Long Island State of the Market

Rebecca D’Eloia is a real estate development executive with 25 years of experience in large- scale, public/private redevelopment projects primarily in the metropolitan region. As Executive Vice President of Development at RXR, she leads development activities across multiple asset classes within the company’s ground-up portfolio. Her project experience includes complex, multi-phased master plans such as the Innovation District at Nassau Hub, the 72-acre site surrounding Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum;  Garvies Point, a $1B+, 1,100-unit mixed-use redevelopment project which is reclaiming a 56-acre former industrial site along the waterfront in Glen Cove; Veridea, a 1,100 acre, mixed use greenfield in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina; and the redevelopment of Long Island University’s Downtown Brooklyn campus.  Prior to joining RXR, Rebecca was Senior Vice President at Forest City Realty Trust, focusing on the entitlements and development of Pacific Park (Atlantic Yards) in Brooklyn, and the design and construction of Barclays Center, home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.  She also led the $160M renovation of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County.  Prior to Forest City, Rebecca was part of the team leading the redevelopment of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a $1.2 B reconstruction of the campus housing eleven world-renowned performing arts organizations, including the New York Philharmonic, the Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Opera.  Rebecca began her career at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, where she oversaw revenue contracts and licenses for the agency.  A graduate of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Rebecca resides in Huntington, Long Island with her husband and 2 children.

Matthew B. Whalen rejoined AvalonBay in 2003 and as Senior Vice President of Development he is responsible for leading the development and acquisition activity in both the Long Island and Connecticut real estate markets. He works out of the AvalonBay office in Melville, NY. Matt has over 20 years of experience in the real estate business and has worked in many different sectors, including multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality and single family. Matt began his career with Toll Brothers in New Jersey, and he has held vice president positions at Security Capital, Homestead Village, Crimson Partners and Cogent Communications. In 2006, Matt was elected to the Long Island Builders Institute’s (LIBI) Board of Directors. He was named LIBI’s president in 2009 and chairman in 2010. He has served on the Board of the Hofstra University’s Institute of Real Estate and on the Executive Board of both the Long Island Real Estate Group and the Real Estate Practitioners Institute. He was a member of the Long Island Association and served on their Next Generation Housing Committee. He has sat on the Board of Directors of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island and the Long Island Housing Partnership. He is currently on the Executive Committee for the New York State Builders Association. He was an active member of the Association for a Better Long Island, the Urban Land Institute, Action Long Island and the Long Island Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 2004, Matt was recognized by The Long Island Business News as one of Long Island’s 40 rising stars under the age of 40. In 2012, Matt participated in Habitat for Humanity’s Long Island Builders Blitz, which AvalonBay supported, in an effort that built a home in five days for a Long Island family. Matt is a 1988 graduate of Princeton University where he received a B.A. in History, and in 2012 he completed the AMDP program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Matt was the sole captain of the 1987 Princeton varsity football team and subsequently captained the United States Rugby team on two tours in 1998 and 1999. He currently serves on the Alumni Schools Committee for Princeton University for Nassau and Suffolk Counties. He is Vice President of the Princeton Football Association and a Board Member of the Ivy Football Association. admin

Jose is a senior managing director and co-office head in the New Jersey office of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He joins JLL as part of the HFF acquisition and is a member of the firm’s leadership committee. Jose specializes in investment advisory throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and also oversees the day-to-day operations of the firm’s New Jersey office. During the course of his more than 25-year commercial real estate career, he’s been involved in more than $62 billion of office, industrial, retail, multifamily and land sales. Jose started at HFF in March 2010. Before that, he was the executive director of Cushman & Wakefield’s New York area investment sales group where he spent more than 17 years. He began his real estate career as a real estate analyst at PaineWebber, UBS, Inc.

Mr. Levine is an environmental engineer specializing in Brownfields investigation, remediation and development in the New York City metropolitan region. Over 17 years of experience conducting due diligence, site investigation, engineering design, construction management, and optimization of soil, soil vapor and groundwater remediation systems. Mr. Levine has successfully managed projects in the New York State Brownfields Cleanup Program, State Superfund Program, Spills Program, and New York City Voluntary Cleanup Program from the initial investigation stages through to Site closure in a comprehensive and cost effective manner.

Joshua Weinkranz joined Kimco Realty in 1998 and currently serves as President of the Northeast Region. Mr. Weinkranz presently oversees a portfolio of 112 properties consisting of approximately 13 million square feet located throughout seven northeast states from New Jersey to Maine. In this position, Mr. Weinkranz is primarily responsible for the strategic planning and execution of a comprehensive plan for the Northeast portfolio which includes asset management, leasing, property management, redevelopment, acquisitions and dispositions. Mr. Weinkranz has over 18 years of shopping center experience. Prior to his current position, he served as the Vice President of Leasing for Kimco’s Northeast Region and as Director of Real Estate for Rosen Associates Management Corporation. Mr. Weinkranz received a bachelor of science and a bachelor of arts from Boston University and holds a Master of Science in Real Estate from New York University. He is a licensed real estate broker in NY, NJ, CT and MA.

