San Francisco Re-Positioning and Development Innovations

Marc Press is the Managing Principal of KPFF’s San Francisco office. He is responsible for the development of projects, clients and employees An engineer since the early 1980s, he focuses on integrating design and construction into effective project delivery methods. His experience with virtually all building materials and market segments allows him to evaluate alternative approaches for each project and make informed recommendations to save time and money. Eager to share the substantial knowledge he’s gained over his career, Marc enjoys mentoring staff and encouraging young talent. Marc has been with KPFF since 1992 and functions as the Principal-in-Charge for a wide variety of new construction, seismic retrofit and renovation projects. For over 30 years he has produced innovative, cost-conscious systems custom-tailored for hundreds of projects of all kinds including commercial, healthcare, residential, retail, office and parking garage facilities. He has pioneered the implementation of several prefabricated structural systems including the Precast Hybrid Moment Frame, Prefabricated Light-Gage Bearing Wall Systems, Prefabrciated Wood Residential Systems and Precast Concrete Systems.

Carson Kyhl co-founded Burnham Nationwide more than 25 years ago to support the building community, and the company has grown to become the industry leader in permit expediting and code compliance consulting. Headquartered in Chicago, Burnham offers its comprehensive services across the country and has offices in six major cities. Burnham’s clients include Fortune 500 companies and leading development and architecture firms.The company’s diverse projects range from iconic skyscrapers to major retailer’s multi-site expansion efforts. Burnham facilitates annually about 6,000 permits for the entire lifecycle of complex construction projects; relying on a proactive and systematic approach developed through decades of experience. The company’s team of architects and licensed professionals offer comprehensive code consulting and architectural support services. Burnham Nationwide’s San Francisco office has been serving the Bay Area for the past decade, leveraging the company’s knowledge of California and municipal building codes, as well as other relevant requirements, to support its clients’ projects.

Mike Freeman is Executive Vice President – Development of McCarthy Cook & Co., responsible for the firm’s development projects, construction management, and capital improvement projects as well as energy and environmental initiatives. In addition, he is also responsible for leading physical due diligence on new transactions. A senior real estate executive with 25 years of experience in all aspects of competitively operating and growing successful real estate programs including asset management, development, project/construction management, leasing, and team leadership. Well versed on major West Coast markets and fostered long-term relationships throughout the real estate industry. Held senior property, construction and project management positions on a variety of property types. A skilled negotiator with a proven ability to maximize asset returns, manage risk and achieve optimal property performance. Prior to joining McCarthy Cook & Co., Mr. Freeman was a founding partner of Northwest Asset Management, the largest independently owned asset management company in California. Mr. Freeman held senior property, construction and project management positions with Carma Developers, Marathon Realty and the Shorenstein Company. On behalf of MCC, Mr. Freeman managed the construction of E! Entertainment’s 277,000 square foot headquarters facility at Wilshire Courtyard in Los Angeles and the construction of 200,000 square feet of medical research, laboratory and office space for the University of California San Francisco. Recently, Mr. Freeman oversaw the development of the $75 million, 175,000 square foot expansion of China Basin in San Francisco and the development of the $225 million Sandler Neurosciences Center in San Francisco. Mr. Freeman is a member and Board Member of the SF/BOMA political action committee, a Mayoral appointed board member of the Transbay and the Mission Bay Citizens Action Committees and a former board member of the Northern California Construction Institute and the Urban Land Institute. Mr. Freeman holds a bachelors degree from San Francisco State University, and is also involved in a number of community and charity activities.

From his beginnings as a Mason Tender and Carpenter while working in New Jersey, Andrew went on to study Architecture at Keene State College in New Hampshire before heading west to attend the University of Southern California – Viterbi School of Engineering to pursue a Master’s in Construction Management. Since joining Swinerton in 2007, Andrew worked on the West Coast in various positions and has successfully managed other regional offices – including San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Sacramento. He ascended quickly to become one of the youngest Vice President’s in firm history and is a member of the Swinerton Builders - Board of Directors. Throughout his career, Andrew has leaned on his experience in the trades and fine arts teachings to solve complex challenges on various construction projects, but his real passion is in building relationships and coaching high-performing teams. Returning to his roots in the northeast, he relocated in support of the company’s 15-year business plan (“March to 2030”) to expand both geographically and through sector diversification by opening the New York City office. As the New York City Division Manager, he is responsible for overseeing all business operations; including talent recruiting and mentoring, project planning and staffing, contract review and negotiation, and oversight of the project teams to ensure compliance with commitments of schedule, budget, safety, and quality standards. In addition to operations, he is focused on servicing the company’s national corporate service accounts in New York City, fostering trusted relationships with clients, local authorities, and consultants, along with maintaining community relations through corporate responsibility efforts.

