Boston State of the Market

John Barros is a husband, father of four young children, community development leader, small business owner, Boston’s first Chief of Economic Development, and a former mayoral candidate for the City of Boston. A lifelong resident of Boston, John’s parents emigrated from Cabo Verde to Boston, where he attended both public and Catholic schools. At age 14, John became a community organizer with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), the Roxbury and Dorchester-based community land trust; later, John became the Executive Director of DSNI, where he worked alongside community leaders to build schools, community centers, affordable housing and parks. As Chief of Economic Development, John brought 140,000 new jobs to Boston, while also investing millions of dollars in job training for local residents. As part of Boston's response to the COVID-19 crisis, John co-convened the City’s Health Inequities Task Force, which guided the city in addressing inequities in data analysis, testing sites, and healthcare services for Bostonians who are Asian, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and immigrants. More information can be found at: https://www.barrosformayor.com/

Larry DiCara is among Boston’s most recognized attorneys and civic leaders. A frequent speaker at colleges, universities and other venues, as well as a regular go-to source in Boston media, Larry has taught at Harvard, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. Larry practices real estate and administrative law and has been intimately involved with the development process in and around Boston for more than 40 years.

Ms. Boujoulian joined Berkshire in 2012, bringing extensive multifamily development experience after serving as Vice President at Criterion Development Partners where she oversaw all aspects of multi-family development in New England from 2004-2012. Prior to Criterion Development Partners, Ms. Boujoulian worked for JPI from 1999-2004, holding several different positions during her tenure for both the construction and development divisions of the company. Collectively, she has managed design development and feasibility of more than 4,000 luxury apartment units throughout New England. Ms. Boujoulian holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Roger Williams University, where she continues to be actively involved in the Alumni Executive Council and the Construction Management Professional Advisory Board. Following undergraduate studies, Ms. Boujoulian attended the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, where she received a Master in Urban Planning degree.

Hayley Suminski, Vice President and Senior Multifamily Mortgage Banker with KeyBank Real Estate Capital. With over 20 years of well-rounded commercial real estate experience on both the private equity and debt sides of the business, Ms. Suminski draws on a variety of loan programs including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, CMBS, life company, bridge and balance sheet executions to finance properties in the Northeast, as well as, nationally. Prior to KeyBank, Ms. Suminski led the Boston office for Hunt Mortgage Group where she originated multifamily financing nationally. She was also previously part of the Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage platform where she oversaw and managed a portfolio totaling $6.4 billion of loans nationwide. Before that she was a Vice President at TriSail Capital Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. While at TriSail Capital, Ms. Suminski underwrote, structured and negotiated deal terms to originate more than $120 million in new mezzanine and participating equity loans. In addition, she managed a portfolio of $80 million of mezzanine and participating equity debt structures subordinated to $900 million of senior debt across all property types. Prior to TriSail, Ms. Suminski worked as an Acquisition Analyst at GID Investment Advisers and was responsible for project managing and financially modeling all multifamily development deals. Ms. Suminski began her career in commercial real estate at Berkshire Property Advisors where she was a financial analyst in the acquisition and disposition groups. Ms. Suminski graduated Cum Laude with a BA in economics and a minor in finance from Simmons College.

A passionate believer in the power of teamwork and collaboration to elevate design outcomes, Fred stresses the importance of client-centered process, communication, investigation, and inquiry. Fred’s commitment to “design with community in mind” translates into his active engagement in numerous industry, cultural, and philanthropic organizations—where architects’ problem-solving abilities stand to make a real difference. A past chair of the Urban Land Institute, Fred is also a member of the Boston Society of Architects and NAIOP. Prior to joining Stantec, Fred was the long-time president of ADD Inc. There, his focus on diversifying markets and services created a well-balanced multidisciplinary practice, and his mentorship of young designers and mid-career professionals cultivated the next generation of design and management leaders.

Ed Kindelan is the Office Managing Partner of CohnReznick’s Boston office and leads the Commercial Real Estate practice in the New England Region. Ed is also an active member in the Hartford business community. He focuses on client service and firm growth within our Connecticut and Massachusetts offices. He works closely with CohnReznick partners to ensure we provide the full depth and breadth of CohnReznick resources to our clients. As a member of the Commercial Real Estate Industry Practice, Ed provides assurance, tax, and advisory services to commercial real estate developers, property managers, private equity funds and investors. He has extensive experience in providing business, succession and estate planning to closely-held businesses and their stakeholders. He regularly participates in Commercial Real Estate panels on a variety of topics. Education · University of Connecticut: Bachelor of Science, Accounting Community Involvement · American Heart Association, Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, Board Member · Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, Board member · National Conference for Community and Justice, Board Member Professional Affiliations · American Institute of Certified Public Accountants · Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants · Real Estate Finance Association

Real estate is in Joel’s DNA. The son of a Cuban architect, he grew up in Miami, traveling to inspect sites with his father and even helping to design two of his childhood homes. After attending the University of Florida and Harvard Law School, Joel became a partner at Goulston & Storrs. After leaving to conduct real estate deals on his own, he soon joined his friend, Steve Samuels, who was looking for some help in growing a development company. Joel is passionate about seeing a new district come to life after years of work. “That’s the best part, watching our new project come to life and be woven into the fabric of the community in which it resides.” Outside of work Joel enjoys being, quite literally, outside. He loves cycling, boating, tennis “and any other sports I can still survive.” He’s also quick to add, “I’m a big fan of American craft beers.” Joel serves as Chair of the Boston Main Streets Foundations and as a member of the Board of Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation, a non-profit CDC that builds affordable housing and promotes economic development in Roxbury.

John is the Founder, President and CEO of Oxford Capital Group, LLC, a national real estate investment and development firm focusing on large scale hospitality, mixed-use, senior housing, multifamily, urban retail, parking, and other operationally intensive forms of real estate. Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC, its wholly owned management affiliate, specializes in developing, operating and branding distinctive, high design lifestyle hotels, rooftops and other food & beverage venues around the country. Oxford, its affiliates and principals have been involved in approximately $3 billion of transactions, including approximately 13,000 hotel rooms. Noted national projects include Godfrey Hotel-Hollywood, Godfrey Hotel-Boston, Metropolitan Hotel and Lexington Hotel – New York City, National Conference Center-Lansdowne, VA, Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites in Charleston, SC, and Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas-Tampa Bay. Included in his 17 Chicago area projects (13 of which are hotels) are the recently topped off 56 story Essex on the Park luxury apartment building, and his soon to open Hotel Julian-Millennium Park. Other Chicago projects include Langham Chicago, LondonHouse Chicago, Godfrey Chicago, Hotel Essex, Hotel Felix, Hotel Cass, Hotel Versey, Claridge House, Hyatt Magnificent Mile, Renaissance North Shore, Doubletree North Shore, and Hyatt House Northwest. Additional rooftop and food and beverage venues include IO, LH, SX-Sky Bar, ALK, WTR and Spa Boutique. John and/or Oxford have been nominated for and/or won numerous awards including: Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Arthur Rubloff Humanitarian Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Crain’s “40 under 40” and Who’s Who, Developer of the Year, Development of the Year, Redevelopment of the Year, National Hotel Transaction of the Year, Historic Redevelopment of the Year and the Top Hotel in the Continental US. He earned a BA from The University of Michigan and an MBA from University of Chicago. He also studied at Northwestern University, Harvard Business School (YPO’s Presidents’ Program) and Oxford University (Christ Church).

Ted Chryssicas joined Newmark Knight Frank as an executive managing director in 2015, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge from nearly 30 years in the retail industry. Mr. Chryssicas has represented numerous national, regional and local tenants and landlords in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of retail space throughout eastern New England. He has completed more than 1,500 lease and sale assignments not only within the Boston metropolitan area but in 33 states across the country, for clients as small as Peet's Coffee and as large as IKEA. Additionally, Mr. Chryssicas has significant development experience that includes the permitting, design, construction and leasing of many lifestyle centers including Brookside Shops in Acton, Massachusetts, and Eaglewood Shops in North Andover, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Newmark Knight Frank, Mr. Chryssicas worked at Colliers International, where he headed the Retail Services team and became a shareholder in 2004. He previously was a retail specialist for CB Richard Ellis Group in Boston and a leasing manager for Bierbrier Realty Development in Lexington, Massachusetts. Mr. Chryssicas is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts and a certificate in commercial real estate from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Mr. Ashleigh R. Simpson is a Director, and Head of North East Acquisitions at MetLife Real Estate. Ashleigh was instrumental in completing $5bn of commercial real estate investments nationally including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C and Denver. Ashleigh successfully led teams during significant expansion periods at leading public and private real estate platforms. Ashleigh attended the University of Maryland, majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. He received a Masters in Real Estate Finance from the Georgetown University. Ashleigh is a United States Marine Corps veteran. Ashleigh most recently Chaired MetLife’s Military Veteran Network (MVET), Investments Chapter and a champion for service veterans.

Deke is a senior executive at Rubenstein Partners responsible for spearheading the firm’s investment activities in the New England region. Since joining in 2008, key New England investments include 1000 Washington Street, The Center at Innovation Drive, Centerpoint, 55 Walkers Brook Drive and Crossroads Center. He is also a member of Rubenstein Partner’s Investment Committee. Before joining Rubenstein Partners, Deke spent ten years in various senior management roles at Clarion Partners with responsibilities encompassing acquisitions, capital markets, asset management and property management for multiple property types and risk profiles. He also served as co-chair of ING Clarion’s Sustainability Task Force which developed and implemented the firm’s Sustainable Growth Program promoting green building and smart growth best practices across its investment portfolio and corporate operations. Over this time period, he lead the acquisition of assets totaling in excess of $750 million and directed asset management for various portfolios of assets valued in excess of $1 billion. Deke graduated from Dartmouth College and earned his MBA from Rice University.