Wynwood, Allapattah, and Little Havana

Thomas Conway, Founder, launched Qualcon Real Estate in 2019. Thomas is an innovative, efficient and focused real estate professional. Mr. Conway's career has organically evolved over the last decade representing institutional real estate groups in a third party capacity to syndicating various investment opportunities in emerging markets throughout South East Florida. Mr. Conway’s latest venture, Qualcon Real Estate is a vertically integrated development and investment firm. During his career, he evolved as a successful broker to become a developer, property manager and investor with a keen ability to create value through entitlements and identifying emerging market trends. Thomas Conway has been the driving force behind a number of creative adaptive reuse projects including ebb & flow shopping destination, The Citadel co-working, MADE at the Citadel (food hall and performance venue), and the US Headquarters for TheVentureCity in Little Havana.

Camilo E. Padron is Senior Vice president of Investments at Lloyd Jones. Camilo joined Lloyd Jones in 2021 and along with his team, led the acquisition efforts of new senior living opportunities across the United States. Lloyd Jones has closed on 9 new senior properties and counting since joining the firm. At his former employer, Landmark, Camilo led the evaluation of potential acquisitions and development opportunities for industrial, multifamily and age restricted properties. In his short time, he approved and broke ground on 2 new developments, totaling $110MM. Previously Camilo was the Director of Capital Markets at Janover Ventures, an advisory firm which leverages technology and digital media for commercial real estate finance. Starting as an analyst and quickly being promoted twice, Mr. Padron led and oversaw all capital markets efforts at Janover. Specifically, arranging debt and equity for multifamily and commercial real estate assets with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, CMBS and other Balance Sheet products. Camilo and his team analyzed, submitted letters of intent and closed over $1.5 billion in real estate assets and developments from 2016 to 2020. Camilo holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and International Business from Florida International University and a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Miami. In 2020 he was named a council advisory member for the Florida International University Hollo School of Real Estate.

With over a decade of construction and insurance experience, Daniel has managed nearly $1 billion dollars worth of new construction, commercial and residential remodeling. In addition, Daniel has placed hundreds of insurance policies, serves as an expert witness in thousands of insurance disputes, and assisted community associations, business owners and homeowners recover from a wide variety of property and business income losses. He maintains a strong commitment to the community and serves on the BB&T Local Advisory Board and as Vice-Chairman of Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Andy along with his Co-Principal at UrbanX, Coralee Penabad, are the developers behind the River Landing Shops & Residences, an 8.14-acre-mixed use development under construction on the Miami River and the catalyst for development in the neighboring Allapattah community. River Landing is a modern urban lifestyle center bringing national retailers, shops, restaurants, office, entertainment and a waterfront linear park to Miami’s riverfront for residents and visitors. River Landing is creating a waterfront shopping and dining destination to serve rising neighboring communities such as the Miami Health District -- which enjoys one of the largest day-time populations in Florida--, downtown Miami, Allapattah, Little Havana and more. It will consist of approx. 345,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, 135,000 square feet of office, 528 market-rate apartments, more than 2,000 parking spaces and a landscaped Riverwalk. Future tenants include Publix Super Markets, Burlington Stores, TJ Maxx, West Marine, Ross Dress For Less, AT&T, Old Navy, Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby. Andrew can speak to the state of the construction, retail, lending and CRE industry during the Coronavirus crisis. He can compare - up to a certain point - the impact of the current financial crisis versus the economic crisis of 2008-2011. Back then, he did a lot of work disposing distressed assets for other developers.

Benji is based in Miami, his hometown, and is a trained urban planner and impact-focused real estate development professional. As NYC-based Procida Development Group's Director of Real Estate Development & Social Impact, he oversees the firm's work in South Florida. His experience has focused on urban redevelopment projects and public policy efforts in Miami, Philadelphia, and Boston. He has been deeply involved in urban redevelopment efforts in Miami through roles working with urban planning, architecture, and construction firms, roles with City of Miami and Miami-Dade County government, and work with non-profit community development organizations. Prior to joining Procida Development Group, Benji led Miami-Dade County Public Housing’s redevelopment of its public housing through HUD’s RAD conversion projects. His academic and research experience is from the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a Bachelors degree in Urban Studies and a Master in City Planning and Master of Science in Real Estate Development. His work and outside of work efforts have focused significantly on the Allapattah neighborhood over the past decade. He serves as an advisor and consultant to The Allapattah Collaborative CDC, helped move McKenzie Construction into its home in the Allapattah neighborhood in 2014, and has served as a consultant to impact-focused clients who have impact-focused real estate investments in the neighborhood.

Lissette Calderon is founder and CEO of Neology Life Development Group, a lifestyle- driven residential and commercial real estate firm that specializes in the transformation of undervalued communities into sought-after neighborhoods. Calderon’s rapid rise in South Florida’s highly competitive real estate industry began with her ability to see the potential in overlooked waterfront land along the Miami River. In 2000, with the introduction of her pioneering and trend setting loft-style residential building NeoLofts, and her subsequent building concepts Neo Vertika and Wind by Neo, Calderon is credited with transforming the Miami River District into one of the city’s hippest, most sought-after neighborhoods. With her most recent flagship project on the Miami River, the 199-unit Pier 19 Residences & Marina, Calderon solidified her reputation as one of South Florida’s most visionary developers. Today, Calderon is spearheading the revival of another historic Miami neighborhood: Allapattah. Neology completed the 192-unit No. 17 Residences Allapattah in 2021 (nominated for a Structure Award by the South Florida Business Journal) and is breaking ground on two more residential projects nearby later this year. Neology’s portfolio consists of 1,200 apartments under ownership that have been recently built or under development in Miami’s urban core, with a pipeline of over 500 more units planned in South Florida and beyond, along with 1,500 condo units previously built and sold representing nearly $1 billion. A second-generation Cuban-American, Calderon was born and raised in Miami and earned a bachelor’s degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She launched her career in real estate at the Related Group, and later became the firm’s first female president, serving in that role from 2014 to 2016. She is involved in numerous community organizations including Amigos for Kids, a nonprofit organization serving the needs of South Florida’s abused, abandoned and neglected children. Most recently, Calderon was appointed to The University of Miami’s Master of Real Estate Development + Urbanism Advisory Board. She and her husband live in Coral Gables and have three daughters and three dogs.

With more than 16 years of brokerage experience, Alfredo Riascos is the principal and broker of Gridline Properties, which he founded in 2018. In his current role, Mr. Riascos manages more than 10 agents, and he continues to enrich Miami’s diverse neighborhoods through progress and innovation. Under Mr. Riascos’ leadership, Gridline has had a steady and strong growth since its founding and continues to expand into Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Over the past 15 years, he has worked on behalf of private and institutional clients that have aided in positioning him as one of the area’s top Real Estate Brokers. During his career he has brokered more than $500 million in real estate transactions and has participated in some of the most notable projects in Miami, including the Magic City Assemblage, multiple development sites in the Wynwood neighborhood, as well as pioneering into the Allapattah and Little River markets. Prior to founding Gridline Properties, he worked at Metro 1 Commercial where he developed a ten-year career in the brokerage industry. Mr. Riascos was a South Florida Business & Wealth 2022 Up & Comer honoree. He is an active member of the Miami Realtors Association, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Florida International University. Mr. Riascos recently ran the Miami Marathon and is training for the New York City Marathon.

Abel Ramirez is the Founder and President of JAXI Builders Inc. Construction runs deep in his veins as he has been working the construction field with his father since his early teens, bringing more than forty-five years of direct experience value to the corporation. Going on to then acquire his General Contractor’s license in mid-college, in the past thirty-six plus years Mr. Ramirez has continuously propelled the company’s growth. JAXI Builders now operates as a multi-faceted company exercising exponential growth & completing projects in the multi-family, mid-rise & high rise sector throughout the South and Western regions of Florida. Mr. Ramirez’s tenacity and perseverance have earned JAXI Builders a stellar reputation for delivering top-quality construction projects for clients from “Foundation to Finish.” Abel consistently involves himself throughout the inception, construction and closeout phases of each project undertaking awarded to JAXI Builders. This personal investment from the company leader perpetuates a company culture that examines the details closely & strictly adheres to planning initiatives to accomplish projects on-time & within budget parameters. You will find him in the fine details of early estimates & preliminaries ensuring the owner receives the best number for each of the trades, guiding project managers & superintendents on the elevated levels of expectation he has for their performance and always taking the initiative to put forth the owner’s expectation as the guiding principle for each undertaking. As JAXI Builders continues to expand, he still takes the time to connect with each of the individual employees who contribute to the company whether it be in the office, field management or support staff. Abel’s accessibility by each of the employees, subcontractors, & clients JAXI interacts with elevates the ability for problem solving to be decisive and quick to resolution with his participation in the minute details. Previously named as one of the top homebuilders in Southeast Florida by the South Florida Business Journal, this is among the accomplishments characterizing the commitment he carries to heart. In addition to holding licensing in the construction and real estate industries, Mr. Ramirez holds a volunteer board member position in Miami-Dade County’s Unsafe Structures Board, a position he has held for more than two decades. His forward-looking prerogative led him to complete the LEED certification at the pioneering phase of the accreditation & since the completion of various LEED accredited buildings in operation today.

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.

Amir Setayesh is the Managing Director of Quadrum Global. Since 2013, Amir has been responsible for all of Quadrum Global’s development projects in sectors such as hospitality, residential and senior living. Amir is responsible for the management of Quadrum’s US personnel and offices and also provides senior leadership oversight for Quadrum’s Arlo Hotel portfolio. Amir is a development professional with a degree in Construction Management and over 22 years of experience, including effective supervision and management of over a billion dollars in development with Quadrum. He began his career working on high profile development projects in Sydney, Australia from the years 2000-2004. Thereafter, from 2004-2013 and prior to joining Quadrum, Amir worked with an international consulting firm managing and representing owners in development within the hospitality sector throughout the United States' East Coast.

Mr. James was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He holds a Bachelor of Design from the University of Florida, in which he spent a year studying abroad in a program based in Vicenza, Italy. Following his undergraduate degree was a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. Andrew’s Architecture career has spanned more than 25 years, starting in New York City before returning to Miami. His experience ranges all aspects of the profession from conception through construction and includes Hospitality, Office, Residential and Retail occupancies. After joining Nichols Architects in 2004, Mr. James has managed such dynamic projects as the Historically designated South of Fifth Condominium in South Beach, the Ritz-Carlton at Napa Valley, Met 3 Monarch, Avant at Met Square mixed-use buildings in downtown Miami, Brightline West Palm Beach, Miami Central Station for Brightline, the JW Marriott Waterside, in Tampa, and the Arlo Hotel in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami.

Diego Bonet Diego´s responsibilities include analyzing and structuring Lineaire Group´s investments and overseeing all asset management activities for Lineaire´s portfolio. Diego oversees strategic/financial planning and marketing while leading all development and investment projects for Lineaire Designs’ sister company, Lineaire Group. Before joining Lineaire, Diego worked at The Carlyle Group in the U.S. Real Estate Fund, where he was involved in over $2B of development and investment projects, including the development of 700+ high-end residential units in the New York City area. Prior to that, Diego worked as an Associate on the Real Estate Finance team at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he was involved in the repositioning of the $500M Conrad Hotel in NYC and the development and investment analysis for several of Goldman Sachs’ real estate assets. Diego received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as a Wharton Fellowship Scholar, with a triple major in Real Estate, Finance, and Management, and a Certificate in Law from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He holds a Master of Science in Engineering Management and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Cornell University. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional and has consulted with the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) on resilience and climate change.

Asi Cymbal is the Chairman of Cymbal DLT Companies. Mr. Cymbal has over 30 years of experience in real estate development, construction, finance, and law. He is driven by his passion for great architecture and design, his focus on transforming communities, and his commitment to creating great wealth for his investors. He has been fortunate to work with the world’s best architects and designers (Philippe Starck, Bjarke Ingels, Enrique Norten, Jo Palma, Arquitectonica) as a first mover in neighborhoods at a critical time in their transition (the Financial District in Manhattan, Tribeca, SOHO, the Miami Design District, Wynwood, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Miami Gardens). Mr. Cymbal is grateful to his investors and proud of the fact that he has rewarded them with unmatched returns.  Mr. Cymbal raised his first fund in 2010.  That $3 million fund is now worth over $180 million.  He is focused on increasing that to $700 million by 2026. After experimenting with retirement in 2014, he came back to create a second fund during the 2020 Pandemic.  He turned that $16 million fund into $90 million in 20 months. Mr. Cymbal is currently raising a $100 million evergreen fund to be deployed into the $2 billion Cymbal DLT pipeline. Mr. Cymbal also has significant food and beverage experience. He has co-created and owned over half a dozen of the hottest restaurants and clubs in Miami, including Sra. Martinez (with celebrity chef and James Beard award-winner, Michelle Bernstein), Bardot, and gigi. Mr. Cymbal has been named by the South Florida Business Journal as a Heavy Hitter in Construction and Real Estate Development, a Top 100 Power Leader, and as one of 2013’s People to Watch. He has also appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Cymbal is the Vice Chair and board member of Florida International University’s College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts - Miami Beach Urban Studios. He is also a board member of Wynwood Norte, the organization that is spearheading the revitalization of north Wynwood. Mr. Cymbal was a past board member of Business for the Arts of Broward. Mr. Cymbal is a graduate of Vassar College and the UCLA School of Law. He is an experienced real estate and business attorney licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C., and is a licensed general contractor in Florida.

Iris Escarrá is Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Land Use Practice and a deeply experienced attorney in zoning and land use law. Located in the firm’s Miami office, Iris regularly represents property owners and developers in large development projects valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. With her counsel, dozens of high-profile commercial, mixed-use, and residential projects have been completed throughout Miami over the past two decades. A Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in city, county, and local government law, Iris guides clients through the municipal zoning and land use process to seek approvals for some of South Florida’s largest and most complex projects. She routinely helps clients obtain full entitlements for development, including navigating subdivision, zoning, and other applicable development regulations. She also assists in procuring government contracts and conducts due diligence to assess a property’s development potential. Her clients include many of South Florida’s largest developers, who appreciate her creative and pragmatic approach to their complex legal matters. Clients frequently praise Iris for her ability to leverage her wide-ranging knowledge of zoning and land use law to help bring their development projects to fruition.

John Belniak serves as the Managing Director of Hagerty Garage + Social. As Managing Director, John overseas the identification, development and operations of Hagerty’s growing footprint of collector enthusiast centers. John works with the executive team to activate all aspects of Hagerty’s continuously expanding product offerings, events and experiences at the Garage + Social facilities in New York, Chicago and Miami, with more to come. John joined the Hagerty team in 2020 and serves as a member of Hagerty’s Executive Council. Prior to joining Hagerty, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Collectors’ Car Garage Group, a boutique storage and car lifestyle-focused business. John began his career working in investment banking and private equity. His background includes extensive financial, operational and transactional experience across a broad range of niche consumer businesses and large corporations. He currently serves on the board of directors for Veto Pro-Pac, Inc. and Nemo Equipment, Inc. John graduated with honors – Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude – with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.