Edward Blumenfeld is President, Founder, and the creative force behind Blumenfeld Development Group (“BDG”). Under Mr. Blumenfeld’s direction, BDG has become an industry leading Development firm that specializes in converting underutilized real estate into vibrant, innovative, progressive space that meets the economic and social needs of the community. Mr. Blumenfeld has sought to improve the quality of life within his community by bringing his energy, insight and personal commitment to a broad range of charitable efforts. He is a founding member of the Association for a Better Long Island (ABLI) and has been returned by his peers for a third term as its President and also serves as a member of its Energy and Environmental Committee. He remains a strong and effective advocate on issues relating to education, the environment, child healthcare, responsible government and sustainable development. As a founding member of the Schneider Children’s Hospital, Mr. Blumenfeld has worked over three decades to sponsor a unique brand of care based on the special needs of young patients, care that has won international recognition. He has been an ardent supporter of the hospital since its inception and further confirmed his commitment to its continued success by spearheading the expansion of the Hospital campus to include the Blumenfeld Center for Pediatric Medicine. Mr. Blumenfeld has also taken a leadership role in honoring the region’s veterans and active duty military personnel through his philanthropic support of the award winning American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport. Through his many undertakings, Ed Blumenfeld has literally and figuratively built a better Long Island. Mr. Blumenfeld created BDG in 1978, when he undertook the redevelopment of the North Shore Atrium, a 300,000 square foot building that BDG converted from a Grumman aircraft manufacturing plant to the first office facility on Long Island to incorporate a restaurant, conference area, fitness center, and retail shops on premises. Mr. Blumenfeld has carried the same innovative and pioneering vision to every BDG project since. A dramatic example of this approach toward redevelopment involved the expansion and conversion of Bulova Watch Corporation’s 250,000 square foot manufacturing plant into a 480,000 square foot Class A office facility, anchored by British Airways’ corporate headquarters. Renamed Bulova Corporate Center, this project won numerous design awards and with its art deco details rescued and restored by Mr. Blumenfeld, it is considered BDG’s flagship project. In the early 1990′s, BDG expanded into the retail sector, largely in historically disadvantaged communities such as east Harlem that had long been ignored by his development peers. These projects have been satisfying financially and sociologically, as the increased choice and lowered costs that these operations generate have raised standards of living in neighboring communities. Gotham Plaza and East River Plaza are two examples of BDG projects that helped energize and revitalize communities. Mr. Blumenfeld feels a moral obligation to improve BDG’s communities, and does so by supporting local charities, donating playing fields, and producing artistic, cultural, and educational events. Mr. Blumenfeld continues to bring his expertise and creativity to new neighborhoods through an array of Sustainable Projects such as The Arches in Deer Park, that remain sensitive to the communities they serve while strengthening local economies.

Phil Heilpern is a Senior Vice President with CBRE, Inc. in their Melville, Long Island office. Phil started with CBRE in 1985 and is the Long Island Practice Leader for tenant representation and investment property sales. He has completed some of Long Island’s interesting and complicated transactions – many of which have changed the landscape of the Long Island region. Phil and his team has represented many of the largest corporations on Long Island in their needs for space. These transactions total over 40 million square feet with over $2 billion in consideration.

Lisa Knee is a Tax Partner with over 20 years of experience. Her expertise covers a range of real estate transactions and situations, including acquisitions, refinancing, like-kind exchanges, joint venture agreements, and structuring tax rehabilitation credits for a variety of clients, such as leading real estate owners, operators, investors, family offices, and developers, as well as hospitality companies, world-renowned restaurant groups, and financial service firms. She has also consulted with large boutique hotel groups on their acquisitions, dispositions, partner buy-outs, property renovations and rebuilds. As an advisor, Lisa assists high net worth individuals and family/owner-managed business clients with preserving and enhancing business and family net worth. She also provides business succession planning services for multigenerational families, including analyzing and updating estate plans, reviewing wills and trusts, and developing liquidity strategies. Lisa has worked on a variety of highly complex transactions for clients, including domestic and international tax structuring for portfolio companies, management companies, and individual owners. Her legal background has also made her adept in mitigating tax issues and providing expert litigation services involving partnership disputes. Lisa graduated from Boston University with a B.S. degree, with a concentration in Accounting. She received a J.D. cum laude from Brooklyn Law School where she was a research editor for the International Journal of Law; and a Master of Law degree in Taxation from New York University Law School. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) as well as the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA), Commercial Real Estate Women New York (CREW New York) and Long Island Real Estate Group (LIREG). In addition, Lisa is frequently featured and quoted in various business publications, providing insight on tax and tax planning topics. She has also co-authored various articles for the Nassau Lawyer and moderated various real estate industry events. - See more at: http://www.eisneramper.com/professional-directory-Lisa-knee.aspx#sthash.l3zGABVG.dpuf