Delaware State of the Market

Mr. Robert E. Buccini is a Co-founder and Principal of The Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc. and serves as its Co-President. He serves as Executive Director of Mid Atlantic Hotel Portfolio Investors LLC. Mr. Buccini leads The Buccini/Pollin Group general non-hotel real estate development activity. Prior to co-founding BPG, Mr. Buccini was an Assistant Vice President for real estate development at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). While at the EDC, his projects included the Times Square-Disney redevelopment project, Brooklyn’s Metro Tech, the city’s first information technology building, and the New York City Discovery Fund (a $50 million venture fund investing in New York City based technology companies). Prior to that engagement, Mr. Buccini was a Broker and Senior Analyst for Kenneth D. Laub & Company, a commercial real estate brokerage firm based in New York City. Mr. Buccini is Chairman of the Wilmington Housing Partnership, Director of The Rodel Foundation of Delaware, Treasurer of Opera Delaware and Chairman of Delaware State University’s Annual Campaign. Mr. Buccini received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University.

Scott Johnson brings over 30 years of real estate planning, acquisition, development, financing, leasing and property management to the real estate industry. During that time, he has been actively engaged in driving economic development in Wilmington, in partnership with city and state government and community decision-makers. In his role as Partner at McConnell Johnson Real Estate, he has led property acquisition and financing for many transactions throughout the Mid-Atlantic, including 1201 Market and 1313 Market in Wilmington, Delaware. Overseeing all core asset management activities, Scott has worked successfully with commercial banks and CMBS lenders such as Starwood Capital and PNC, to secure initial financing and refinancing. He manages a team of over 20 engineers and administrative professionals with a focus on tenant service, resulting in a 95% renewal rate in key assets, with particular success in serving the unique needs of law firms, collectively occupying over 350,000 sf. Scott works closely with equity partners to strategically position key assets for continued success in the future Scott has completed more than 1,000,000 sf of tenant improvement projects, as well as leading efforts to secure sustainable utility grants and loans that have resulted in a 50% reduction in energy usage. He led efforts to secure robust fiber network access to 1201 Market, enabling powerful connectivity not only for tenants but for the entire Region. He holds a degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State University, and attended the MBA program at Northeastern University and is a licensed broker in the state of Delaware. He serves on the boards of The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation and Exceptional Care for Children.

Mr. Schell is co-founder and President of the Ocean Atlantic Companies, a diversified group of real estate development, management, construction and brokerage firms primarily operating in Southern coastal Delaware with a recent focus on rental apartments, affordable housing and senior living communities. Mr. Schell serves as the Managing Member of approximately 50 limited liability companies engaged in OAC’s various real estate activities and development projects. Prior to starting Ocean Atlantic in 1997, Mr. Schell worked as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch in Chicago. Mr. Schell is also involved in a number of not-for-profit entities and boards. He was recently appointed to the Governor’s Affordable Housing Task Force and serves on the Finance and Development subcommittee. He is the President of the Nassau School Coalition, working to preserve one of the few remaining Black schools built by Pierre DuPond in the early 20 th century and was recently (Oct 2024) honored, along with his wife, at the Difference Makers Gala by the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice for his efforts in fighting racism and furthering racial equity is Southern Delaware. He co-founded in 2001 the Sussex County Land Trust, a public/private partnership between the real estate community and the County with the mission of preserving open space in Sussex County, and served as its Vice Chairman for over 10 years. Mr. Schell served as the Chairman of the Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and is a leader in the formation, serving as the Chair of the site selection, design, and construction committees of the Sussex Academy charter school. Mr. Schell graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College (1996) and he has an MBA from the Harvard Business School (2002). He resides in Rehoboth Beach, DE with his wife, Kathleen, and son Brady (15). His older son, Jack (19), is a freshman at Syracuse and plays for their lacrosse team. Mr. Schell can frequently be found 75 miles off-shore sportfishing in the summer and in the mountains of Utah skiing in the winter.

