associates). At Advantis Wesley focused on Tenant representation and investment sales of commercial properties. In 2003, Wesley formed his own development company and in 2004 he began developing mixed-use and resort style developments in the Florida Panhandle, as well as retail projects in Atlanta, Georgia. To date Wesley has developed over $50,000,000 in commercial projects throughout the South Eastern United States.

Mr. de St. Aubin is the CEO of Sizemore Group and guides the firm’s strategies while providing expertise on Healthy Town Planning and Architecture to the development industry. He is a founding board member of the Atlanta Chapter of the Congress for New Urbanism and a subject matter expert for the United States Green Building Council (USGBC LEED ND – for Neighborhood Design). Bill has published several papers, conducted seminars and received design awards for his work in transforming suburban communities and actual sites into vibrant Town Centers. elect Experience / Publications / Speeches: • ULI Pittsburgh Key Note Speaker on Healthy Communities • ULI Regional Sustainable Summit Retrofitting Suburban Communities • National Congress for New Urbanism Conference Speaker • American Institute of Architects Public Architects, National Conference on Sustainable Design Conference & Workshop Speaker on Sustainable Commercial Facilities • Healthy Community Planning / Sustainable Urbanism in the South CNU 18 Publication • City of Duluth Town Center, National Award Winner • DeKalb County Medline Medical District Master Plan • AIA Georgia Regional Conference Readapt = Design + Economic Yield Presentation • Cumberland CID Blueprint and Green TOD Plan (GPA Award-Winner) • AIA GA Regional Conference Readapt = Design + Economic Yield Presentation • Perimeter Center CID Master Plan, including Mall Retrofit • Tucker-Northlake CID LCI Master Plan, including Mall Retrofit • Town Center Area CID LCI Master Plan, including Mall Retrofit (GPA Award-Winner) • Oakland City / Fort Mac LCI Master Plan, including Tyler Perry Studios (GPA Award-Winner) • DeKalb County Stonecrest Mall LCI Master Plan (GPA Award-Winner) • Crabapple Master Plan for a Rural Walkable Village

As President of Ackerman Retail, the retail division of Ackerman & Co., Leo Wiener directs the growth of the group’s national services platform, spearheading developments, acquisitions, leasing and property management. With industry leadership experience spanning more than 25 years, Leo has made numerous strategic staff additions to strengthen Ackerman Retail’s comprehensive services and deliver solid results to its growing roster of local and multi-market clients. To date, the Ackerman’s Retail division has completed nearly 10 million square feet of transactions valued at more than $1 billion. Prior to joining Ackerman, Leo was a Principal and Partner of Glenwood Development Company, concentrating on retail development and redevelopment in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic; and Managing Director at an Atlanta-based boutique real estate firm. Deeply involved in the community, Leo is Chairman of the Board of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District, a board member of the High Point Civic Association and the lead Advisor to Sweetwater Growers.

Richard Dippolito joined Concordia Properties in 2000, providing the firm with his unique combination of skills in design, development, finance and management. Rich oversees the day-to-day operations of the company as well as the development of the company's portfolio. Beginning his career in civil engineering, Rich has over 25 years of design and real estate experience. He began an architectural career designing commercial, industrial and residential projects after earning a degree in architecture from the University of Virginia. Having obtained his architectural license, Rich went on to earn a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. Highlights of Rich's real estate career include managing a significant debt and equity portfolio for The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, being instrumental in the formation and operation of a real estate joint venture between ARES and Concordia Partners, and developing a variety of senior living properties for EdenCare Senior Living Services.

After running the national marketing program for the nation’s largest REIT, Pratt Farmer founded Pratt & Co. in 1992 to provide expertise to developers, financial institutions, real estate asset managers and investors. With a keen understanding of a variety of real estate classes, Pratt honed his skills in creating aggressive, yet sensible real estate marketing and communications programs with positive results. Pratt’s core focus is to constantly strive to maximize value through increased sales, rentals and spot0on branding. In 2002 he designed a sales and marketing program for a yet “un-built” 347 unit condominium development being built on an urban brownfield in Atlanta. Over three days his team executed on his vision and sold all 347 units, raising prices $25k per unit per day. All on a $40k marketing budget. With international experience in multifamily, resort, hospitality, marina, retail, mixed-use and commercial properties, Pratt is a well versed and results-driven marketing executive. He is a Certified Marketing Director (CMD), Accredited Public Relations Practitioner (APR) and a Certified Sales Professional (CSP)

Shawn is the SR Director of Business Development for the Big South Region of Comcast. He is responsible for developing partnerships across the Big South Region with Builders/Developers in the Mixed Use space. He also has responsibility for managing capital deployment for residential and commercial network expansion. Shawn has more than 18 years of telecommunication experience in the commercial and residential areas of business.