Phoenix State of the Market

John Graham joined Sunbelt Holdings in 1982, became President in 1990, and assumed the role of Chairman of the Board in 2019. John’s background in asset management, development and real estate investment provides a solid foundation of knowledge and experience in the real estate field. Under John’s direction Sunbelt has become a dominant force, in both community affairs and real estate activities. John’s prior experience included The Koll Company in asset management and development from 1980- 1982 and Coldwell Banker in asset management and sales from 1978-1980.

As President and CEO, Brent Herrington provides strategic leadership for DMB Development LLC and oversees all aspects of the company’s operations. Herrington joined DMB in 1998 and has led several of the company’s flagship projects, including DC Ranch and Silverleaf in North Scottsdale and Kukui`ula on the island of Kaua`i. He’s been actively involved in the visioning, strategy, planning and design of many of DMB’s major projects over the past 17 years. Immediately prior to joining DMB he served as town manager for Celebration, Florida, an innovative 5,000-acre planned community developed in central Florida by the Walt Disney Company. Herrington is a long-time member of the Urban Land Institute and past chair of ULI’s Community Development Council (Silver Flight). He’s served in a variety of volunteer leadership roles for professional, cultural and philanthropic organizations, including a national task force for Freddie Mac focused on improving opportunities for home ownership for lower income families. A graduate of the Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate at Harvard University, he is recognized nationally as a thought leader in the community development industry. He is a frequent presenter at industry events and conferences and has been a pioneer in the field of innovative lifestyles and sound governance for new communities. He served as president of the Foundation for Community Association Research (Falls Church, VA), and as a national trustee for the Community Associations Institute (Reston, VA).

Ron is the Operations Director for Katerra’s Southwest region and is responsible for preconstruction and operational execution of all projects throughout Arizona and other areas of the southwest. He has over 30 years of experience (the past 24 years in Arizona) in all aspects of construction including multi-family, hospitality, office, industrial, retail, healthcare and site development totaling in excess of $2B. Ron started his career working in the field for a masonry subcontractor and has worked his way up the ladder as a Superintendent, Project Engineer, Project Manager and Project Executive for general contractors in the Midwest, South and Southwest areas of the country. Ron holds a Bachelor of Science Construction Engineering degree from Iowa State University. When he is not working, you can find him at the local hockey rinks watching his 2 boys play or at a golf course watching his daughter run cross country.

Mr. Meredith joined George Smith Partners in 2015 and brings over 20 years of commercial lending and banking experience. He focuses on delivering solutions to address his clients’ real estate capital requirements and arranges structured financing for commercial and multifamily properties, including acquisition, refinance, construction, bridge, permanent, mezzanine, participating debt, and joint venture equity. He has been active in the industry with a track record of success with over $1 Billion of transactions. He has completed transactions in the retail, multi-family, office, multi-family, industrial and hospitality sectors as well as health-care/medical and senior housing facilities. Mr. Meredith holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the California State University at Long Beach. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, traveling, investing in real estate and is an avid amateur photographer.

Jeff Gunderson is the Sr. Vice President of Land Acquisition and Development for Lennar in the Phoenix Metro area. During his 14 years at Lennar, Jeff has held various positions managing acquisitions and development, for the Division. Lennar, one of the largest Homebuilders in the Nation and has doubled its size locally with the acquisition of Cal Atlantic Homes. The Division will close more than 2100 homes in 2019 and is poised for growth in the years to come. Jeff’s previous 2 stops in his 25+ year Homebuilding career were with Shea Homes and the Ryland Homes. Jeff held the position of Director of Land Development for Shea and was the first Land Development professional hired for the Phoenix Division of Ryland. Jeff played key roles in the acquisition, entitlement, and the development of dozens of communities for these two builders. Jeff is active with the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. He and his wife Angie are also busy raising their 2 teenage boys.

Speaker. Author. University of Michigan alum who bleeds blue. Tom wears many hats, but none more important than his role as an award-winning transactions attorney with more than 20 years of experience – focusing on real estate, corporate and commercial transactions, and public-private transactions. With regard to real estate, Tom represents homebuilders, developers, investors, owners, infrastructure groups, construction managers, municipalities, health care companies, manufacturers, golf course owners, wind and solar developers and many others. His practice encompasses the acquisition, development, financing, lease and sale of residential, commercial, office, industrial, and agricultural properties. Tom also has significant experience with public-private transactions, development and land-use agreements, improvement and community facilities districts, water agreements and utility agreements. For the past 14 years, Tom has been ranked among the Best Lawyers in America for his real estate practice. His name has also graced the lists of Southwest Super Lawyers (2007-2018), Arizona’s Finest Lawyers (2014-2019) and Chambers USA (2014-2018) – all hallmarks of the passion he puts into his practice every single day. But, Tom’s fervor for the legal profession doesn’t live in a bubble inside his practice. He has been actively involved in Arizona’s future through his participation in numerous initiatives, including the Greater Phoenix Economic Council-Community Building Consortium and his current role on the Legislative Committee for Valley Partnership.

Sharon is President, CEO and co-founder of Plaza Companies. Her forward-thinking commitment has helped make Plaza one of the premier real estate firms in Arizona and has earned her and Plaza respect throughout the industry and across the country. She is not only dedicated to her business endeavors, but is also actively involved in many different aspects of the community.

Laura Ortiz is a Managing Principal and oversees the firm’s retail developments and its Development Managers. Her responsibilities also include new client development and relationship management, tenant lease negotiations, and developing and implementing tools and systems for the management of Evergreen’s projects. Laura graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance & Economics from the University of Arizona. She has been with Evergreen since 1994.

Larry is responsible for the leadership and overall management of the western markets, including Phoenix, Denver and Austin. His primary responsibilities are the pursuit of real estate development opportunities in various sectors, including office, industrial and multifamily, as well as defining the office’s daily strategies and future growth plans. Larry brings 30 years of real estate experience to Opus. His experience includes development, investment, tenant representation and serving as a landlord on various commercial properties. Larry holds a Master of Business Administration in marketing and finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University. He is on the board of directors for Downtown Tempe Authority and is a member of Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL). Additionally, Larry is a member of NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association, and the NAIOP Research Foundation.

Steven Davis founded Retail Investment Group in 1999, bringing over 20 years of experience to the Commercial Real Estate business. The focus of the company is the sale of net leased investments, which are typically restaurants, banks, drug stores, fitness, medical, automotive, and general retail. Steven and his team have sold many Denny’s, Hooters, Taco Bells, KFCs, Pizza Huts, Burger Kings, Jack in the Box and other regional chains. They have also closed on Walgreens, CVS, Bank of America, LA Fitness, Dollar General, Advance Auto Parts, and they recently started getting into hotels. Investors buy and sell these assets for various reasons, however many purchase them with 1031 exchange proceeds from a previous sale to defer capital gains taxes. All these transactions nationwide have made Steven an expert in the 1031 industry. Steven graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Marketing. He lives in Scottsdale with his wife and two daughters.

Mr. Hedlund joined Sundt Construction in 1984 and currently serves as a Regional Vice President for the Southwest District responsible for Sundt’s vertical construction in Arizona, nearly all of it using team-based project delivery. Mr. Hedlund has served in various project and management roles during his 35+ year career, which has included extensive industry involvement with the Design-Build Institute of America, the Arizona Builders Alliance, the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and WESTMARC. A Registered Professional Civil Engineer in Arizona, Mr. Hedlund received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. He has widely presented on many topics including leadership, alternative project delivery, Lean Construction and building information modeling (BIM). Mr. Hedlund is an avid golfer, husband of 30 years to wife, Ellen, proud father of two young adults, and happy to be giving back to an industry that has given so much to him.

Catherine Thuringer has responsibility for the Development and Investment Group for Trammell Crow Company and High Street Residential, TCC’s residential subsidiary, in the state of Arizona. With more than 30 years in the real estate industry, her experience encompasses leading all phases of development from site acquisition through land use/entitlements, design/construction, marketing, financial performance and project disposition and includes more than six million square feet of development projects with a market value approaching $1 billion. Cathy serves as one of eleven members of Trammell Crow Company’s Leadership Council, a senior leadership group that is charged with identifying, vetting and implementing strategic company initiatives. She also frequently participates as a subject matter expert for Trammell Crow Company’s national investment committee reviewing the Company’s investment in development projects throughout the United States.

Mark Singerman is Vice President, Regional Director for the Rockefeller Group’s Arizona Region. He is responsible for the development process of the company’s projects throughout Arizona, including in-depth financial and market analyses and direction of consultants, such as architects, engineers, and leasing agents. Before joining the company in 2008, Mr. Singerman was the Western Region President of Crosswinds National LLC in Phoenix, where he was instrumental in forming the western national division to develop commercial and mixed-use master-planned communities. His extensive real estate career began in 1975 in the midwest as a Retail Leasing Representative for Developers Diversified REIT in Cleveland, Ohio. Afterward, Mr. Singerman served 18 years in southern California with several large developers, including regional mall developer Ernest W. Hahn, Inc. and Trizec/Hahn. He directed the acquisition, development, and construction of numerous office, industrial, and retail-center buildings, as well as single- and multi-family residences. In addition, he acquired and managed the entitlement and development of over 4,200 acres in California, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, and Florida for mixed-use master-planned communities with infrastructure to support 15,000 homes, plus parks, schools, amenity centers, and commercial spaces. Mr. Singerman holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, with honors in Personnel Management, from Ohio University, and a Masters of Business Administration from California State University. He is actively involved in the Urban Land Institute and several other national real estate organizations.

Matthew Benbassat is an Executive Vice President at Regent Properties. Matthew manages the acquisitions and development arms of Regent Properties. While at Regent, Matthew has been involved with the acquisition, financing, development and management of over 6 million square feet of office, retail and mixed use properties. Prior to joining Regent, Matthew began his career as a strategy consultant at L.E.K. Consulting. He then worked as an attorney specializing in real estate transactions in the Los Angeles offices of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. While at O’Melveny, Matthew also practiced in the fund formation group. Matthew currently serves as trustee and board member of VBS Harold M. Schulweis Day School, and previously served as a board member and treasurer of Birmingham Community Charter High School. Matthew graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and he received his JD from UCLA.

As director of real estate development for Mortenson, George is responsible for strategizing, sourcing and financing development opportunities in the Southwest. As part of the Phoenix leadership team, he focuses on positioning Mortenson as a firm that can deliver comprehensive turnkey solutions for our customers through a variety of markets and across all product types. He has been instrumental in the development of several projects for Mortenson across the state of Arizona including The Beam on Farmer, a first-of-its-kind, 180,000 square foot, Class A, five-story office building coming to Tempe. The new office will be the first cross-laminated timber office building in state. Additionally, George has recently led the development of the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Phoenix, a 210-key limited-service hotel downtown and the dual-branded, 259-key Hyatt hotel, currently underway in the Novus Innovation Corridor in Tempe. With more than 22 years of industry experience, he serves as a strong advocate for Mortenson's services throughout Arizona communities. He is actively involved with numerous industry-related organizations including GPEC, NAIOP Arizona and ULI Arizona. George has earned the designation of LEED© Accredited Professional and has managed multiple projects types across the western United States, Hawaii, Guam and Tokyo, Japan. He earned his B.S. in construction management from Colorado State University and an MBA from the University of Denver.

Kathryn Peacock serves as Principal and National Client Manager for Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. With 20 years of experience under her belt, Kathryn has worked on thousands of transactions, subsurface investigations, and site remediation projects for some of the nation’s largest lenders and investors. She holds a bachelor degree in Soil Science from Prescott College and a Masters in Education from the Arizona Teachers Institute. Kathryn speaks and writes frequently on a wide range of environmental due diligence topics, and is dedicated to advancing standards and best practices through her active involvement with industry associations such as ASTM. Kathryn is a founding member of EFMR (Environmental Facilities Management Roundtable). Environmental Professionals are frequently unique within their companies, having few peers who understand the unique challenges of their day to day. This group was formed to help facilitate dialogue amongst industry professionals.

Ryan Ferguson is the preconstruction leader for DPR Construction’s Phoenix office, one of the top technical builders and 10 th largest general contractor in the U.S. (ENR 2019). Ryan has spent his career helping guide customers towards the commercial office, data center, healthcare facility or laboratory space they need for the budget they have.  With a Civil Engineering degree from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Ryan has always been fascinated by how the functional requirements of his customers in each market sector drive everything from the construction costs and schedule to the rental rates and design process. He is a USGBC LEED 2.0-Accredited Professional in Building Design+Construction and holds an Engineer-In-Training Certificate.