Major Projects

Stephen J. Pettit was born in Ohio in 1954, the son of an aerospace engineer and a librarian. He graduated from University of Notre Dame with a B.A. (Government and Asian Studies, magna cum laude) in 1976 and from Duke Law (Order of the Coif) in 1979. He practiced law for thirty years, the last twenty of which with Occidental Petroleum. He has appeared as an advocate in numerous trials and appeals around the US; acted as counsel in M & A and financing transactions in the US and abroad; managed corporate legal, government affairs, procurement and compliance functions; and advised companies doing business in over two dozen countries. He retired in 2009, only to be asked to return to help manage Qatari Diar, a sovereign wealth fund developing real estate in over 20 countries. He helped reorganize their operations in Europe and the Americas, sits on the boards of a number of its subsidiaries and joint ventures and has recently been named non-executive chairman of Qatari Diar Americas, Inc. in Washington, D.C. His interests in history, anthropology and ecology have thus far resulted in extensive travel to all the Earth’s continents except Australia.

Mr. Alsup is a senior managing director is the founding partner of the Hines Washington, D.C. office. He has responsibility for selected major development, leasing and property management activities in the Washington, D.C., area. Since joining the firm in 1979, Mr. Alsup has been responsible for commercial real estate projects (development, acquisition and third-party management) totaling more than 11.5 million square feet of space. Currently, Mr. Alsup is the Senior Project Officer responsible for the development of CityCenterDC, a 1.5 million-square-foot, mixed-use project in Washington, D.C. comprised of 190,000 square feet of retail, 520,000 square feet of office, residential (458 rental units and 218 for-sale units) and parks and public open spaces; and development of the Conrad Washington, D.C. Hotel at CityCenterDC, a 350-room luxury hotel to begin construction in April 2016. Alsup received a BS in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and his MBA from the University of North Carolina.

Vicki Davis is responsible for managing the acquisition, planning, design, and implementation of all Urban Atlantic projects, and asset management of properties that the company owns and its Mid-City Community CDE investment portfolio. With over 28 years of experience in real estate development, she formerly served as Deputy Director of the Maryland Housing Fund and Maryland DHCD -Division of Credit Assurance. Her experience also includes portfolio management for MNC Financial-South Charles Realty and multifamily development for Trammell Crow Residential. As President of Urban Atlantic Development, Ms. Davis has managed development of over $2 billion in real estate projects and asset managed over $4 billion in real estate investments. She has developed over 6,000 multifamily residential units and 600,000 commercial square feet for Urban Atlantic, including eight HOPE VI mixed-finance public housing redevelopment projects, as well as transit-oriented mixed-use projects.  Ms. Davis holds a MBA in Finance from American University, an MS in Engineering & Construction Management from University of Texas, and a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland. She taught for 12 years in the Johns Hopkins Real Estate MBA program and is a LEED AP.

Robert H. Braunohler, Regional Vice President, is responsible for the management, leasing, development and acquisition of properties in the Washington metropolitan area. For 20 years prior to joining Property Group Partners in 2001, he was a partner at The JBG Companies, a Washington-based commercial and residential developer. He is an active board member and past president of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association, a member of the Urban Land Institute, and serves on the boards of the Capitol Hill and Downtown Business Improvement Districts. Mr. Braunohler is also a board member of two non-profit organizations working to increase job opportunities in the construction industry for inner-city residents. He graduated from Princeton University and received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University.

Gary is the Chief Investment Officer and a Partner of Meridian. Gary is responsible for acquisitions, capital activities and investor relations.  He also serves as Chair of the Investment Committee. Gary led the fundraising and investing efforts of Meridian Realty Partners I and II, Meridian’s discretionary private equity funds raised in 2012 and 2016. Between these two funds, Gary has completed in excess of $2.5 billion in investments with over $1 billion of equity in 15 transactions. With over 30 years of industry experience, Gary represented Meridian in its first 3 years of investments as a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Washington, DC. He then headed up the Real Estate Fund’s Acquisitions Group as a partner at The Carlyle Group, where he led and completed over $12 billion of investments with $3.4 billion of equity in nearly 200 transactions. These included the acquisition, development, structured financing, and recapitalization of office, hotel, retail, residential, industrial, land, senior living, and mixed-use properties. He also led the firm’s efforts in the formation of Carlyle Realty Partners I, II, III, IV and V – an aggregate of over $5 billion in investor commitments – before joining The Meridian Group in November 2007. Gary received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Gary is on the Advisory Board for George Washington University Business School's Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis.

Todd Stokes, managing partner of the Tysons, Virginia office, has been with Baker Tilly since 2001. He provides oversight and leadership to the professionals serving the greater Washington, D.C. area and is a member of the firm’s management committee. Todd believes in the teaching culture of Baker Tilly and helps develop client service leaders and Valued Business Advisors. He works across multiple disciplines and teams to provide opportunities to the future leaders of the firm. Experience > Provides leadership, management and strategic direction for the Tysons office including providing insight and advice to client engagement teams, fostering employee development and recruiting and driving growth > Works primarily with owners and financial officers of construction and real estate companies providing business consulting and accounting services > Serves as a Valued Business Advisor to his clients, providing guidance on organizational structure, incentive compensation, estate and succession planning > Engages with his clients to generate specific tax and business planning opportunities, as well as deliver strategic expertise on more complex accounting and advisory matters, based on his extensive construction and real estate experience <p>Click HERE for <a href=" https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddastokes/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></p>

Steven Siegel is a partner at Weller Development Company. He has over 20 years of development, finance, and public policy experience with expertise in executing public-private development transactions and financings. Prior to joining Weller Development, Mr. Siegel served as a senior advisor at Sagamore Development Company before joining the company full-time. As executive vice president, Mr. Siegel led the execution of the Port Covington project by overseeing the master planning and entitlement, public and private financing, strategic planning and communications, and policy and lobbying teams. Previously, Mr. Siegel was founder and president of Davey Street Partners, a real estate development and advisory firm focused on public-private projects in the Washington metropolitan area. Prior to Davey Street Partners, Mr. Siegel served as Director of Development in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development in Washington, D.C. where he managed D.C.’s $13 billion, public-private real estate development portfolio. Mr. Siegel also served as Vice President of Acquisitions for a Mid-Atlantic multi-family developer where he led the pursuit, acquisition, financing, and development of over 1,000 multi-family residential market rate units.

Demian Costa is a Partner at Weller Development Company, the lead developer for the Port Covington project in Baltimore City. As a Partner with Weller Development, Demian focuses on raising capital, leasing, and new business creation. Additionally, Demian serves as the Managing Director of Sagamore Ventures, the private investment subsidiary of Plank Industries. Demian began his career in the military. He is veteran having served 12 years as a US Navy SEAL.  Following his military career, Demian co-founded FX Studios, focused on building virtual and on-premise employee wellness programs globally. Additionally, Demian co-founded Sagamore Ventures, focusing on double bottom- line investments that drive positive economic impact in urban areas. He is currently focused on innovation and economic growth in Baltimore City and beyond. Demian holds an undergraduate degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Mark Pollak has practiced for more than 30 years with a focus on the public financing of complex real estate projects and sports stadiums. He also has experience creating public-private partnerships to develop central business districts. His clients include local institutions and companies as well as national corporations and major real estate developers and investors in the mid-Atlantic area.

Ross Draber is the chief operating officer of United Bank, a subsidiary of United Bankshares, Inc., a $19.3 billion bank holding company. He is responsible for the performance and profitability of the Bank, directing commercial and consumer banking sales and service operations throughout the Washington, D.C. metro area. Draber oversees the region’s market presidents and works alongside them to drive growth and develop business strategy and execution plans. Draber has played an integral role in United Bank’s expansion since assuming the role in 2015. During that time, United Bank has grown to over 70 branches in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It has the number one deposit market share among community banks in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area. Draber is highly involved with the merger and acquisition team and was instrumental in the Bank’s successful acquisitions of Cardinal Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries George Mason Mortgage, LLC and Cardinal Wealth Services, Inc. (2017); Bank of Georgetown (2016); and Virginia Commerce Bank (2014). Draber previously served as a senior vice president of treasury and corporate finance. In this role, he managed the capital adequacy and regulatory risk of United Bankshares, Inc., serving on the Asset Liability Committee (ALCO) and stress test development team. He oversaw the mergers and acquisitions analysis and supervised commercial loan pricing and term sheet structuring within United Bank. Prior to that, Draber held several positions in treasury and credit administration. Draber is a CFA® charterholder and a 2017 Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration.