Baltimore Opportunity Zones

Scott Plank founded War Horse in 2010 to pursue his passion in exploring how built environments can magnify our lives and relationships. War Horse develops a diverse range of projects, including entertainment venues and a portfolio and pipeline of over 850 apartments, 80,000 square feet of office, 150,000 square feet of retail and philanthropic public service programs driven by this philosophy. Scott began pursuing his love and curiosity for cities by studying Urban Planning at the University of Maryland, years of world traveling, and eventually financing thousands of multi-family homes at Freddie Mac from 1995 to 2000. As his brother, Kevin Plank, began selling Under Armour t-shirts in 1996, Scott joined in 2000, also dedicating himself to Making All Athletes Better. It was at Under Armour where Scott learned that a place is more than just a jumble of bricks. Our buildings are as important to our personal and professional mission as a computer or a sewing machine. He learned that customers and teammates need inspiring environments: playing fields, gyms, stores, and offices. By 2010, Scott’s leadership across the organization was broad and impactful; being responsible for half of the company’s then 7,000 employees, a robust retail platform of 100 stores, 2 million SF of real estate, ecommerce, expansion into China, and a third of the company’s revenue, and half of its profits.

Ben Seigel was recently named as the City of Baltimore’s Opportunity Zones Coordinator (BOZ Coordinator). Seigel is responsible for positioning the City to take full advantage of the new incentives to increase investment in Baltimore’s Opportunity Zones. Seigel will primarily serve in an “information clearinghouse” role with the following key responsibilities: provide information about and promote projects in Baltimore’s Opportunity Zones, identify and inventory Opportunity Fund investors, as well as other potential investments and leveraged funds; help match projects with investors and track investments; and draft a comprehensive plan for the Baltimore City Opportunity Zones and an Investment Prospectus. Previously, Seigel served as the inaugural executive director of the Johns Hopkins University 21st Century Cities Initiative, an applied research and partnership building program that brings together interdisciplinary researchers with city partners to strengthen policies focused on improving distressed communities. Prior to Hopkins, he served in the Obama administration as a senior advisor in the office of Labor Secretary Tom Perez and as the director of the Labor Department’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Seigel also served as the initial team lead for the Obama Administration’s Baltimore Federal Task Force, formed in May 2015, where he guided senior-level staff across more than a dozen agencies and the White House, to bring enhanced federal and technical assistance to Baltimore.

Molly Bryson is Team Leader of Ballard Spahr's Tax Credits Team. She focuses her practice on advising clients on how to use federal and state tax credits to finance affordable housing, businesses in low-income communities, historic preservation, and solar energy throughout the U.S. and its possessions. A new focus of Molly's practice relates to advising clients on the tax and business considerations relating to Qualified Opportunity Zones, an economic development program created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Molly is a frequent lecturer on tax credits, and more recently Qualified Opportunity Zones, and has spoken at a number of conferences, including those sponsored by the CRE Financial Council, the American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing & Community Development, the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association, the National Council of State Housing Agencies, the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, the NMTC Coalition, SEIA, CohnReznick LLP, and Novogradac & Company LLP.

Frank Dickson, Director, Strategic Business Initiatives is leading Maryland's Department of Housing & Community Development efforts in promoting and supporting investment into Opportunity Zones throughout Maryland. Frank will work with investors, businesses, and local leaders to capitalize on the Opportunity Zone tax incentives. Previously, Frank led the Maryland Venture Fund for several years and led the $100M raise for InvestMaryland in 2012. Frank has served on several boards and commissions supporting early stage companies in financing and growing their respective businesses.

Doug Coats is the Chair of Gordon Feinblatt LLC’s Tax Practice and advises clients of all sizes with respect to various types of tax matters. He has significant experience in the planning and structuring of sophisticated business and tax transactions for companies involving corporations and flow-through entities (including LLPs, LLCs and S corporations). He advises and represents clients in connection with the sale of their companies, in the form of both asset and equity transactions, and has also represented clients in business acquisitions. He represents both individual and business taxpayers in matters before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. Prior to practicing law, Doug was a senior tax consultant with Deloitte & Touche, LLP in Baltimore. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Baltimore and his B.A. from Loyola University Maryland.

Steve Glickman is the Founder and CEO of Develop LLC, an advisory firm exclusively focused on building and supporting Opportunity Funds and the broader Opportunity Zones (OZ) marketplace. He is also the Co-Founder, and former CEO, of the Economic Innovation Group, the bipartisan organization that was the chief architect of the $6 trillion OZ program. Steve previously served in the Obama Administration as a senior economic advisor at the National Security and National Economic Councils, where he managed international trade, investment, manufacturing and small business issues. He was also Chief of Staff for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the Department of Commerce. Prior to the Administration, Steve served in legal roles on Capitol Hill, the Department of Justice and the Democratic National Committee. Steve received his B.A. and M.A. from Georgetown University, J.D. from Columbia Law School, and LL.M. from the London School of Economics. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown, and serves on the Board of The NewDEAL. Steve’s work has been featured in the Atlantic, AP, Bisnow, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Impact Alpha, Inc., LA Times, Marketplace, NY Times, NPR, Politico, San Francisco Chronicle, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Vox, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

Demian Costa is a Partner at Weller Development Company, the lead developer for the Port Covington project in Baltimore City. As a Partner with Weller Development, Demian focuses on raising capital, leasing, and new business creation. Additionally, Demian serves as the Managing Director of Sagamore Ventures, the private investment subsidiary of Plank Industries. Demian began his career in the military. He is veteran having served 12 years as a US Navy SEAL.  Following his military career, Demian co-founded FX Studios, focused on building virtual and on-premise employee wellness programs globally. Additionally, Demian co-founded Sagamore Ventures, focusing on double bottom- line investments that drive positive economic impact in urban areas. He is currently focused on innovation and economic growth in Baltimore City and beyond. Demian holds an undergraduate degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Jill Homan is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of OPZ Capital. Ms. Homan has more than 15 years’ experience in real estate acquisitions, dispositions, development, financing, asset management and leasing totaling over $450 million in total capitalization. Ms. Homan oversees OPZ Capital’s real estate investments and fund operations. Prior to founding OPZ Capital, Ms. Homan was President of Javelin 19 Investments, a real estate investment firm with more than $200 million in investments and transactions. At Javelin 19, Ms. Homan was responsible for sourcing, underwriting, structuring, and executing new investment opportunities. Further, she oversaw day-to-day operations of the company. Ms. Homan previously worked as vice president for Perseus Realty, where she was responsible for acquisitions, underwriting, and assisting in the capitalization of ongoing projects. She assisted in the formation and structure of a discretionary GP investment partnership, managed its investor relations, and performed market and competitive property analyses. Ms. Homan has extensive political and policy experience, having worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant and press secretary, and she currently holds elective office and senior party leadership positions. Ms. Homan is LEED® accredited professional and a member of Commercial Real Estate Women DC (CREW DC). She has been a featured speaker and received recognition at events with DCBIA, CREW DC, Bisnow, and DCA Live. Ms. Homan serves on several non-profit boards, including the Board of Visitors for Duke University’s School of Public Policy, and co-chairs the Duke University’s alumni organization in the metro Washington, DC region. Ms. Homan resides in Washington, DC.

Ira Weinstein serves as CohnRenzick’s Managing Principal – Real Estate, Cannabis Industries, where he oversees the advisory, assurance, and tax services pertaining to both industries. His role is to develop and execute strategy that grows the capacity and capability of the firm’s resources dedicated to these industries for the benefit of our clients, our people, and our communities. Prior to taking on this role, Ira spent eight years managing the Baltimore office and over 20 years managing a consulting practice focused on providing strategic advisory services to clients in support of their vision for growth and enhanced enterprise value. He has extensive knowledge of the public-private partnership, specifically leveraging government programs to accomplish the project finance goals of his client base. Such programs include the federal and state New Markets Tax Credit Programs, the federal and state historic tax credit programs, renewable energy tax credits for investment and production, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Ira is a subject matter expert and firm leader on Opportunity Zones, an economic development provision passed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, providing technical, transaction advisory, and entity formation services related to this provision. Ira speaks at conferences and seminars nationwide on a variety of topics. Before joining CohnReznick, he advised local economic development organizations on strategies to revitalize their geographic footprint. Before that, he spent several years in the corporate finance department of a public company raising capital for corporate and project finance and completing acquisitions and divestitures of company assets. His initial experience just post-college was doing credit analysis for a factor of extending credit nationwide across a variety of industries.

Ross Draber is the chief operating officer of United Bank, a subsidiary of United Bankshares, Inc., a $19.3 billion bank holding company. He is responsible for the performance and profitability of the Bank, directing commercial and consumer banking sales and service operations throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area. Draber oversees the region’s market presidents and works alongside them to drive growth and develop business strategy and execution plans. Draber has played an integral role in United Bank’s expansion since assuming the role in 2015. During that time, United Bank has grown to over 70 branches in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It has the number one deposit market share among community banks in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area. Draber is highly involved with the merger and acquisition team and was instrumental in the Bank’s successful acquisitions of Cardinal Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries George Mason Mortgage, LLC and Cardinal Wealth Services, Inc. (2017); Bank of Georgetown (2016); and Virginia Commerce Bank (2014). Draber previously served as a senior vice president of treasury and corporate finance. In this role, he managed the capital adequacy and regulatory risk of United Bankshares, Inc., serving on the Asset Liability Committee (ALCO) and stress test development team. He oversaw the mergers and acquisitions analysis and supervised commercial loan pricing and term sheet structuring within United Bank. Prior to that, Draber held several positions in treasury and credit administration. Draber is a CFA® charterholder and a 2017 Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration.