Nashville 2017 State of The Market

Alex Marks is the Principal of Royal Investments, LLC. Royal is a real estate investment and development firm which develops residential, commercial and hospitality related properties. Originally from California, Marks has extensive hands-on experience in the acquisition, financing, development, management and disposition of complex projects located throughout the country. Since arriving in Tennessee in 2004, he has worked on more than thirty properties around the state, including purchase of sale of large tracts of downtown Nashville property and the redevelopment of three historic buildings on Broadway Street. Marks is currently developing the new 169-room Dream Hotel located on historic Printer’s Alley. Set to open in late 2018, Dream Nashville includes the iconic Utopia Hotel building, fully restored with its original stone exterior, wood flooring and crown molding, which will be attached to a new 10-story tower and will feature six experiential dining and nightlife venues on Fourth Avenue North and Printer’s Alley. Marks received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Southern California.

Jay Stein is Chief Executive Officer at Dream Hotel Group, responsible for the successful evolution, growth and expansion efforts of the Company and its portfolio of brands: Dream Hotels, The Chatwal, Unscripted Hotels and new By Dream Hotel Group collection. With over four decades of experience and nearly 30 years with Dream Hotel Group, Stein has worked in a variety of property and corporate roles at some of the world’s leading hospitality groups and boutique lifestyle brands, including Hilton Worldwide, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Doral Hotels. Jay Stein began his career in 1983 with Hilton Worldwide at the Vista International Hotel in the World Trade Center in New York City. A veteran of food and beverage management, Stein turned his sights to hotel operations in 1987 and quickly rose through the ranks to become Managing Director for three Doral Hotels in New York City. In 1995, after taking two of those properties through the transition to Starwood, Stein stayed on as Area General Manager for almost three years with Starwood. He joined Dream Hotel Group as Executive Vice President of Operations in 1997 and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer soon thereafter overseeing all new and existing hotel operations and playing a vital role in the company’s global expansion efforts. Stein was named Chief Executive Officer in 2015. An engaged professional dedicated to making a difference, Stein is a true ambassador for the industry, having spoken on numerous panels at conferences worldwide and having served as adjunct professor for the Hospitality programs at NYC College of Technology and New York University.

Wes brings over 30 years of experience to Marcus & Millichap. Previously, he managed the Hospitality Practice for Grubb & Ellis/Centennial and held several senior executive positions within the hospitality and commercial real estate industries. Some of these positions include Managing Partner of Real Stone Solutions, President of Affinis Consulting Group, and SVP & Head of Project Development & Technical Services for the Americas at IHG. In addition, Wes spent 13 years with Hilton Hotels as the Senior Director of Capital Asset Management. Wes has also been involved with several professional groups including AHLA and CCIM.

Brian Gordon is executive vice president for Magellan Development Group LLC, is responsible for evaluating residential, retail and mixed-use development opportunities nationwide. In addition to this key role, Mr. Gordon manages and coordinates development activities related to financing, governmental, design and sales strategies at numerous existing projects. These projects include both land and building development efforts related to Lakeshore East, the company’s premier undertaking to date. Gordon is a 19-year veteran of the real estate industry. Prior to joining Magellan, while at ORIX Real Estate Equities, he was responsible for approximately 3.5 million square feet of retail development projects in excess of $500 million in the United States and Canada. Gordon has extensive experience in site selection, contract negotiations, due diligence, entitlements, finance, lease negotiation and asset management. Gordon has completed projects with many of the nation’s premier retailers including the following tenants: Albertsons (Jewel/ Osco), Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Borders Books & Music, Carson Pirie Scott, Circuit City, DaimlerChrysler, Darden Restaurants, Famous Footwear, Home Depot, Kohl’s, Kmart, Lowes Home Improvements, Michael’s Crafts, Nordstrom Rack, OfficeMax, PetSmart, Pier 1 Imports, Regal Cinemas, Sears, Staples, Target, TJ Maxx, Tweeter, and Wal-Mart. Gordon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate and Finance and a Master of Science in Real Estate Appraisal and Investment Analysis, both from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is a licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker, a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and a member of the University of Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association.

As President & CEO of Northwood Ravin LLC, David manages the day-to-day operations of the company and works witht he senior management teams in establishing and implementing strategic goald and initiatives. Northwood Ravin concentrates on developing, constructing, and managing luxury for-rent and for-sale infill and mixed-use housing throughout the Southeast. David previously worked at Crosland for 14 years and served as President of Crossland Residential which operated a multi-family protfolio of over 48 communities with a market

Jamie is the Chief Operating Officer for M Street. In her role, she focuses on business development and growth opportunities, cross-functional teams, employee engagement, and special projects. Jamie joined the M Street team in July 2015 as the Director of Strategy & Projects. Prior to M Street, Jamie’s passion for hospitality emerged via a three year entrepreneurial adventure as CEO and Proprietor of Tropical Suites Boutique Hotel in Bocas del Toro, Panamá. Additionally, her professional background includes strategic consulting at Bain & Company and serving as an analyst in the Investment Banking Division at Lehman Brothers in New York City. A graduate of Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, Jamie holds an MBA with concentrations in strategy and finance, as well as bachelor's degrees in finance, international business and marketing from the University of Georgia.

As a Senior Director in Altus Group’s State & Local Tax and Advisory practice where he specializes in real property tax matters, Ross Litkenhous heads a highly responsive team overseeing a $60 billion real estate portfolio consisting of assets owned by various REITs, institutional investors and other real estate owners including both regional and local companies. Other areas of specialty include analyzing and appealing centrally assessed property for energy companies, as well as regulated and non-regulated utilities throughout the country.  Mr. Litkenhous has experience managing a number of projects with the General Services Administration (GSA), focusing on real estate valuation and analysis of real estate tax liability for the United States government’s national leased portfolio. He also leads a number of initiatives related to property tax analytics and benchmarking technologies.  His efforts have resulted in the development of several property tax modeling capabilities that accurately predict and project real estate tax liabilities related to new acquisitions and developments. He is regularly featured as a guest speaker at various industry events on topics related to real estate trends, property tax issues, green building valuation and sales leadership.