Joy A. Barrist offers a full range of commercial real estate law services involving the finance, acquisition, sale, lease and development of complex multimillion-dollar real estate projects throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania, around the country and internationally. She regularly represents banks and lending institutions, private equity firms, non-profit organizations, investors, developers, owners, landlords, and tenants. Joy consistently represents both lenders and borrowers in various types of commercial real estate financing transactions, including acquisition, development and construction lending. Her experience also includes CMBS and mezzanine debt transactions, as well as municipal bond transactions. She handles finance and other real estate matters for all asset classes including multifamily, hospitality, office, retail, industrial, mixed-use, medical and education. Joy represents financial institutions as lead lenders and participants in syndicated loan transactions. Her practice also includes the representation of lenders in workouts, financial restructuring, loan sales and the purchase of loan pool portfolios. Joy’s practice also includes representations with respect to other real estate and general business matters such as easements, lot purchase agreements, sale and purchase of business assets and ownership interests in business entities, the formation of Delaware entities and the rendering of legal opinions in finance and other commercial transactions. In addition to real estate finance, her experience extends to asset-based finance (including equipment, inventory and receivables financing), working capital lines of credit and various other complex commercial loan facilities. She is a frequent speaker on topics of commercial real estate and in particular, real estate finance and construction lending. The current edition of Chambers USA includes her in the top tier of Delaware real estate practitioners, highlighting positive client feedback: "She's a very fine attorney — a good technician and a good drafter." "Joy is top notch and her work is second to none." Joy is actively involved in a number of community organizations in and around Wilmington, Delaware, including I Am My Sister’s Keeper, The Teen Warehouse, Inc., Jumpstart Wilmington, REACH Riverside and the Kingswood Community Center. Joy is the vice practice group leader of the firm's Transactions and Corporate Counseling Group as well as chair of the firm's Women's Initiative

Chris has been with Lang Development Group since 2005 and oversees the operations of the residential portfolio, legal matters, and government relations. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He also received a law degree from Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 1987. He is a licensed attorney in the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with almost 35 years of experience. Chris started his career as a legal intern for the Honorable Senator Robert Dole (R-Kan) and served as General Counsel to Sunvest Realty specializing in Far East relations and real estate acquisitions. Prior to joining Lang Development Group, he became Managing Director of the law firm formerly known as Healy and Locke, a mid-size firm specializing in corporate law, litigation and real estate law. He and his wife Norma have raised seven children and live in Newark. Chris has been active in the Downtown Partnership, Newark Housing Authority, and numerous youth programs and various civic projects around the city of Newark. Chris is also a Board member of St. Marks High School. He is founder of SL24: UnLocke the Light Foundation, a non-profit to help young adults struggling with mental health issues.

Ryan M. Bailey is a credentialed Senior Developer, who joined Pennrose in 2005. As a member of the real estate development team, he is responsible for and well versed in all aspects of the development process, from concept to completion. He is particularly proficient in the building of financial paradigms to facilitate development. Mr. Bailey’s career has included exposure to all facets of real estate development and construction with a particular focus on honing the analytical skills to be successful in the industry. As a Financial Analyst for Studley, Inc., he served on one of the top five highest grossing teams in the Philadelphia region for 2003 and 2004. Mr. Bailey represented corporations relocating, restructuring, and/or renewing leases with particular responsibility for new business development and financial analysis. Prior to this, he was a Project Manager for Mahoney Realty, analyzing the concept, feasibility, design, underwriting, construction, and operation of prospective commercial and multi‐family development projects. He garnered his construction experience with Turner Construction Company, Bailey Design Inc., and Architectural Alliance. While at Pennrose, Mr. Bailey has secured financing and led several award‐winning development teams, combining a total investment well in excess of $300 million. Product types have included large multi‐phase townhouse redevelopments, new construction mid‐rise senior buildings and large‐scale adaptive re‐use historic redevelopments. Mr. Bailey graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance. His independent study was in Construction Management. He holds a Pennsylvania Real Estate Salesperson’s License and has completed coursework at Temple University’s Real Estate Institute on Real Estate Investment. He is a Member of the Urban Land Institute, United States Green Builder’s Council, Board of Directors of the Fairmount Community Development Corporation (President & Real Estate Chair), serves on the Fairmount Zoning Committee and Friends of Bache Martin Committee and is a volunteer for the Community Design Collaborative.

Stephanie Griffin is the Director of Housing Development for the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA). In this capacity, she oversees the financing, construction, and portfolio management of multifamily rental housing throughout the state of Delaware (LIHTC and PBCA); federal entitlement programs such as HOME, NHTF, CDBG, ESG, and HOPWA; community development initiatives focusing on homeownership housing development, community-focused foreclosure recovery programming, and community/economic development investment; and manages several state funding resources such as the Housing Development Fund, Strong Neighborhood Housing Fund, Affordable Rental Housing Program, and Downtown Development District fund. She is also responsible for the development of several new programs funded through the SLFRF authorized by the ARPA and serves as the primary staff person for DSHA’s Council on Housing. Prior to taking this position, she served as the Director of Housing Finance for DSHA where she oversaw single family programming (mortgage lending, DPA, and foreclosure prevention), single and multifamily bond issuance, and stood up the mortgage foreclosure programming funded through the HAF. She also served as the Housing Development Administrator overseeing the multifamily housing development activities for Housing Development and, prior to joining DSHA, worked as a planner and program administrator focusing on affordable housing and community development for the City of Wilmington. Stephanie holds a B.S. in Building Sciences and a MCP from Auburn University.