Miami State of The Market

Francis X. Suarez is the 33rd Mayor of the City of Miami. As the first Miami-born mayor, he is committed to working diligently to serve the residents of the community where he was born and raised. Prior to being elected with 86 percent support from Miami residents, Mayor Suarez served as Miami Commissioner for District 4 during eight years. Mayor Suarez had many legislative accomplishments as Commissioner, including implementing ShotSpotter technology in the City, a state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art gunshot detection system, setting up a transportation trust fund, which allocates funds for current and future transit projects, and passing the Reverse Redline legislation, authorizing lawsuits against several major banks for discriminatory mortgage lending practices. As a result, the City’s lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that cities have standing to sue banks under the Fair Housing Act for such discriminatory practices. Mayor Suarez also serves as Vice-­‐Chair of the Miami-­‐Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and is the former President of the Miami-­‐Dade County League of Cities. In his role at the TPO, Mayor Suarez championed the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, which was unanimously approved. The SMART Plan expands mass transit options in Miami-­‐Dade County through six main corridors and new bus routes to ease traffic congestion and support future population growth. Mayor Suarez helped negotiate the Tri-­‐Rail connection to Downtown, offering free ridership to Overtown residents for life. He also ushered in the free trolley system in Miami, which carries an average of 450,000 passengers per month. Mayor Suarez is dedicated to elevating the quality of life of the residents he serves by focusing on transportation and connectivity, resiliency, and job creation by nurturing the growth of technology and innovation. He is also committed to expanding affordable housing, tackling the poverty pandemic and, as a corollary, reducing crime. The oldest of four siblings, Mayor Suarez was born into a family where, as he describes, “being socially conscious was a kind of requirement.” As the son of former City of Miami Mayor, Xavier Suarez, he was also exposed to public service since he was a child, growing up around his father’s office at City Hall, the same one he works out of today. Mayor Suarez earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida International University, graduating in the top ten percent of his class. He went on to receive his law degree from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law, where he graduated cum laude. He is currently an attorney with the law firm Carlton Fields, specializing in corporate and real-­‐estate transactions. Mayor Suarez is married to Gloria Fonts Suarez. They have a son, Andrew Xavier, and are expecting their first daughter this year. They consider themselves honored and blessed to be raising their family in the City of Miami.

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.

Bruce Gago heads FCP’s South Florida office as Senior Vice President– Acquisitions, where he sources multifamily investments and works closely with the company’s commercial and structured investment teams on transactions in those sectors.

With over 20 years of investment experience, Adam J. Tiktin is a leader in the commercial real estate industry, specializing in the sale of shopping centers, office buildings and mixed-use properties throughout Florida, as well as single-tenant net lease properties nationally. Prior to joining Franklin Street in 2021, Mr. Tiktin served as President and Broker of Tiktin Real Estate Investment Services (TREIS), a prominent, Miami-based commercial real estate investment sales brokerage firm, which he founded in 2016. With TREIS, Mr. Tiktin built a talented seven-member team that closed over $1 billion in commercial real estate sales within just over 400 transactions, involving many of South Florida’s most high-profile properties. Before launching TREIS, Mr. Tiktin was First Vice President Investments of a publicly traded national firm, where he was named Top Agent in its Miami office. Prior to that, he was a partner in a regional business brokerage firm based in Ft. Lauderdale, owned and sold a construction company in Atlanta and was a CPA at Price Waterhouse in Washington D.C. His extensive background in construction, development, finance and accounting makes Mr. Tiktin uniquely qualified to provide his clients with a high level of expertise and a reliable source of informed research, advisory and transactional services. His integrity, honesty and work ethic further distinguish him as a consummate professional in the commercial real estate industry. Over the course of his career, Mr. Tiktin has received numerous awards and rankings, including 12 sales achievement awards, 8 national achievement awards and a Chairman’s Club award. The South Florida Business Journal named him a “Power Broker in Commercial Real Estate” and ranked TREIS among the “Top Commercial Brokerage Firms” in the tri-county region numerous years in a row. Tiktin has served in leadership positions for several industry organizations, including ICSC, where he served as Chairman of the South Florida Idea Exchange in 2016 and was later appointed to the State of Florida Committee. He is also an Advisory Board Member for FIU Business’ Hollo School of Real Estate.

Naim Surgeon is an experienced first chair trial lawyer, and serves as chief counsel in several federal equity receivership matters. He maintains a nationwide federal and state litigation practice representing clients in class action defense, securities and investment-related fraud, intellectual property matters, antitrust claims, higher education litigation, labor and employment defense, and defense of Helms-Burton Title III claims. Naim has also arbitrated general business disputes before JAMS, the AAA, and the ICC. As chief counsel to a Federal Equity Receiver, he has worked on behalf of the Receiver to unravel high-profile investor fraud, EB-5 fraud, and obtain successful recoveries on behalf of the receivership estate and those victimized by fraud. Naim manages all aspects of the administration of the receivership estate along with coordinating matters concerning the estate with Federal agencies and the District Court.

Christie Grays Chambers is Vice President and Lead, Culture and Inclusion of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, Inc., the leading independently owned commercial real estate services firm in Florida. With a successful career spanning over 20 years in commercial real estate and healthcare, Ms. Chambers leads the expansion of the firm’s healthcare practice across all service lines and also leads the firm’s Culture and Inclusion initiatives serving as the liaison with corporate real estate directors. Ms. Chambers previously served as a leasing broker with Cushman & Wakefield, Codina Realty and Duke Realty, specializing in office and healthcare properties. She has successfully led the negotiations of significant lease transactions on behalf of both owners and tenants. Ms. Chambers also served as the Director of Government and Community Relations for Baptist Health South Florida. During her tenure at Baptist Health South Florida she ensured positive relationships in business, government and civic communities were maintained, while managing the department’s multi-million dollar budget. After leaving Baptist Health in 2018, Ms. Chambers ran her own business, I Am C.H.I.C. (Christie Has It Covered), advising clients on best practices to align their image with the message they wished to project.

With nearly 15 years of real estate experience, most recently leading Duke Realty’s healthcare portfolio in the Atlanta market. In this role, Ms. Clay was responsible for the oversight of more than 80 properties with a total of 6.6 million square feet across 16 states. She led a team of professional property and asset managers and was responsible for cultivating relationships externally with health system clients including Northside Hospital. Ms. Clay earned a BBA degree in Real Estate from Georgia State University. She holds the Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), as well as the LEED AP O+M credential issued by the U.S. Green Building Council.

William D. Talbert, III, CDME has served as President & CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) for the past twenty years, and Chief Operating Officer the previous nine. Among his major accomplishments, Mr. Talbert assisted with the passage of the Travel Promotion Act of 2010 and has led efforts to win and subsequently host five Super Bowls and three International Pow Wows. Under his leadership, the GMCVB was awarded accreditation from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program in 2007. In 1993, he helped establish the Black Hospitality Initiative (BHI) of Greater Miami to increase African-American participation in the visitor industry through hospitality scholarships, internships and mentoring. To ensure the future success of Miami’s meetings business, he passionately championed efforts to secure a $620 million renovation for the newly “reimagined” Miami Beach Convention Center, and subsequent approval by voters to establish an adjacent headquarter hotel. Throughout his tenure, Greater Miami and the Beaches has consistently posted record-breaking visitor numbers, expenditures and tourist-generated taxes – in 2018, 23.3 million visitors generated an economic impact of nearly $18 billion and employed a record 142,100. Mr. Talbert’s leadership has been sought after by many organizations, including: Visit Florida (Chair/ Executive Committee), Destination Marketing Association International (Chair/Board of Trustees), U.S. Travel Executive Committee, Brand USA, Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (Chair), and Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Dean’s Advisory Council. In June 2016, he was appointed to the United States Commerce Department’s Travel & Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) and subsequently reappointed for a second 2-year term in August 2018. TTAB serves as the advisory body to the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel industry and offers recommendations on implementation of the National Travel and Tourism Strategy. He is also a board member of multiple Miami-based business and non-profit organizations. Mr. Talbert holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University and bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. In 2006, he earned the Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) designation – the highest educational achievement in the destination marketing industry.

Starting as a designer in the CRTKL’s Baltimore headquarters in 1988, Dan is a Regional Office Lead in CRTKL’s Miami office and a valued leader for the firm at large. He relocated to Miami to lead the firm’s commercial practice expansion in Florida and Latin America. Dan is known for his contemporary design aesthetic, attention to detail and collaborative approach to leadership, design and project management. His diverse experience encompasses new construction, renovation, expansion, and planning of complex large-scale hospitality, retail, entertainment, office and mixed-use projects. Dan’s thirty-three year career at CRTKL has provided him with extensive overseas experience in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, where he is currently working on a number of high-profile, mixed-use developments. Dan earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture at the University of Arizona.

Christian Glauser Benz is the Managing Partner of Swiss based Leman Holdings, a boutique real estate investment and advisory platform with offices in Switzerland and the US. The group recently announced expansion plans for North America with a new $1.5 billion investment in luxury hospitality and mixed-use projects across the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. www.lemanholdings.com

Anthony De Yurre is a Partner in Bilzin Sumberg's Land Development & Government Relations Group. His practice focuses on the representation of real estate developers and investors in complex land use and zoning matters with a focus on transit oriented development, large scale mixed-use development, and public private partnerships. Co-Chair of the University of Miami’s Real Property Development LL.M Advisory Board for the 2020-21 academic year, Anthony is also an adjunct professor in the program where he teaches “Problem Solving Large Scale, Mixed-Use Development.” He is currently an active member of the Urban Land Institute, where he serves on the planning committee for the Institute's annual Florida Summit. Upon graduating from Duke University and Vanderbilt Law, Anthony returned home to Miami and became one of only 400 attorneys to also earn a Master of Laws in Real Property Development from the University of Miami. Anthony is also fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

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.

Real Estate is Silvia Coltrane’s passion, and this is the reason why she has emerged as a leader in the highly competitive, influential real estate arena. With 38 years as the broker of Real Estate Transactions, Inc. (RETI) under her belt, Silvia Coltrane has made an indelible mark consulting, and successfully representing over 20 different developments for Miami-Dade’s most prominent developers. She has also been involved in the sale of some of Miami’s largest real estate waterfront development sites which includes 4 sites for Faena, 3 sites for the Chateau Group, 12 properties for Ocean Terrace Developers, and others. Her brokerage experience also includes the sales of several hotels in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale. She also has an international presence with affiliate offices in various countries in South America, Europe and Asia. In 2019 she joined The Corcoran Group as a Broker Associate and plans to continue her real estate trajectory as well as her development activity. Silvia Coltrane’s experience as a broker of so many successful ventures set the stage and prepared the path for Coltrane’s next real estate frontier and challenges -- The development of her own properties. This polished professional has a half-dozen projects on her own résumé. Her first development was Parc Plaza, a 15-story condo conversion on Washington and 17th in Miami Beach. She also became involved with the development of Capobella on Collins and the 50’s. She purchased and entitled Prive on Collins and 69th in Miami Beach and sold it. It was ultimately developed as L’Atelier; She developed Azure, a luxury Condominium in Surfside, and also developed a 175-room Marriot Residence Inn in Surfside. Coltrane's current development involvement is the anticipated mixed-use condominium development in North Beach, planned for the corner of Collins and 72nd Street. It will be the first brand new development of its kind in Miami Beach administered by a well-known lifestyle operator. It will have 20,000 SF of ground-floor retail, 228 residential condominiums, some of which will be micro-units that will be available for short-term rentals. Coltrane’s vision and energy, her vast real estate experience, her ability to anticipate market needs and to identify patterns of growth in key areas, place her among South Florida’s most influential female developers. She is totally involved with every venture that she undertakes and credits the carefully selected professional team that she assembles for the success of her developments. She says that she is like an orchestra conductor who directs those that play the instruments in order to make beautiful music; She says that her music comes from the creativity and participation of her professional team, and the team’s interaction with City decision makers, and the community. She strongly believes that every development has to have an element of beauty and distinction in its design. This is the legacy that she wants to leave behind: Developments that will grace the community that they will serve. Silvia Coltrane was born in Camaguey, Cuba and came to the USA in 1961. She is a graduate of the University of Miami with a degree in Education and a Master in Latin American Studies.

Hande Obuz is as a LEED accredited, licensed architect with over 17 years of experience in master planning, design, programming, and development of leisure and hospitality projects, luxury residential real estate, and mixed-use developments in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. As a senior associate and designer, Hande is involved in projects from initial programming through the final design. She identifies the story behind each project and brings the vision and global perspective necessary to achieve unique, creative outcomes. Today, she brings an essential understanding of how to create buildings and places that inspire individuals and supports thriving communities. Prior to joining Stantec, Obuz worked as director of architecture, design and planning at Servotel Corporation in Istanbul and London where she provided consultancy services to clients and guided architects accountable for the planning and design of hotels, luxury residences, and mega master plan developments in the United States, Europe, CIS Countries and the Middle East. Projects included Budva Resort Hotel & Branded Residences in Montenegro, Jumeriah Hotel and Branded Residences in Istanbul, Turkey, and Luxury Resort Hotel and Casino in North Cyprus. Hande’s leadership and experience reflect her training in Istanbul and Washington, DC, where she was exposed to different cultures and a range of projects.

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.

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.