Oakland's Annual Multifamily & Mixed-Use Rundown

Mr. Kerr has a successful track record of leading the development process for residential and mixed use developments in Bay Area communities. Mr. Kerr actively works with land owners, communities, agencies and cities to develop high quality multi-family infill communities. He was in charge of acquisition, design, entitlement, and construction for the bay area townhome and mid-rise division of Intracorp. Prior to Intracorp, Mr. Kerr was with The Olson Company where he managed the development team for the East and South Bay markets and was responsible for all entitlement and development projects in those markets. Mr. Kerr got involved with urban development as a means to preserve open space with smarter more dense infill growth. At City Ventures, Mr. Kerr is responsible for land acquisition, asset management, project design and entitlement for new infill communities throughout Northern California. Mr. Kerr has an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College.

Drew runs the Family Office of Team G Capital, a Private Equity LLC. The fund’s focus is primarily in the Real Estate, Automotive and Lending sectors. Gissinger was President and COO of Countrywide Home Loans with direct oversight for virtually all revenue generation including: mortgage banking, banking, insurance and warehouse lending consisting of 40,000 employees, annual revenue of 10 plus billion dollars and direct profit contribution of 3 plus billion dollars. Gissinger was appointed CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp by Bank of America to transition and integrate the sale of the company into the banking franchise.

Michael E. Johnson is President and Chief Executive Officer of UrbanCore Development, LLC which he founded in 2012 to focus on public-private, mixed-income residential development projects. Prior to establishing UrbanCore, Mr. Johnson was the President of Em Johnson Interest, Inc., a real estate development company based in San Francisco for 20 years. Over the combined last 25 years, his companies have been one of the largest African American businesses in the Bay Area. This is as a result of recent completion or current undertaking of over $800 million in project development activity, representing over 3,000 housing units and several mixed-use projects. He has served as the Managing Partner of award winning redevelopment projects such as the Fillmore Heritage Center, an $85 million mixed-use project in San Francisco; the $32 million Easter Hill HOPE VI project in Richmond, California; and the $45 million Mary Helen Roger Senior Center in San Francisco. Mr. Johnson has recently completed projects in Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego. This includes the completion of the $40 million Cannery Place 180-unit Affordable Housing project in Sacramento, the $35 million Warren-Eviva both in Sacramento (118 units), and the $50 million Eviva-Mission Bay project in San Francisco (129 units). UrbanCore also is currently completing construction on the largest modular housing project in Oakland, the $56 million, 110-unit Coliseum Connections apartment project scheduled to begin occupancy in March 2019, and is in the final pre-construction phase of the LakeHouse Commons - mixed income $250 million apartment project near Lake Merritt, and in Oakland which is schedule to break ground in the 3rd quarter of 2019. Mr. Johnson previously was a co-Managing Partner of the $102 million North Beach Place redevelopment project completed 2004, which has received numerous awards. Mr. Johnson has two degrees - a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Urban Planning in 1976, and a Master of Architecture with a concentration in Real Estate Development in 1979, from the University of Maryland and the Georgia Institute of Technology respectively. While at the Maryland, Michael was a student-athlete as a member of the track & field team, and was an Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in 1974. Mr. Johnson is currently a Member of the University of Maryland’s Board of Trustees and also serves on the Oakland Zoo Planning Advisory Committee, along with serving on the Board of the national non-profit Neighborhood Development Collaborative. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for the St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Oakland, on the Planning Commission, YMCA and Library Boards while in Atlanta, and the Board of Glide Memorial Church’s Housing Corporation in San Francisco. Mr. Johnson also lectures regularly at the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development.

Miles Garber is the Vice President of Research at Polaris Pacific, the largest brokerage firm of new condominiums on the West Coast. At Polaris Pacific, he runs the research consulting division and oversees the Polaris Pacific Report, a monthly market intelligence report that tracks sales prices and absorption rates of new residential condominiums in San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Silicon Valley, Oakland/Emeryville and Los Angeles. Prior to joining Polaris Pacific, Miles was a research analyst at The Mark Company, a San Francisco-based brokerage firm, and with Market Profiles, a market research firm based in Southern California. An active member of Urban Land Institute (ULI), he serves the Steering Committee of its Young Leaders Group. He also volunteers with ULI’s Urban Plan, an interactive program that teaches high school students about real estate development. Miles attended the University of Redlands, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. Degree in Global Business

