Construction, Development and Design in Los Angeles

Mike has been with Hackman Capital Partners since 2008 and is responsible for overseeing asset management, leasing and sales for various Southern California assets. He has managed more than $500M in properties for the company, including the conversion and leasing of numerous urban infill properties, such as Workscapes, 5500 Jefferson, the Beats Campus and, most recently, The District El Segundo. Mike came to Hackman Capital from Investment Real Estate Associates (IREA), a national investment real estate advisory and brokerage firm. Mike began his career practicing law, serving as in-house counsel for SCI Properties LLC. Founded in 1994, SCI acquired 150 properties, valued at over $2B, and serviced 1,100 investors. Mike received a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law and is a fellow of the Geoffrey Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law.

Mr. Robert Sonnenblick, Principal of Sonnenblick, LLC, is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania with more than 30 years of experience in various aspects of real estate and real estate finance. From 1981 to 1991 Mr. Sonnenblick was the driving force and power behind Sonnenblick-Goldman Corporation of California. Mr. Sonnenblick completed over $1.5 Billion of commercial real estate transactions on the West Coast and as a result is regarded as one of the West Coast’s leaders in the field of commercial real estate. Among the more notable projects for which Mr. Sonnenblick personally structured the financing for are The Beaudry Center, Los Angeles, California ($197 million), the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Pasadena, California ($97 million), One Waterfront Plaza, Honolulu, Hawaii ($100 million), and the Los Angeles World Trade Center, Los Angeles, California ($55 million). In 1991 Mr. Sonnenblick was appointed Director of Development for the New Jersey and L.A. MetroMalls, with the responsibility for oversight and direction of the design, financing and leasing programs for two proposed $250 million enclosed regional malls totaling 1.2 million Sq. Ft. each. Mr. Sonnenblick personally oversaw more than 1 million Sq. Ft. of leases in connection with this position as well as arranging the necessary debt and equity financing. The New Jersey project opened to one of the strongest starts in the history of the United States mall industry. In addition, Mr. Sonnenblick was an original development partner of the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. This 360-room, $90 million hotel was recently sold for $125 million. Prior to forming Sonnenblick Development, LLC, Mr. Sonnenblick was the senior partner in a Los Angeles-based real estate development firm (Sonnenblick Del Rio Development) which specialized in public-private partnerships, specifically the development of four major government-leased office buildings throughout the Los Angeles basin. During this tenure, Mr. Sonnenblick successfully developed nearly 1 million square feet of government leased buildings, occupied by such tenants as U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services and Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Mr. Sonnenblick is a frequent speaker at various real estate-related functions, such as those hosted by Deloitte Touche, ICSC, Value Retail News, Crittenden, USC, UCLA Real Estate Program, IMN Real Estate Conferences and the Institute for International Research, The Opal Group, iGlobal Forum Group, Globe Street/Realshare Conferences and Bloomberg Conferences. Mr. Sonnenblick is a member of the Advisory Board of the Golf Development Institute, a member of the Board of Real Estate Council of the Century City Chamber of Commerce and is a published author on subjects ranging from architecture to general real estate market conditions. In addition to Mr. Sonnenblick’s expertise in development, finance, joint ventures and equity structuring, Mr. Sonnenblick has also been certified as an expert in the area of real estate bankruptcy/foreclosure. Mr. Sonnenblick is a qualified expert witness in the area of Commercial Real Estate Finance and Interest Rates for the United States Federal Court System in numerous jurisdictions.

As Senior Vice President for Related California, Mr. Shum is responsible for managing all aspects of the development process for mixed-income and mixed-use developments located throughout California. Prior to joining Related, Mr. Shum was a real estate investment banker at Credit Suisse and Houlihan Lokey in New York, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles. Mr. Shum holds a Master in Real Estate Development and a bachelors' degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

President of Clune Construction’s West Region, Randy Starbird has been a part of the construction industry for most of his life. He began at an early age, helping his father, a residential general contractor, each summer. Randy later went on to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Southern California. While attending USC, he began Interning at Clune. Since the company had just been established, he gained important exposure to building a construction firm from the ground up. After graduation, he joined Clune permanently as an Assistant Project Manager. Randy has followed a linear career path that enabled him to touch all aspects of project management and company operations. After spending time managing projects, and later leading project teams, Randy now co-leads Clune’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. As President of the West Region, his responsibilities include focusing on the well-being of his employees, and the success of national company operations. Additionally, Randy works to build and maintain positive relationships throughout the industry in his region and nationally. In 2021, Randy was appointed the chairman of Clune’s DEI Advisory Committee, where he promotes and champions change on a daily basis. With the connections and respect Randy has in the industry, he plans to utilize these advantages to push forward real change. Randy is known for his transparency and open door policy. This style of leading and communicating encourages those around him to embrace honest communication, and fosters a better working environment. Randy also prioritizes giving back to the community, whether that be coaching youth soccer teams, being a den leader to Cub Scouts or participating in local food drives.