Manuel Fishman focuses his practice on representing real estate developers and owners in the acquisition, sale, and financing of commercial properties. In addition, he has an active leasing practice representing owners of several major office buildings in San Francisco, including the Transamerica Pyramid, as well as tenants in lease and sublease transactions. His expertise includes letters of intent, tenant improvement work agreements, security deposits/letters of credit, signage rights, expansion and contraction rights, permitted transfers, operating expense audits, and lender and master landlord recognition agreements. Mr. Fishman maintains close relationships with the real estate brokerage community and utilizes these relationships to provide clients with market based information important to their existing and prospective real estate requirements. Mr. Fishman also has extensive experience in the area of ground leasing and retail leasing and is recognized as a leading attorney in the area of landline and wireless communications and Internet-based services in commercial properties and rooftop installations. In addition, Mr. Fishman acts as outside general counsel to start-ups that seek to leverage some part of commercial real estate into a tech application, and helps guide these companies in their efficient use of legal time and expertise in various subject matters, from employment and IP to enterprise contracts and web site privacy policies. Mr. Fishman also represents clients in equity structuring for, and the acquisition of, value add properties, including the formation of single purpose entities and joint ventures, and acquisition financing. Mr. Fishman has negotiated numerous construction management, project development and property management agreements relative to ground up development projects, as well as all types of easements and other adjoining owner agreements. Mr. Fishman serves as chair of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of San Francisco’s Government Affairs and Policy Advisory Committee (GAPAC). He served on BOMA San Francisco’s Board of Directors from 2003–2006, and was the recipient of the 2006 Associate Member of the Year from BOMA San Francisco. He is the past representative of BOMA San Francisco to the California BOMA Board. Mr. Fishman is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Real Property Sections of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California. Most recently, Mr. Fishman has been recognized as a 2017 Best Lawyer in America in Real Estate Law, an honor he has received since 2007, and was recognized as a 2014 Top Rated Lawyer by American Lawyer Media in conjunction with Martindale Hubbell. He has also been recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer from 2012-2016 and as one of Bay Area Magazine’s Top Lawyers in the Bay Area. Mr. Fishman is a frequent lecturer on office and shopping center leasing matters and writes frequently for industry newsletters.

Kate Sofis is the Executive Director of OEWD. She is an internationally-regarded leader in equitable urban economic development. Her experience integrates a uniquely diverse background in entrepreneurship and innovation, manufacturing, creative, and technology industry expertise, workforce development, real estate development, and local and regional economic development strategy. Kate was the co-founder and CEO of SFMade, a public-private initiative that has helped catalyze a resurgence in local manufacturing and diverse employment in San Francisco. She also recently served as a member of San Francisco’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force.

Real estate professional with more than 15 years of experience in development, land planning, and project management. Experience includes planning and implementing the Transbay Redevelopment Project in Downtown San Francisco, which involved serving as the lead negotiator on a variety of complex real estate and public/private development transactions, including more than $400 million in land dispositions.

Alexander Kolovyansky is the Director of Investment sales at Vanguard Properties and one of San Francisco’s top brokers. Alexander has been investing and brokering real estate for over 19 years and has been recognized as one of “The Leading 100” by Real Trends. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Alexander, earned his degree in Economics from Princeton University where he was a two time Track & Field All-American. He worked at a fast paced hedge fund and as a marketing manager/negotiator at Intel Corporation working with senior executives brings a unique insight to the real estate industry. He has a California Real Estate Broker’s License, is a member of The Urban Land Institute, the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR), Belden Club, the San Francisco Association of Realtors, and an MBA from the University of Arizona.