Jeff is a California licensed civil and structural engineer and has 35 years of structural engineering experience. Coffman Engineers is a multi-discipline engineering firm established in 1979 with eight offices in the western United States. Jeff joined Coffman in 2014 when his firm Jeffrey Weber & Associates, Inc. was absorbed by Coffman after 18 successful years. Before opening his own firm, Jeff worked for Steven Tipping & Associates as an associate hired to provide expertise in structural steel building design. Jeff previously worked as an inaugural employee of the new San Francisco office for KPFF consulting engineers. Jeff’s expertise includes both new building design and the seismic rehabilitation and structural remodeling of existing structures. He has experience with all of the major structural materials, in both new building projects and retrofit projects. Jeff has experience in several different markets, including multi-unit family, mixed use, industrial, architectural preservation, seismic retrofit, and commercial projects. Coffman’s projects include those delivered using conventional design/bid/build methods, as well as collaborative design/build projects. Jeff holds a BS in civil engineering (magna cum laude) from Pennsylvania State University in 1979, and a MS in structural engineering from University of California, Berkeley in 1981.

Alan E. Dones is a licensed contractor, a long-time entrepreneur, an outspoken advocate of equal opportunity in employment and contracting, and an accomplished musician/producer. Dones is principal of ADCo, LLC and managing partner and co-founder of SUDA, LLC, a firm specializing in large-scale, innovative, public agency projects and mixed-use development. SUDA has completed several landmark projects in Oakland, CA and is currently pioneering international development projects in Africa. In 1988, Alan Dones co-founded and served as CEO of Rondeau Bay Construction, Inc. (RBC), an engineering and construction firm based in Oakland, CA. Under his leadership, RBC grew to include offices in five major US cities and completed over $70 million of construction projects. Alan is active in a number of local and national organizations. He has worked with agencies throughout the United States to revise and enhance their small business and W/MBE policies. Currently, he is a member of the City of Oakland’s Workforce Investment Board; member of the Alameda County Health Care Foundation; and member the East Bay Conversion and Reinvestment Commission. Formerly, Dones served as president of the Northern California Chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors; vice-chairman of the Oakland City Charter Review Committee; board member of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce; delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business; and member of the Legislative Committee for the Engineering and Utility Contractor’s Association. As a member of the Military Conversion and Reinvestment Commission, Mr. Dones was instrumental in promoting legislation and drafting revisions to the language of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) that enhanced the ability of Women and Minority owned firms to compete for DOD and conversion related contracts. Mr. Dones has authored several articles on minority business issues in local and National publications. He has co-authored a measure on the 1996 ballot in Oakland, California to amend Oakland’s City Charter mandating Affirmative Action programs, combating disparities in City employment and contracting. This initiative had national significance in that it is one of the first voter responses to counter the impact of the controversial anti-affirmative action California Civil Right Initiative (CCRI). Alan Dones is executive producer and co-founder of Strategic Media Alliance, LLC (SMI) ― an international production company based in Oakland, CA. His musical credits are many. Alan co-authored the 1981 hit single, “Be Yourself” with world-renowned bassist, Nathan East. The song appeared on singer Debra Laws’ first solo album, “Very Special” and rose to the top-ten mark on Billboard’s R&B charts [listen]. In 1981, Dones co-authored, “Go For It”, performed by Bill Summers & Summers’ Heat and featured on their classic Jam the Box album. Alan has produced, written and performed with many of the Bay Area’s top artists, including Rodney Franklin, Ray Obeido, Larry Batiste, Jennifer Johns, Hannibal Means, Patricia Banks, Harvey Scales, David Daniel, and The Nemonics. He performed for more than a year in the award-winning and highly acclaimed San Francisco musical review, “Soul, Style & Sass.”

Mr. Abid has over 15 years of real estate acquisitions and asset management experience, and helps oversee and manage deal sourcing, asset management, and day to day operations for the firm's Northern California Office. Prior to joining HP Investors, Mr. Abid helped acquire, structure, and manage over $2B in West Coast real estate assets for AIG Global Real Estate in San Francisco. In this role, Mr. Abid helped analyze, structure, and manage investments across the project lifecycle, including entitlement, ground-up development, asset repositioning, and lease-up. He has direct experience in the office, retail, for-sale residential, and multifamily sectors. Mr. Abid has also served as private equity associate at The LeFrak Organization, a New York based developer, and as a corporate strategy consultant at Deloitte. Mr. Abid holds an MBA and MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University, and a BA from UCLA.

Jerry is the Co-Founder and President of Citrine Advisors, where he oversees all aspects of property acquisition, development, financing, management, investor relations, capital formation, and brokerage. Prior to launching the company, Jerry spent a decade working for a major, national investment brokerage firm in a handful of the company’s offices along the West Coast. Jerry is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute, where he sits on the Small Scale Development Council. Jerry holds a broker’s license (#01321958) in the state of California.

Asheshh has over two decades of experience as a design architect. His work strives to connect the creation of a building’s concept to the craft of construction. Initiating his career with Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Italy, Asheshh has gained professional experience at firms in Houston, Ahmadabad, Atlanta, Boston, New York and San Francisco, and his unique design aesthetic is influenced by this global perspective.

Bruce Jett has practiced landscape architecture for over 30 years, beginning his career with a small practice in the East Bay in 1987. In 1999 Bruce founded Bruce Jett Associates with the singular belief that urban-focused landscape architecture plays a pivotal role in making cities vibrant, livable places that uplift the human experience through thoughtful, well designed outdoor environments. As founding principal of JETT Landscape Architecture + Design, Bruce’s work explores the middle ground between nature, architecture and designed outdoor space to foster the interplay of people with each other, buildings and broader contexts such as history, cultural values and social needs. The firm’s award-winning projects are noted for their creative response to programmatic needs, innovative use of materials and environmental sensitivity. The work touches upon a wide variety of projects throughout California. Bruce is currently working on the renovation of the former Berkeley Art Museum on the U.C. Berkeley Campus, numerous multi-family housing projects, hospitality, education and commercial projects. Bruce is particularly proud of the range of projects the firm has undertaken over the past few years to address homelessness, including permanent supportive housing in San Jose, San Leandro and Oakland, veteran’s housing in Colma and campus planning for temporary shelters at two sites in San Jose. Bruce has also been involved in working with the firm’s two other principals to integrate the latest in project delivery technologies into its day-to-day operations. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, ASLA and Spur and enjoys working to inspire high school and university students about thoughtful land use and the development process through ULI’s Urban Plan Program.

As COO, Tom Perko is a key member of Fisher’s leadership team, responsible for the planning and execution of corporate strategy, overseeing operations, and assuring successful project delivery to our clients. He joined Fisher in 2015 as a Senior Project Manager running the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center and Affordable Housing Development, a multi-family, mixed-use structure located in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood. Mr. Perko is an accomplished builder who possesses an impressive depth and breadth of experience, ranging from ground up structures and TI’s to major public works projects. Prior to joining Fisher, Mr. Perko has worked for Nibbi Brothers, Baugh Industrial Contractors (now Skanska), Manito Construction, Wal-Mart Stores and Vandervert Construction. He’s also spent time doing international relief work in Africa, the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Mr. Perko holds a BS in building construction from the Univ. of Washington and an MBA from the Univ. of Michigan.

Tom Stubbs joined TMG Partners in 1998 working on the award-winning renovation of The Landmark @ One Market and a number of other properties in the San Francisco SOMA sub-market. Mr. Stubbs left in 2002 to build a family wine business and returned to TMG in the spring of 2010. Mr. Stubbs has over 40 years’ experience in brokerage and development in the UK, Calgary, Denver, Toronto and San Francisco. His current focus at TMG Partners is on acquisitions and leasing in San Francisco and the East Bay. Prior to TMG: Mr. Stubbs was co-owner and founder (1988) of Stubbs, Collenette and Associates Inc., a boutique brokerage firm specializing in the acquisition, sale and leasing of commercial property in downtown San Francisco. The firm was a major presence in San Francisco commercial brokerage until its sale to Grubb & Ellis in 1996. Prior to that, Mr. Stubbs was President of Knowlton Realty Ltd, an international brokerage firm with offices across Canada and the Western United States. Mr. Stubbs graduated from the University of Reading, UK, in 1975 with a BSc in Estate Management.

For over 30 years, Paul Zeger has been the definitive source of information for new construction sales and marketing in the Bay Area. His leadership in identifying and capitalizing on residential development opportunities is unparalleled. Paul’s client relationships include some of the most successful real estate development firms on the west coast – TMG Partners, Emerald Fund, Lennar Urban and Wilson Meany to name a few. Paul believes in making commitments to his clients, and building trust by delivering on his commitments. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Colgate University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.