As Managing Partner and founder of both Geneva Street Partners and Geneva Street Capital Partners, Michael Lowinger is responsible for the strategic direction of Geneva and its affiliates, including acquisitions, development, investment decisions, investor relationships, and operating policy. The company’s primary focus is apartment development and repositioning, and currently owns and is developing in excess of 200 apartment units in four separate projects in the Culver City area: as well as a 228 unit elderly care facility in Encino. Throughout his career Lowinger has been involved in the development and acquisition of over $1 billion of real estate. Prior to and then simultaneous with the formation of Geneva, Lowinger was Managing Director of Hanover Financial, LLC for 19 years, where he identified and oversaw all investments, partner and investor relationships, and asset management. Before Hanover, Lowinger was Executive Vice President – Western Regional Director for Heller Financial, an affiliate of Fuji Bank of Japan (Heller was acquired by G.E. Capital in 2001) that provided bridge debt, mezzanine, and preferred equity capital, as well as joint venture equity. Lowinger is a Los Angeles area native. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Real Estate Finance and Accounting from San Diego State University and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. He serves as a member of the Real Estate Principals Organization of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, and the Real Estate Division of National Jewish Fund. Lowinger and his wife of 37 years, Cynthia, have five children and four toddler grandchildren, and divide their time between homes in Los Angeles and Denver, Colorado.

As Senior Vice President of Development, Mark Janda is responsible for new development activity in the Southern California region. He joined the company in July of 2012. Mr. Janda has more than two decades of experience in the multifamily and mixed-use development business. Prior to joining AvalonBay, he spent 12 years at The Irvine Company, where he managed the development of over 13,000 multifamily units, including some of the largest and most capital-intensive projects ever undertaken by the company. Prior to The Irvine Company, Mr. Janda spent three years with The Macklowe Organization in New York, where his responsibilities included acquisition, finance, and development of the company’s multifamily, office and retail investments in Manhattan. He held an earlier position with Landauer Associates in New York, where his assignments included economic modeling, portfolio valuation projects and the underwriting of several REIT IPO’s. Mr. Janda started his career as a structural engineer, designing structural systems for large-scale projects, including Denver International Airport. Mr. Janda holds a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from New York University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University. His professional affiliations include the Urban Land Institute and the California Building Industry Association.

Margaux Rotter was introduced to real estate development while working with the construction team on ACE Hotel Los Angeles. She has worked with development firm BLVD Hospitality, for 4 years and oversees projects as Vice President of Development. BLVD’s Los Angeles hospitality projects include ACE Hotel, Soho Warehouse, Hoxton Hotel and CitizenM. Margaux’s background is in architectural engineering, she received a degree in Civil Engineering Building Science from the University of Southern California. Margaux currently acts as development manager or owner’s representative on numerous hospitality projects in Los Angeles for new and existing boutique and lifestyle brands.

Ed Wlodarczyk joined PACE Loan Group in 2022. As Managing Director, Ed brings over 30 years of experience in corporate and real estate finance. Prior to joining PLG, Ed was a Vice President of Dividend Finance, where he focused on the C-PACE market and sustainable real estate finance. His experience also includes senior executive roles at Ten-X, Cushman Wakefield, Transwestern, and Coldwell Banker Commercial. His experience covers structured finance solutions, portfolio/asset management, consulting, and investment banking/capital markets. Ed attended Loyola University, Chicago and majored in business and communications disciplines.

Benjamin Arcia received a Master’s in Urban Design from the University of Miami School of Architecture in 2011. His work has involved various facets of the built environment, including prefab housing, carpentry, and landscape architecture. In addition to his hands-on experience, Benjamin’s skillset includes digital 3d modeling and rendering, visual presentation, and construction documentation. Since 2013, Benjamin has worked with Landscape Architect David McCullough, consulting on the planning, design, and construction of a variety of projects that include mixed-use infill, affordable housing, commercial repositioning, and transit-oriented development. Past clients have included Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Gafcon, and Malick Infill Development. Half-Cuban, half-Nicaraguan, Benjamin is bilingual and bicultural. Between late 2018 and early 2020, Benjamin took a sabbatical to travel from Colombia to Patagonia and volunteered on organic and biodynamic farms throughout. An avid cyclist and backcountry trekker, his past hobbies include downhill longboard racing, competitive sailing, and martial arts. Benjamin and his fiancé live with their cat and dog in downtown San Diego. A little known fact about Benjamin is he holds a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo.

Diane offers her clients—developers, investors, cities and other private sector clients—land use and environmental law counsel, as well as proven litigation skills. With a deep understanding of public agency administrative processes, she streamlines complex environmental issues entwined with land use and planning matters so clients’ projects are able to break ground. Diane possesses industry-leading experience with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Subdivision Map Act as well as the Coastal Act. Large, complex and fast-moving matters with tight timelines are her passion. Clients seek out Diane for her strategic approach that balances development economics and legal issues to expedite projects and quell opposition. Whether consulting with public entities to help get a project built or defending one when challenged in court, she gets results. Her ongoing role as lead counsel for Cadiz Valley Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project, where she was responsible for obtaining and successfully defending six lawsuit challenges to the project’s entitlements, is a testament to her ability to deliver successful outcomes in long-ranging high profile infrastructure development work. Diane’s commitment to excellence extends into the community. She provides pro bono land use counsel to Wolf Connection and also acts as a pro bono liaison for the firm’s California offices.