15 Things You Need to Know This Morning

Photo: Beach house in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Title: Principal, StonebridgeCarras.
Company: Developed or acquired 5M SF of office, retail, and multifam in DC metro; 1-2 major projects per year; specializes in urban infill mixed-use.
Typical day: Breakfast with kids; 15-minute walk to work; 75% of day spent dealing with lenders, partners, and investors; 20% evaluating and pursuing new deals; and the rest on managing 40-person firm.
Memorable project: Constitution Square – acquired 7 acres in NoMa from Akridge in 2006 and started 2.6M SF mixed-use master plan. In 2008, had Harris Teeter lease and GSA award to consolidate 600k SF of office for DOJ and broke ground on 1.6M SF first phase. While finalizing financing, Lehman Bros crashed, and two of three syndicated loans unraveled. Completed financing a year later. Project transformed firm from “niche” to larger scale developments.
Current project: Closed on two public-private partnerships with Montgomery County – one to relocate 2nd District police station from Wisconsin Ave., to Rugby Ave., in Bethesda; second to relocate Montgomery County Park and Planning HQ from Silver Spring to Wheaton as a JV with Bozzuto.
Why CRE career: Convinced by Doug Firstenberg to leave public accounting in 1998.
Grew up: Limestone, Maine.
Current home: Bethesda.
Why DC: Job at Reznick, Fedder & Silverman (now Cohn Reznick) in 1993.
School: Husson University.
First job: Grew up on potato farm working for grandfather doing everything no one else wanted to do.
Job in another life: Chef – loves cooking for people.
Favorite app: Shazam.
Favorite movies: Shawshank Redemption and History of the World Part I.
Favorite restaurant: The Palm – 4-pound lobster appetizer to share, followed by big steak.
Favorite book: Everything written by Mark Twain.
Favorite vacation spots: Virgin Gorda, BVI and Kennebunkport, Maine.
Guilty pleasures: Doritos and TV (closet sci fi geek).
Bucket list: Travel all over Europe.
Family: Married to Kristie; three kids (ages 4, 3, 2); and Kess, golden retriever.
Startling fact: Grew up on Canadian border and crossed illegally (13 documented times involving pursuit) as kids on ATVs. Great fun until border patrol bought their own ATVs and group was caught. Punishment: help Border Patrol identify illegal crossings.