South Florida's 2016 Forecast

Jorge M. Pérez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Related Group, has led South Florida’s complex urban evolution for over 40 years. His commitment to “building better cities,” and natural ability to identify emerging market trends makes his one of the most trusted and influential names in real estate. Armed with an industry leading team, unmatched land holdings, innovative financing techniques and a pipeline of more than 100,000 units, Pérez is set to answer the demands and desires of a new generation. Starting out in the 1970’s, Pérez first made a name for himself in the public housing market of low-income Miami neighborhoods, including Little Havana and Homestead. His attention to detail and commitment to creating top-tier living environments distinguished him within the marketplace and laid the groundwork for future Related projects. Nearly four decades later, his unique passion for creating vibrant urban communities makes him a trendsetter, often the first developer to enter emerging or undiscovered neighborhoods. Over the years, Pérez and The Related Group have partnered with world-class names in architecture and interior design. Collaborations with creative luminaries like Bernardo Fort Brescia, David Rockwell, Philippe Starck, Yabu Pushelberg, Piero Lissoni, Karim Rashid, Rem Koolhaas, among others, have produced neighborhood-defining projects and established Related’s numerous developments as integral components of Miami’s evolving cityscape.   A lover of art and an avid collector, Pérez infuses each development with museum-quality works of art, including pieces from master artists such as Frank Stella, Fernando Botero, Jaume Plensa, Julio Le Parc and Fabian Burgos. The carefully curated collections are proudly displayed throughout all Related developments, complementing each building’s unique character and often serving as prominent community landmarks. Driven by a lifelong commitment to better his community, Mr. Pérez has grown to become one of the country’s most prolific philanthropists and recently established two foundations dedicated to the advancement of an equitable, thriving South Florida. The first, the Related Philanthropic Foundation, serves as the charitable arm of the Related Group, while the second, named The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, functions as the Pérez family’s personal philanthropic fund. While each has its own respective focus, both foundations are dedicated to empowering and supporting organizations driving positive impact in the areas of economic development, education, health and well-being, the environment, and arts and culture. The latest round of contributions includes a $1 million-donation to Florida International University’s (FIU) Metropolitan Center and a $1 million-gift benefitting twenty South Florida-based non- profits, including ArtCenter South Florida, GableStage, Miami New Drama, Adrienne Arsht Center, Arts for Learning Miami and Together for Children.

As the principal of Premier Developers, Bradley Deckelbaum is the fourth generation of his real estate developer family, continuing a 100-year legacy from Canada to Florida. Over the years Premier Developers has built more than 2,000 homes in South Florida, with a value in excess of $800 million. Some of the best-known recent communities Premier has developed include Bellaria in Palm Beach; Renaissance in Hollywood; Le Rive on the Intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale and now RIVA. RIVA is the first luxury condominium located on Fort Lauderdale’s picturesque Middle River. Comprised of 100 beautifully appointed, spacious residences, the 15-story, waterfront building is distinguished by its modern, curvi-linear architecture and panoramic views of the ocean and downtown Fort Lauderdale skyline. Construction is underway with a scheduled opening in mid-2017. A longtime resident of Fort Lauderdale, Deckelbaum is a graduate of Pine Crest School. He earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and spent several years practicing law at a prestigious New York law firm before joining the family business.

David A. Cohen is a Managing Director at Ready Capital Corporation, and serves in such capacity as the Chief Production Officer and Co-Head of the Ready Capital Bridge Lending Division. Prior to joining Ready Capital, David held positions as a Managing Director and National Production Manager (Head of Originations) at Doral Property Finance, a Regional Director at GE Real Estate, a Managing Director at CIBC World Markets Commercial Real Estate Finance Group, a First Vice President at Paine Webber Real Estate Securities, and as a Managing Director at Furman Selz LLC. David began his career as an attorney at the national law firm of Kelley Drye & Warren. David earned a B.A. from SUNY-Albany, and his graduate degrees with a M.B.A. from Syracuse University School of Management and a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law. He had also attended New York University’s Masters of Laws (L.L.M.) program.

Michael Comras is President and CEO of The Comras Company of Florida, a Miami Beach- based full-service real estate brokerage company founded in 1992. Comras specializes in the leasing and sale of urban and suburban retail properties across South Florida. As a principal in various development entities, Michael also has been involved in the construction, leasing and sale of properties that have evolved into some of the region’s top retail and entertainment destinations. Michael’s talent for seeing transactions from the perspectives of both owners and tenants has generated phenomenal success for once-languishing urban cores. He is extremely active in Miami’s emerging neighborhoods, including the burgeoning Wynwood Arts District, Coconut Grove, Design District and Downtown Miami. His influence also stretches beyond Miami’s urban core through various leasing assignments in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. Clients represented by or located in a Comras property include Polo Ralph Lauren, Sephora, Nike, Forever 21, Apple, Le Pain Quotidian, Capital One Bank, BCBG, J Crew, Madewell, Sephora, Suit Supply, Lucky Strike, Bonobos, Sugarcane, and Tesla to name a few. On Miami’s mainland, Comras recently spearheaded the investor groups’ acquisitions of the lifestyle centers CocoWalk in Coconut Grove and Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami. His latest venture, BLVD at Lenox, a 200,000 square foot, multi-story retail development, features Target’s long-awaited debut on South Beach. Among the firm’s renown redevelopment achievements are the conception of Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue Fashion District and the renaissance of the historic Lincoln Road promenade. These achievements have culminated in Comras’ $370 million sale of an entire Lincoln Road blockfront, the largest sale of a retail property in Miami-Dade County history. New York-born, Comras holds a BA from the University of Miami and an MBA in banking and finance from Pace University. A licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida, he is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches. Comras participates in several business improvement districts and civic committees. He serves on the University of Miami Real Estate Advisory Board and is a sought-after panelist for real estate programs organized by ICSC and a variety of commercial real estate news providers. A former chairman of The Lincoln Road Marketing Association, he has also served on the Miami Beach Mayor’s Blue-Ribbon Task Force on Tourism-Retail- Nightlife/Dining. Charitable activities include The AIR Society of National Jewish Health (founding member), Women of Tomorrow, Bass Museum, Mount Sinai Medical Center and Miami Children’s Hospital.

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.

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.

Bernardo Fort-Brescia, FAIA, is a founding Principal of Arquitectonica. He studied architecture and urban planning at Princeton University and received a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where he later taught. Today Arquitectonica has designed buildings in 58 countries from offices around the world. Mr. Fort-Brescia’s designs have won hundreds of design awards. His work has been featured in 6,000 national and international publications and has been the subject of numerous museum exhibitions in the Americas, Europe and Asia. He is the recipient of the AIA Florida Honor for Design Award and the AIA Silver Medal for Design Excellence. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. Mr. Fort-Brescia was honored by the Salvadori Center in New York with the 2000 Founder’s Award. In 2018, he was the recipient of the Urban Land Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, marking the first time an architect has won the award. Mr. Fort-Brescia has taught at Harvard University, University of Miami and Florida International University, and has chaired architectural advisory boards at these institutions as well, including the University of Miami School of Architecture. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Wolfsonian Museum and the New World Symphony. He is also a strong supporter of the National YoungArts Foundation. Mr. Fort-Brescia currently sits on the Urban Land Institute Advisory Board.