Opening Keynote

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  Rich Haddad

  COO

  Detroit Pistons

Mixed Use, Multifamily, and More

Exploring the Potential and Possibilities of Asset Class Combinations

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  Roger Basmajian

  President

  Basco Development

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  Donovan Smith

  Chair, Planning Commission

  City of Detroit

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  Sarah Ogelsby-Battle

  President

  Beztak

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  Eddie Carrington

  Founder

  Flux City

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  Darnell Adams

  Detroit native Darnell Adams is the Vice President, Detroit Community Initiatives for Gilbert Family Foundation. With a degree in urban and regional planning from Michigan State University, for more than a decade Darnell has strived to build and adjust resources in ways that improve access to opportunity for Detroiters. Prior to joining Gilbert Family Foundation, Darnell served as Vice President, Neighborhoods at Invest Detroit where he led equitable investments in the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund districts with a special focus on supporting BIPOC developers. Before his time at Invest Detroit, he served as the Director, Inventory for the Detroit Land Bank Authority where he oversaw the strategic disposition of 94,000 publicly owned parcels. Darnell serves on the boards of several community development organizations across Detroit and is regarded as an expert on equitable community development, sharing his work through local, national, and international forums

  Gilbert Family Foundation

  Vice President, Detroit Community Initiatives

  Darnell Adams

  Vice President, Detroit Community Initiatives

  Gilbert Family Foundation

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  Michael Poris

  Michael Poris, AIA, is founding principal of McIntosh Poris Architects, a full-service architecture, interior and urban design practice in Birmingham, MI. Since returning to Detroit in 1994, Michael has been working to implement change in his hometown preserving many of Detroit’s 20th-century landmark buildings, historic districts, and iconic neighborhoods. Michaels design leadership has helped transform Detroit with projects such as the Foundation Hotel, and the East Riverfront framework plan. His work has won over 160 design awards including 30 AIA Honor awards, over 80 Detroit Design Awards and been published in over 100 publications worldwide including Dwell, Urban Land, Architectural Record, and Interior Design. Michael is currently working on an adaptive reuse of the 600,000sf Fisher Body plant in Detroit, and a 600 prefabricated home community in Colorado. Michael was recently awarded the AIA Detroit Charles Blessing Award recognizing an individual who shows leadership in planning and civic issues and exemplifies the vision, commitment and the accomplishments of Charles A. Blessing, the visionary Detroit city planner, who committed himself to the pursuit of a higher quality of life for all. McIntosh Poris Architects has recently earned the prestigious title of Firm of the Year for 2024 from the American Institute of Architects, Michigan.

  McIntosh Poris Architects

  Founding Partner

  Michael Poris

  Founding Partner

  McIntosh Poris Architects

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  Andrew Gutman

  Andrew is responsible for all aspects of property management accounting, corporate accounting, construction accounting, financial services, asset management, information technologies, and human resources. Mr. Gutman's focus is on internal and external client services and the provision of timely and accurate client-required information and maximizing asset value. He has been responsible for direct oversight of over $100,000,000 in debt and equity vehicles for the organization and for clients.

  Farbman Group

  President

  Moderator

  Andrew Gutman

  President

  Farbman Group

Designing Detroit's Destinations

Trends Shaping Placemaking and Urban Renewal

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  Beth Kmetz-Armitage

  Director

  Michigan Central

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  Corey Breton

  Head of Venues

  Cosm

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  Philip Kafka

  Philip Kafka is the President of Prince Concepts. Prior to moving to Detroit, Kafka graduated with a degree in philosophy then spent six years building Prince Media Co, a billboard company, in New York City. After developing and marketing sign locations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, San Francisco and Los Angeles Kafka sold Prince Media Co to LAMAR, the largest billboard company in the country. Kafka began purchasing real estate in Detroit in late 2012 and finally sold his company in New York in August of 2015. Since then, Kafka hasn’t stopped. Kafka has focused his work across a previously blighted and 99% abandoned neighborhood in Detroit, Core City. He currently owns 25 contiguous acres where he has completed the development of 200,000 SF of land, the renovation of 70,000 SF of previously derelict, slated to be demolished buildings, imagined and built 30 new units of housing across three award winning projects and crafted over 60,000 SF of beautified public space… and counting. This work has occurred across a variety of programs and manifests as small projects knit together with a consistent attitude - one that promotes and prioritizes high quality space - public and private. Across these projects, over 750 trees have been planted. Kafka has also taken his development philosophy to Fort Worth, Texas where he completed the award winning PS1200 project. Each of Kafka’s projects has been generously awarded at the highest levels in the Architecture world; the portfolio also maintains a 97% occupancy rate. In 2021, Kafka’s company, Prince Concepts was named Best Developer in the Midwest by Architect’s Newspaper, and in 2022, Prince Concepts was named one of the ten most innovative architecture focused companies in the world by Fast Company. Kafka has served on the board of MoCAD in Detroit and actively serves on the MCHAP prize board. He is frequently invited to lecture in the architecture departments in the USA, Europe and the Middle East. He is yet to be invited by a business school, however…

  Prince Concepts

  President

  Philip Kafka

  President

  Prince Concepts

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  Jen Cross

  Jen leads HDR’s landscape architecture practice in Omaha, Nebraska. In her role, she helps integrate landscape and site design across disciplines, promotes design excellence, and works alongside her colleagues to grow and diversify the landscape architecture portfolio. She has more than a decade of wide-ranging leadership experience, with a portfolio that includes urban design, streetscape revitalization, parks and recreation and campus planning. Her work spans the civic, urban planning and development, and education sectors. Jen is passionate about collaborative design as a way to regenerate the spirit of place by fusing natural systems and the built environment. Jen serves as president for the Nebraska/Dakotas Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and co-chair for the Central States ASLA. She also sits on the Professional Advisory Committee for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture. As a successful young alumni, she was a 2017 Iowa STATEment maker for Iowa State University.

  HDR

  Landscape Architecture Studio Lead

  Jen Cross

  Landscape Architecture Studio Lead

  HDR

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  James Renne

  Jim Renne is a Senior Vice President and National Sports Director at JLL with more than 25 years of experience in creating innovative Sports & Entertainment districts and destinations ,and world class sports and athletic facilities. With his extensive sports planning and architecture experience, Jim understands the multi-faceted objectives of stakeholders in the industry and works closely with his clients to make their vision a reality. Jim was recognized in 2020 and 2016 by Sports Business Journal as one of the top 50 Power Players in Sports Design and Development. As National Director, Jim leads a dedicated team of experts who are passionate about representing the best interest of their clients in the sports, university athletics, and entertainment industry. His strategic approach to advising and collaborating with his clients, representing their interests in leading large scale developments and managing projects ensures their vision and business objectives are met, maximizing the highest return on investment, and greatest impact for their constituents. Experience Prior to joining JLL, Jim was Sports Principal for ROSSETTI. His responsibilities included managing the company’s Sports & Entertainment group domestically and in East Asia; Project Executive for numerous clients; and led an internal team focused on fan experience innovation and sports business analytics. Most notably, Jim’s strategic approach to sports design led to the reimagination of one of the most recognized venues in the U.S. at the Daytona International Speedway. Jim directed the design team on the $400M Daytona Rising project (SBJ 2016 Sports Facility of the Year), creating a new era of fan experience and sponsorship integration for NASCAR. Jim’s background in retail, master planning and urban design combined with sports gives him unique expertise in mixed-use and sports and entertainment anchored development projects. Education, Speaking and Media Engagements, and Affiliations Jim received a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan. Jiim continues to be invited as an expert panelist and speaker for numerous organizations; and interviews on numerous media outlets. Member of ASLD’s Board of Advisors, Detroit Sports Operating Committee Associate Board; and University of Michigan’s School of Sports Management Advisory Board.

  JLL

  SVP & National Sports Director

  James Renne

  SVP & National Sports Director

  JLL

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  Jennifer Janus

  Jennifer Janus is the President of Pophouse. Started in 2013, Pophouse is a full-scope WBENC certified design studio focused on the built environment. As President, Jennifer is focused on the strategic growth of Pophouse as well as developing a team that prioritizes human-centric design focused on sustainability and inclusivity. Creating a culture that fosters diversity of thought and experience as well as purposeful and fearless work is one of Jennifer’s top areas of focus. Jennifer joined Pophouse in 2017 as the Chief Operating Officer and moved into her current role shortly thereafter. Prior to Pophouse, Jennifer led successful creative operations at pharmaceutical marketing agency, Big Communications. Her background as a copywriter at leading advertising agencies Campbell-Ewald, Leo Burnett, and BBDO provided the creative foundation that helps her lead creative teams today. In addition to her role at Pophouse, Jennifer serves on the Industry Council for the College for Creative Studies, is a member of Design Core's Design Economy Council, and serves on the board of the American Society of Employers.

  Pophouse

  President

  Jennifer Janus

  President

  Pophouse

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  Chris Martella

  Christopher R. Martella is a Member of Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler, PLC, practicing in the areas of real estate, cybersecurity, and corporate matters. In addition to his real estate and corporate background, he focuses on structured finance and medical practice “roll-up” sales. Prior to joining Dawda Mann, Christopher worked at a boutique firm that advised midmarket qualified professional asset managers on the acquisition of commercial real estate and alternative investment vehicles. Christopher has extensive experience working with industrial developers and the United States General Services Administration and its real estate service providers. Prior to his boutique practice, he worked in the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for the local office of a multinational law firm. While he was in the Middle East, Christopher’s practice focused on real estate acquisition and development, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and Islamic and traditional finance. In addition to Christopher’s real estate and finance background, he is a leading advisor to many small and medium-sized businesses on legal issues related to pre- and post-electronic data breach mitigation strategies, data security, data privacy, and National Institute of Standards and Technology and ISO/IEC 27000 data security and management compliance. Christopher has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 in the field of Real Estate Law (Copyright 2020 by Woodward/White, Inc., of SC). He is also a 2018-2020 Leading Lawyer in the categories of Data Privacy, Real Estate Law: Commercial, and Real Estate Law: Finance, Super Lawyers 2024, and DBusiness 2024 and 2025 Real Estate. Prior to becoming an attorney, Christopher was a founder and the chief operating officer of Microweb Inc., a mobile phone software company based in Hong Kong, which was sold to a Chinese technology company in 2002.

  Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler

  Member

  Moderator

  Chris Martella

  Member

  Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler