South Florida Opportunity Zones 101

Recognized as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the nation, R. Donahue (Don) Peebles Jr. is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Peebles Corporation. In an era where social responsibility and inclusion are often seen as buzz-phrases, Mr. Peebles is actively influencing change and creating opportunities that positively impact communities, through Real Estate investment and development. The Peebles Corporation is among the leading privately held real estate and development companies in the United States, with a multi-billion dollar project portfolio, spanning key markets in the nation including: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Washington D.C. Mr. Peebles and The Peebles Corporation's uniqueness is guided by the company’s own principles of Affirmative Development (TM) to empower women and minorities in closing the wealth gap – with the aim of developing not just land or buildings, but also opportunities for people. Mr. Peebles is an industry leader in large scale real estate development through Public-Private Partnerships. Through construction excellence, sustainable materials, historic preservation and innovative design, every project is strategically selected to achieve transformative results for the company and community. Mr. Peebles is an avid supporter of mentoring underprivileged youth to expose them to the value of entrepreneurship. He is the former Chairman of the Board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, is on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater New York, was a two-time former member of President Barack Obama’s National Finance Committee, and the former Chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. Mr. Peebles is a frequent guest commentator on CNBC, CNN, FOX News and FOX Business Network. He has written two books entitled The Peebles Principles and The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth, which provide the fundamentals for individuals striving to succeed in real estate. The books articulate Mr. Peebles optimism and belief that everyone’s career goals are achievable. Growing up as a child raised by a single parent, in a middle-class home, to achieving multimillionaire status by the age 27, Mr. Peebles believes that dreams really can come true.

Andrej brings a disciplined approach to project development and finance based on his extensive experience working on complex P3 and privately-owned projects both in the U.S. and across Latin America. He routinely represents financial sponsors and developers in projects that rely on both public and private funding sources and across a variety of sectors—from transportation to renewable energy to social infrastructure. Andrej combines his strong project finance background with an in-depth understanding of procurement laws and processes. As a result, he is able to walk clients through the details of complex project documents, procurements and multi-tranche financing structures while keeping the “big picture” in mind.

Craig Bernstein is a Managing Partner of OPZ Bernstein, a subsidiary of The Bernstein Companies, a Washington, DC based real estate investment management firm. Mr. Bernstein has more than 20 years of experience in real estate, including acquisitions, dispositions, construction, development, financing, asset management, property management and leasing. Mr. Bernstein is responsible for establishing OPZ Bernstein’s strategic initiatives and overseeing the Fund’s investor relations. As one of the nation’s leading Opportunity Zone experts, Mr. Bernstein has contributed to stories for The New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post and CNBC. Mr. Bernstein is a frequent speaker at Opportunity Zone events including the Global Institutional Real Estate Forum, Washington, DC Building Industry Association, Washington, DC Economic Partnership, Bisnow, The ASD Summit and The New York Riverside Experience. Prior to founding OPZ Bernstein, Mr. Bernstein was the Chief Investment Officer of White Star Investments, a prominent single family investment office in Bethesda, MD. During his 10 year career at White Star Investments, Mr. Bernstein oversaw a diversified portfolio of privately held real estate, private equity, alternative investments, and marketable securities. Mr. Bernstein focused extensively on allocating capital to external managers, and leading the firm’s manager selection and due diligence processes. Prior to joining White Star Investments, Mr. Bernstein was a Director at Cushman and Wakefield. One of the youngest Directors in the firm’s history, Mr. Bernstein’s clients included TIAA-CREF, TA Associates, Lerner Enterprises and the B.F. Saul Companies. Named as a member to the Inaugural Bisnow “Top 35 under 35” list, Mr. Bernstein has also served on the Board of the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors (GWCAR) and the Board of Hillel at the University of Maryland. Mr. Bernstein resides in Potomac, MD.

Avra Jain, a Purdue University industrial engineer graduate, has a reputation for developing projects around her favorite pursuits: art and architecture. The recipient of three Sundance Film Awards, Ms. Jain has directed boutique projects that range from converting a warehouse into luxury loft condominiums to the remake of The Vagabond Motel on Biscayne. She is a board member of the MiMo Biscayne Association.

Michael Tillman is the CEO and CIO of PTM Partners, a Fort Lauderdale-based real estate investment and development firm focused on designing and building tech-forward sustainable multifamily housing in urban markets. PTM has invested, developed, constructed, and managed over $2.5 billion in real estate covering a broad range of mixed-use inclusionary projects in D.C., Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina. PTM seeks medium-to long-term community-oriented development opportunities that create substantial value for residents, partners, and investors. Prior to PTM, Michael was a managing director of development and acquisitions for LeFrak, building and overseeing their multi-billion-dollar portfolio in South Florida. He holds his BBA from Emory University and earned his MBA from Columbia University’s Business School.

Tony Cho is a real estate pioneer, impact entrepreneur, and founder of the Future of Cities – a mission-driven consortium and multi-pronged platform invested in transforming the built environment by adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies to improve the quality of urban living. Influenced by his work as founder and chairman of Metro 1 – an award-wining, forward-thinking real estate investment, brokerage, management, and development firm that he still leads - Cho’s career has focused on shaping neighborhoods and developing sustainable cities in South Florida and beyond. He has completed over $3 billion in real estate transactions since 2005.

As a Tax Partner with Cherry Bekaert’s South Florida practice, Carol brings over 30 years of public accounting experience in tax planning and compliance services. Carol’s comprehensive strategic tax planning experience includes partnerships, S corporations, closely held entities and individuals. In addition, she serves multinational companies focusing on the real estate and construction, as well as manufacturing and distribution sectors. Her expertise includes tax planning, guidance and consulting. Carol also has significant experience advising entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals on tax strategies to assist in minimizing tax exposure. As a leader of the South Florida RECon (Real Estate and Construction) Group, she oversees the Firm’s South Florida Opportunity Zone team, which focuses on providing clients with comprehensive expertise on the new law. Previous to Cherry Bekaert, Carol served as managing director of tax and shareholder at a top ten national accounting firm.

James O. Lang focuses his tax and corporate project finance practice on tax incentive programs, Qualified Opportunity Zone and Qualified Opportunity Fund financing, tax credits, and related state and federal incentive programs. Jim is closing over $4 billion of Qualified Opportunity Funds and ancillary Qualified Opportunity Zone deployment of funds and has closed or is structuring several billion dollars in tax credit incentivized transactions. Jim represents funds, investors, lenders, community development entities, and for-profit and not-for-profit project sponsors in complex transactions where capital stacks require enhancement through incentive financing, including Qualified Opportunity Zone incentives, state and federal new markets tax credits, affordable housing and low-income housing tax credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits, and renewable energy tax credits. He works with funds, investors, lenders, project sponsors, and qualifying businesses to structure these tax incentive programs along with ancillary governmental and non-governmental financing programs, including inbound immigration and Visa investment programs, grants, and taxable and tax-exempt bonds. Jim works with clients on developing creative structures designed to increase benefits and ameliorate risks.

Clarence Williams represents and advocates for a wide range of clients before Congress and federal executive branch agencies. Clients rely on Clarence’s policy and political acumen, gained over 15-plus years of dedicated public service, to help them navigate potential pitfalls in government regulations, procurement, and legislation. A former Chief of Staff for Congressman Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL), he served as the Congressman’s chief policy advisor and strategist on all matters before the U.S. House of Representatives. He directly managed the Congressman’s portfolio of issues relating to the Committees on Ways and Means, Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Budget. Specifically, Clarence specialized in issues involving health care, armed services, taxation, alternative energy, local government issues, education, and domestic and international trade. He is uniquely qualified on issues relating to health care reform, having worked collaboratively on language he authored for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. . As lead staff for Congressman Meek on the House Armed Services Committee, he has engaged with Department of Defense leadership at all levels on issues from policy to procurement to research and development. Among those Clarence has and does proudly represent are: ACR Electronics, Univision Communications, Telephone Systems International, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, ReTXT, AMG Healthcare Services, Florida Memorial University, Bethune-Cookman University, Florida International University, and the Florida municipalities of Miami Gardens, North Miami, Palatka, West Park and Opa-Locka, among others. He has worked with these and other clients. Clarence jointly oversaw activities associated with Congressman Meek’s chairmanship of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, specifically handling issues relative to legislative policy. In that capacity, he often coordinated events with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 100 Black Men, the Urban League, the National Medical Association, and numerous other African American-serving organizations and associations. Clarence works off of his personal mantra that government will do things FOR you or TO you, based on how well you understand how it works. He believes his primary job is to give his clients the secrets to how government works FOR you. A dynamic speaker who is able to decipher and interpret highly complex policy matters for all audiences, he is well versed on giving congressional and policy updates on subjects such as health care, tax, government procurement, education, and general government process. PROFESSIONAL / COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES Member of the American League of Lobbyists since 2011. Member of the Congressional Chiefs of Staff Alumni Association. Former member, appointed in 2012 by the Vice Chairman of Fairfax County School Board, of the Minority Student Achievement Oversight Committee. Former Vice President for Fundraising on the Armstrong Elementary School PTA. Frequent speaker on Congressional and Executive Branch issues for the National Bar Association.

Mr. Gilbane founded the development arm of Gilbane, Inc. As Chairman, CEO of Gilbane Development Company, he is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company. In addition, he oversees all service groups including Development, Asset/Property Management, Project Management, Strategic Planning, and Finance and Advisory to ensure client satisfaction and unparalleled service. Bob has led the company in the development of a wide range of projects throughout the United States, including oversight of student housing projects, single and multi-family housing, mixed-use facilities, operation and data centers, distribution and manufacturing facilities, medical/hospital facilities, corporate headquarters, and many other types of facilities delivered through public/private partnerships. His long-term perspective as owner-developer of millions of square feet nationally provides the insight and experience necessary to create maximum investment value for our clients. Bob is a member of the Urban Land Institute, Rhode Island Commodores, and Rhode Island Builders Association, and serves on the Board of Directors at Gilbane, Inc., Gilbane Building Company, and Gilbane Development Company. He is a former chairman and a member of the executive committee of the Providence Foundation, former chairman of the Rhode Island chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and former board member of the Providence Preservation Society and of Sovereign Bank and Old Colony Bank. Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

Todd Rosenberg is co-founder and managing principal of Pebb Capital, a diversified, multi-strategy real estate and investment firm. Rosenberg oversees the strategic development of the company’s ventures and guides high-level endeavors from conceptualization to execution. As a member of a prominent South Florida real estate family, Rosenberg credits his intuitive approach to a close-knit upbringing surrounded by industry leaders. His extensive experience and innate entrepreneurial spirit have transformed Pebb Capital into a real estate investment force since its founding in 2014. The company has since aggregated a real estate development and capital investment portfolio valued at over $2 billion in student housing, retail, office, hospitality, multi-family, co-living, and parking, as well as lending and preferred equity ventures. Before helming Pebb Capital, Rosenberg was co-chief financial officer and in-house counsel for Pebb Enterprises, his family-operated business. He was previously a securities litigator at Fowler White Burnett and Homer Bonner & Delgado in Miami. Rosenberg holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communications from Syracuse University and a juris doctorate from Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York.

Ian Ross founded SomeraRoad Inc. in 2014 to take an entrepreneurial and creative approach to value-add, opportunistic real estate in non-core markets. Previously, Ian was a Managing Director at Triangle Capital Group, a firm he helped develop shortly after its inception. At Triangle, Ian managed the Acquisitions and Asset Management units, focusing on the purchase of hard asset real estate, non-performing loans, and securitized mortgage products, as well as the conception and execution of value-add business plans. Ian sourced, underwrote and structured investments, in both the CMBS and CRE arenas, and focused on the development of strategic relationships, firm oversight, and risk management. Prior to joining Triangle, Ian spent two years working as an analyst for Jefferies & Company in its Investment Banking Division where he focused on raising both debt and equity, as well as providing advisory services for companies in the financial services and real estate sectors. Ian initially began his professional career working on Morgan Stanley’s CMBS origination and securitization platform. Ian received an MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and graduated with honors from Emory University with a Bachelors in Business Administration. Ian serves on Manhattan’s Community Board 5 and sits on the Public Safety & Quality of Life, and Transportation & Environment committees. Additionally, Ian is the Founder and Chairman of The Asperger’s Awareness Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 that strives to raise awareness and funding for high-functioning forms of Autism.

Jeff Burns is the Co-Founder and CEO of Affiliated. Mr. Burns has more than 13 years of experience in the acquisition, development, and finance of all property types in markets across the United States. With an extensive background and longstanding relationships, Mr. Burns has a proven track record to see real estate opportunities from conception through reality. Mr. Burns has been involved in the development of over 2 million square feet of real estate with a combined cost of roughly $500 million. Included in that is approximately 1,200 residential apartment units that will serve a wide variation of tenants from luxury market-rate occupants to low-income housing residents. Of these projects, nearly all incorporate public-private partnerships and various public financing resources such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Tax Exempt Bonds, Special Assessment Financing, HUD Financing and local government housing grants. Mr. Burns got his start in the real estate industry as a commercial lender with the role of project origination for BB Syndication Services, Inc., a national syndicate lender out of Wisconsin. Mr. Burns originated and funded construction loans for developments across the country ranging in size from $11 million to $200 million in total cost. In 2006, Mr. Burns shifted his primary focus to development. Mr. Burns partnered with Rick Barrett and Tan Lo of Milwaukee, WI to develop The Moderne; a 30-story high-rise residential tower in Milwaukee’s downtown. The project is comprised of 203 market rate apartments, 14 condominiums and a 7,500-square foot restaurant. Mr. Burns and his partners managed to close on the financing of the $65 million project during the height of the US financial crisis and the project was completed in 2012 on time and on budget, is fully leased and won the Business Journal’s 2012 “Project of the Year” Award. Mr. Burns is a resident of the City of Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Burns is a member of the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Council board of Governors, and is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Burns is a graduate of the University of Missouri Business School.

Ronald R. Fieldstone currently practices primarily in the areas of corporate/securities and taxation law. He has published numerous articles and has been a lecturer in the fields of real estate, corporate/securities, tax law, and franchise law for the past 40 years. Since 2009, Ronald has actively been serving as corporate/securities counsel for multifaceted industries involving EB-5 immigrant visa investor offerings. He represents both developers and regional centers in EB-5 matters, currently handling more than 300 EB-5 projects with combined capital raise in excess of $7 billion. His corporate/securities work includes the preparation of private placement memoranda and related documents. Ronald frequently lectures and publishes about the subject of EB-5 corporate/securities for numerous government sponsored organizations, industry groups and professional associations. He recently served as a member of the IIUSA Best Practices Committee and now is a member of IIUSA's Compliance Committee. Ronald was a principal in a Blockbuster Video franchise that operated 25 stores in eight states from 1987 until October 1995. He is a principal of a multi-state lithotripsy company and was also a principal of Barnie's Coffee and Tea, Inc., the owner of the Barnie's operating system with approximately 80 corporate units and 20 franchised units from 2001 until 2004. Ronald was a managing partner of Landmark Residential from 1999 until 2008, which served as the sponsor and manager of approximately 20,000 multi-family units in the states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina that were liquidated over a period of 12 years for in excess of $1 billion.

Joe Hernandez is a sought-after transactional real estate and business lawyer with a unique perspective: he is able to draw from his prior work experience as a banker and general counsel for a private equity firm to inform his representation of a variety of clients seeking to engage in complex commercial real estate and business transactions. Joe’s clients include real estate developers, financial institutions, private equity firms, high net worth individuals, and public entities in all phases of complex commercial real estate and business transactions in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. He handles acquisitions, development, financing, leasing, joint ventures, and advises clients on raising capital for real estate projects. Joe has also developed a particular niche representing condominium associations and cooperative corporations being pursued by developers for acquisition of the units and termination of the condominium or cooperative. Joe coordinates a multi-disciplinary approach in order to counsel clients in navigating the myriad of legal issues faced by associations and unit owners in these situations. Joe also represents condominium associations, community associations, developers of condominium projects, and groups of unit owners in a variety of condominium law and community association matters, including turnovers, dispute resolution, casualties and construction defects issues. Joe is an agent for several national title insurance companies and has handled the resolution of complex title insurance issues involving real property in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining the firm, Joe served as general counsel for an asset management firm owned by Cerberus Capital. Prior to that, Joe was the head of the real estate practice group at the Miami office of an AmLaw 100 firm and a real estate shareholder at one of the largest law firms in the country. Prior to law school, Joe was a banker at a large money center bank in New York and also worked for the predecessor of Bank of America for five years as a corporate and real estate banker. Joe was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) in 2017. Active in the community, Joe is on the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Greater Miami. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law and teaches courses in real estate finance for the Real Property Development L.L.M Program.