The last twelve months have been good for the people who work in finance. Capital markets have been robust and the cost of capital has been relatively low. The latter, at least, will be changing this year to a certain extent requiring the men and women in this space to bring their best game to the table. We have no doubt that the people we have selected for this year’s Rainmakers are more than well positioned for the task.
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCERS
VAL ACHTEMEIER Val Achtemeier gets things done and is regarded as one of the top industrial debt brokers in the U.S. Previously serving as EVP at CBRE capital markets, Achtemeier was recently promoted the vice chairman at the firm. She holds 34 years of industry experience in both institutional and private entrepreneurial positions, focusing on debt and equity procurement, joint-venture formations, ground leases, development, investment acquisitions and dispositions, and all aspects of capital markets activities. Prior to joining CBRE in 2009, Achtemeier served as VP and director of capital markets at Majestic Realty Co., where she raised debt and equity capital for industrial, retail, office, data center, hotel and gaming assets. During her career, Achtemeier has originated, structured and closed more than $46 billion of real estate financing transactions throughout the U.S. with an emphasis on portfolio loans and larger loans, as well as construction loans and JV equity. Achtemeier is consistently recognized as a top producer at CBRE with a total debt volume that will exceed $6 billion this year, and she has played an integral part in some of the most significant deals in the U.S. Although Achtemeier considers her greatest accomplishment raising her daughter, who herself has embarked on a career in CRE, she counts many professional accomplishments as well, including an $805 million CMBS loan for an industrial portfolio in Phoenix with 2,200 tenants; a $461 million loan for a national industrial portfolio loan that moved quickly; and expanding the firm’s data center financing business to close up to $2 billion in loans this year. Described as resilient, collaborative, hardworking and determined, Achtemeier also advocates for opening doors for other women in the industry. Achtemeier is involved with ULI, USC Lusk Center for Commercial Real Estate and City of Hope Los Angeles Real Estate Council.
RAYMOND ALLEN During his 16 years in the commercial real estate industry, Raymond Allen has ascended the ranks at companies, held multiple positions and developed a wide range of abilities and perspectives as well as an understanding of the financing process. He has closed more than $2.5 billion in transactions during his 16-year career and has been recognized with five national achievement awards and eight sales recognition awards. Allen joined Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp.’s Seattle office in 2011 and he currently serves as a first VP of capital markets. Within his role, Allen is responsible for securing commercial debt financing for an array of property types including multifamily, office and industrial, retail, seniors housing and hospitality. While typical volume for Allen and his team exceeds $500 million annually, Allen led his team to close more than $250 million in volume in 2020 during the pandemic. Allen kept his team focused on what they could control and worked to find solutions to help local developers close construction and value-add loans in the Puget Sound region. He credits open communication to his team’s continued success and strong client relationships. Allen is a member of NMHC, ICSC, National Association of Industrial/Office Properties and ULI.
CHRISTA CHAMBERS Christa Chambers has particular expertise in sourcing, negotiating and closing debt and equity for acquisitions, new development and stabilized properties. Chambers holds 25 years of industry experience and is adept at building long-term relationships with lenders and capital partners and in leading and implementing equity/debt strategies for various property types including office, multifamily, retail, hospitality and industrial. As VP of capital markets at Ryan Companies US Inc., Chambers employs a holistic approach that emphasizes connection with not just decision-makers but also the individuals that work behind the scenes, such as those in finance, accounting and legal. Focusing on the companies’ West and Northwest regions, Chambers is responsible for capitalizing Ryan-owned and developed projects. She is the lead contact for debt and equity capital relationships and works with senior leadership to help determine Ryan’s overall capital strategy. Having worked on both the lender and the owner/investor/developer side, she brings a well-rounded perspective, creativity and a thoughtful approach that benefits clients and investors. During the past three years, Chambers and her Ryan capital markets team have executed about $7 billion in equity, debt and sales transactions in different markets and multiple property types. In 2020, Chambers sourced and closed seven loans with ten lenders totaling $445 million, five joint ventures representing $112.6 million in partner equity, and closed the sale on five properties representing $282 million in asset value. She is on track to exceed this level in 2021. Chambers is a member of ULI, the ULI Mixed-Use National and Seattle councils, and she is the incoming 2022-23 chair for the Seattle District Council.
DAVID DRUEY David Druey has been with Centennial Bank since its inception in 1998 and he grew into his leadership position as Florida regional president by playing a key role in the bank’s commercial real estate loans, including 557 loans in 2020 alone. Druey has more than 20 years of industry experience and he recently helped Centennial Bank reach more than $23 billion in assets. Druey travels throughout Florida to oversee bank branches while managing the bank’s bottom line, lending structure, efficiency and community involvement. He actively meets with industry pioneers to discuss current trends and outlooks, and he provides funding for monumental projects instrumental to fostering significant economic growth in Florida. Among Druey’s notable deals within recent years are a $100 million loan to Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. to build the company’s future 300,000-square-foot headquarters, as Orlando’s largest active office construction project; a $48 million bridge loan for the site acquisition for the St. Regis Residences condo-hotel in Longboat Key, FL; and a $33 million construction loan for Vox Miami, a $125 million mixed-use project. Rather than adopting a conservative approach in 2020, when uncertainty clouded the retail, tourism, hospitality and office sectors, Druey remained bullish in his lending practices. His hands-on approach during the pandemic helped the bank’s Florida branches achieve $5 billion in total deposits as of April 2021. Druey additionally spearheaded the bank’s financial literacy program.
RYAN DULING Ryan Duling is managing director of production and an originator at Lument, where he is primarily focused on procuring new debt opportunities. Duling has 15 years of industry experience and has closed more than $4 billion in total career originations, including more than $1 billion in 2020. His main focus is conventional multifamily and student housing, and he is active in multiple real estate asset classes and has experience providing value-add, custom finance solutions throughout various markets in all 50 states. Duling joined Lument’s legacy firm RED Capital Group in 2006. He has extensive experience in the procurement, structuring and execution of a breadth of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, conventional bank, balance sheet and life company debt offerings, including singular first mortgage debt executions, as well as larger structured transactions. He previously held positions with the Procter and Gamble Co., Honda Engineering North America Inc., Whirlpool Corp. and Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. In addition to continuing to serve as a top multifamily producer for Lument, Duling is an active member of ULI.
ROB DURAND Early in his career at KBS, Rob Durand was given a stuffed black swan by one of his managers. Although this gift was given in jest, he views it as a reminder to prepare for unforeseen twists that can arise in a transaction. As a result, Durand is proactive about possible unexpected hurdles in this business. He has been influential in helping KBS emerge from the pandemic, helping the firm stay ahead of the curve to position its properties for performance during the pandemic while hedging investors’ concern for capital. As the EVP of finance at KBS, Durand is responsible for overseeing the internal financing team, developing lending relationships and negotiating the financing for all of the company’s holdings. He also is a member of the firm’s investment committee, where he uses his industry experience in the evaluation and approval of all new investment opportunities for KBS. Prior to joining the company, Durand was a VP in JP Morgan Real Estate’s CMBS group and was responsible for the origination, structuring and negotiation of CMBS, construction, bridge and mezzanine loans. He also spent more than 10 years at Babson Capital Management, a subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., most recently as a managing director charged with sourcing, underwriting and closing commercial real estate loans. Durand’s transaction experience totals more than $17 billion and includes office, industrial, retail, multifamily and hotel properties, fixed- and floating-rate loan structures, first trust deed, mezzanine/structured finance, bridge loans and large portfolio financings. Durand also serves as the assistant vice chair on ULI’s capital markets finance council, where he regularly meets with other Orange County/Inland Empire capital markets council members to address greater finance issues in commercial real estate.
TJ EDWARDS TJ Edwards joined Walker & Dunlop in September 2020 as managing director of the company’s proprietary capital group and received a promotion in August 2021 to lead Walker & Dunlop’s recently-formed client services department. Edwards oversees the client services, strategic partners, sales operations, sales governance and analytics teams. He has 12 years of industry experience, including debt and equity investments, client relationship management, business operations and marketing strategy. Prior to joining Walker & Dunlop, Edwards worked at Freddie Mac for more than a decade, most recently as regional director of production and sales. While there, he spearheaded the creation of the multifamily division’s diversity, equity and inclusion executive task force, focused on promoting racial and social equality and opened its first field office in Atlanta, which quickly became one of Freddie’s largest lending markets following the great financial crisis. Since joining Walker & Dunlop during the COVID-19 pandemic, Edwards has played an integral role on the company’s Council for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, promoting DE&I efforts across the CRE industry and within Walker & Dunlop. Edwards spearheaded Walker & Dunlop’s CRE diversity initiative, CREUnited, an industry-wide alliance that seeks to identify and remove obstacles facing minority owners and operators in the industry. He convened leading industry partners and competitors to participate in the diversity initiative, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Greystar, Kayne Anderson Real Estate, KKR, Pacific Life and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Edwards volunteers with Project Destined, an organization with the mission to transform minority youth into owners and stakeholders in the communities in which they live, work and play. He also teaches and mentors minority youth; working to provide guidance and expand the CRE pipeline.
BRYAN GRAF Growing up in the small, agricultural community of Selah, WA, Bryan Graf developed an early interest in the commercial real estate business thanks to his father. Soon after graduating from college in 2009, Graf met a real estate broker through his university’s mentorship program and he went to work at his mentor’s project management firm, Ewing and Clark in Seattle. While at the firm, Graf managed a portfolio of real estate in the greater Seattle area, while growing his own book of business, including multifamily and mixed-use assets. After several years in this role, Graf joined Broadmark Realty Capital as the company’s very first hire and he has since helped the firm grow to more than $1.5 billion in assets under management. Early on, his responsibilities included underwriting and servicing loans, collecting interest payments, handling the restructuring of debt, performing property inspections, executing marketing campaigns, managing borrower relations and sourcing deals. His ability to adapt to these diverse challenges carried him upward as the organization grew, and he quickly became head of originations and was eventually offered a partnership with the firm. In 2020, as SVP of the Pacific Northwest, Graf managed the underwriting and origination of $220 million in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Navigating the nuances of the pandemic and remotely onboarding new employees, while reporting to a relatively new board of directors, staying in tune with the marketplace and servicing a portfolio of approximately $550 million in loans were all hurdles that Graf overcame in recent months. Under Graf’s leadership, the team was able to persevere through these tests and move forward as the nation recovered from the pandemic.
SHANNON HERSKER As director for Walker & Dunlop’s capital markets group based in Phoenix, Shannon Hersker has been a key driver of the newly-created SFR and built-for-rent practice group. Hersker is responsible for nationwide loan origination for multifamily, office, retail and industrial properties. She has 10 years of industry experience, including as assistant VP with Fidelity National Title where she was responsible for more than $4 billion in transaction volume from 2014 to 2017. Hersker also has several years of sales and marketing experience in the medical equipment and hospitality industries. She joined Walker & Dunlop with the idea that SFR and BFR products were going to be the next big product type. She convinced her team to dig in, build debt and equity relationships, and start prospecting clients to be able to make the firm a leader in the space. The company’s new BFR/SFR group offers a one-stop-shop including equity, debt and investment sales that is managing a $1 billion pipeline and deals in more than 30 states. Because of Hersker’s leadership, competitiveness, research acumen and persistence, she was made a partner on her team after only two years. Hersker is known for her personal touch, her ability to network and maintain communications, seeking and acting upon advice, and consistently challenging herself to be better. Since attending her first industry conference with Walker & Dunlop, where she was one of few women in attendance, Hersker has been committed to getting more women involved in the industry, helping to make it more diverse. She is also active within leadership roles in ULI, NAIOP and Valley Partnership and is involved with several charitable organizations.
MATTHEW HIRSCH From the early days of his career, Matthew Hirsch has always enjoyed being a part of the interplay between finance and real estate. Hirsch joined Greystone Capital Advisors in 2015 because he was able to continue his career in finance while working directly within the real estate asset class. His initial focus was on bond-financed transactions slated for large-scale, mixed-income, class A rental construction. Since that time, his role has evolved to national projects, raising capital financing for sophisticated developers to execute their business plans. Hirsch is now director of structured finance and lending at Greystone Capital Advisors where he cultivates and facilitates relationships with private and institutional capital providers to ensure access to a broad range of financing options. He works on highly complex and highly structured large-scale transactions that help clients develop creative financing and restructuring strategies. Hirsch and his group have been instrumental in enabling notable projects in New York City and the tri-state area including arranging equity and debt for Douglaston Development’s 931-unit luxury mixed-use residential development on Manhattan’s Far West Side; arranging a $143 million permanent loan for affiliate entities of RXR Realty to refinance 475 Clermont, a premier multifamily rental building located in Brooklyn; and arranging a $94 million construction loan for an affiliate of J&L Companies Inc. to finance the development of a 12-story, 403-unit class A multifamily project located at 55 Union St. in downtown Newark, NJ. Hirsch is on the young real estate council for APAC and considers himself a mentor that is available for colleagues within Greystone or outside of the organization that seek career advice.
MIGUEL A. JAUREGUI Miguel Jauregui, director of capital markets at SAB Capital, leads one of the industry’s only net-lease-focused capital markets teams. In the past year, his team has financed nearly 100 properties and closed nearly $150 million in loans. Jauregui is active from client introductions to lender outreach, through negotiations and closing. He started with a one-person team in 2020 and has since grown it to six professionals while continuing to expand in New York City, Los Angeles and Florida. Being part of the larger SAB Capital team that focuses heavily on investment sales means that he is also a versatile commodity to the company as he works with SAB’s investment sales team to assist with capital markets insight and diligence to get more deals closed. Among his most notable accomplishments was the CMBS execution of a 12-property package of Rite Aids, Family Dollars and Walgreens spread throughout the country, which had leases that expired within the 10-year loan term. It was one of the first packages of Rite Aids to be securitized in the CMBS world in the past few years. Jauregui and his team have consistently grown month-over-month since the pandemic began, including fund loans across all execution types ranging from bridge financing to construction loans and life insurance mortgages. Between deals, Jauregui furthers his learning and spends time mentoring to help young professionals succeed and increase the representation of minorities in the space. He has been part of boards to increase the representation of minorities in the CRE industry, such as the National Society of Hispanic MBA and the CRE Finance Council’s diversity equity and inclusion committee.
TIM LEONHARD Tim Leonhard is responsible for arranging and structuring affordable debt transactions in his role as senior managing director at Berkadia. Based in Dallas, TX, Leonhard leads a team with several offices across the country. With more than 23 years of experience in the development and financing of affordable housing, Leonhard has successfully closed more than $13 billion in affordable housing financing throughout his career, including more than $800 million in financing in 2021. He is considered one of the most knowledgeable and experienced mortgage bankers in the country. In 2020, Leonhard joined Berkadia from JLL where he previously served as senior managing director and leader of the affordable housing group. Under Leonhard’s leadership, JLL’s affordable housing group was ranked number one in the country for total affordable loan production by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on several occasions and it was consistently ranked in the top three with both GSEs annually. Leonhard has been a member of Freddie Mac’s targeted affordable housing advisory council for more than 10 years and he has been a speaker at countless industry events. His technical expertise in the affordable space has been invaluable to those who he has mentored along the way, and he always takes the time to explain the nuances of affordable financing to newer staff and up-and-comers in the industry.
KATE MILLER As senior originator at Mandri Capital, Kate Miller helps clients access capital across the capital stack by identifying the best strategic financing plans, and she thrives in graduating clients to larger deal sizes. With 21 years of industry experience in originating senior debt, mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and bridge loans for middle-market and large-scale developers, Miller holds a deep track record in originating and managing loans for debt platforms in new markets and all commercial asset classes. Last year, Miller chose to further round out her career by launching into the capital advisory space. She is most proud of her work in helping clients who want to grow across the capital stack, graduate to larger deal sizes, enter new markets, or bring their community-changing ideas to life. Earlier this year, Miller worked with a client out of Northern California that was looking to expand into the Los Angeles market in a way that could deliver the local community value and beauty. Miller successfully secured the structured financing from bridge lenders, preferred equity investors and JV-equity investors to enable the acquisition of a dated multifamily property at 927 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica and its planned transition into luxury multifamily units with world-class amenities near the beach. This project demonstrated her appreciation for creative projects and her drive to identify the best possible financing solution, even when complex. Outside of commercial real estate, Miller mentors other women, is involved with local schools and is committed to serving in her community.
JORDAN RAY Jordan Ray founded and oversees Mission Capital Debt and Equity, which is now part of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. Ray is senior managing director of capital markets at the firm, with responsibilities that include managing the group, business development, placement and execution of real estate capital on behalf of major owners, investors and developers nationwide, as well as growth and strategy for the business. He oversees a team that has closed more than $3 billion of capital within the past three years and he was integral to the merger of Mission and MMCC, which improved the company’s structured finance capabilities. Ray’s ability to stay ahead of the curve allowed his clients to continually succeed amid a troubling climate. With 21 years of industry experience, Ray is well-known as an active real estate financier due to his innovative and creative approach to debt and equity advisory and his ability to adapt to changes in market trends while continuing to deliver quality results to clients.
TIM TAYLOR With a corporate finance background anchored in mezzanine debt, Tim Taylor has now been in the Wall Street commercial real estate finance community for 22 years. Taylor joined B+E in late January 2021 as senior director and head of special situations. His team targets investment sales for vacant, underutilized or otherwise impaired assets and non-performing loans. He also is an integral part of B+E’s sale-leaseback business line leadership. His first investment sale transaction at the firm was brokering the deal for a highly technical special use asset, which required a deep understanding and appreciation of the property’s infrastructure in addition to the real estate. Taylor’s efforts led to this asset being B+E’s most competitive bid and one of the firm’s largest transactions in the calendar year. Having structured, priced and sold risk, Taylor always considers downside scenarios as possible outcomes, and the pandemic has taught him to give risk “in the tail” a longer look. Taylor is an active member of CREFC and ICSC. He is also a trustee of the North Carolina Society of New York and the Central Selection Committee for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship.
ART TUVERSON Art Tuverson represents a unique niche in the multifamily housing industry, specializing in manufactured housing communities and the RV resort industry, a subset of the multifamily market that has been growing in interest in recent years. Based in San Clemente, CA, Tuverson serves as managing director of Berkadia, where he is a debt and equity capital provider for all property types. Although based on the West Coast, Tuverson secures financing across the nation. He is the head of manufactured housing community lending for Berkadia and has specialized in this affordable housing niche for his entire career. Tuverson has more than 23 years of experience arranging agency, conduit, life company, bank and bridge first mortgages plus participating debt, preferred equity and joint venture equity structures. His notable recent transactions include a $60 million manufactured housing community portfolio located across four Midwest states and a $7 million manufactured housing community loan that allows for individual lot releases to be sold to residents, providing an option for the residents to own their home and the land. Tuverson’s 2020 production volume totaled $463.4 million across 76 deals.
SETH WEISSMAN As president and founder of Urban Standard Capital, Seth Weissman leads his team in lending, acquisition and development. He oversees New York-focused real estate investment funds including core-plus, value-add, development and credit strategies. He also serves as the managing partner of Weissman Equities, which acquires and improves multifamily and mixed-use properties in New York City, and he is managing partner at City Shares, a firm that focuses on investments and development to turn underperforming properties into exceptional investments. At Urban Standard Capital, Weissman manages $400 million of real estate equity and debt investments across its platforms. He has continued to grow the company since its inception in 2015. In 2019, USC closed $150 million in loans and more than $75 million in loan-on-loan financing. In 2020, the company closed more than $70 million of transactions on midtown office and multifamily loans. Weissman has brought an institutional-level investment discipline and approach to middle-market investments, both debt and equity. Particularly in this volatile finance environment, Weissman has used his company’s fixed capital base combined with his property level development and ownership experience to provide funding certainty to the market. He turns deals around quickly because the firm is structured as a private equity fund and each of his strategies is supported by separate discretionary, committed pools of capital. In July 2021, USC announced its expansion outside of New York, and within five months the company had lent $50 million in Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania. Early in the pandemic, Weissman took action to help his fellow New Yorkers in need and he inspired many of his colleagues in the real estate community and other businesses to donate more than 10,000 meals to families in need.
FISHER WELLS As senior director at Greysteel, Fisher Wells co-leads the multifamily component of the firm’s national debt and structured finance and JV equity groups. Based in Dallas, TX, Wells specializes in structured debt, mezzanine and joint-venture equity placement for multifamily investment properties across the country. Wells conducts financial analysis for acquisition, refinance and other special situation workout loans and is responsible for sourcing and executing corporate and project-related debt solutions for private and middle-market clients through numerous relationships with banks, life insurance companies and CMBS conduit lenders. Wells has experienced a meteoric rise among his fellow debt/equity originators, within the multifamily sector specifically. In the past three years, Wells has transitioned from an associate to senior director, and every year since joining Greysteel, he has seen an increase in the total amount placed, total number of deals and the average debt placed per deal. Wells, in partnership with Greysteel’s broader community engagement program, has been a key contributor in the community through partnerships with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the North Texas Food Bank.
TEAMS
ARRIBA CAPITAL’S HOSPITALITY FINANCE Ryan Bosch and Nick Barbaria are experts in the hospitality capital markets space and are known for tracking and sharing their findings on hotel financing transactions in quarterly reports. Bosch and Barbaria, as EVP and president, respectively, lead Arriba Capital’s hospitality finance team, which was founded in 2015. The pair’s debt and structured finance team, which includes six members, arrange capital for hoteliers nationwide, including permanent, floating and construction debt and equity. During the past three years, the team financed more than $1 billion in hotel capital in the middle market space. Throughout the pandemic, which hit the hotel capital markets particularly hard, Arriba Capital remained active in the space. In the past six months, the team arranged more than $350 million in hotel construction debt. During the pandemic, both Bosch and Barbaria have spent time educating and advising clients on CMBS special servicing, while coaching them on stress testing their underwriting and balance sheet to meet risks going forward. With a strong understanding of where the hotel capital markets are headed, the team continues to share updates with hoteliers on where capital was available. The team is active in various industry associations and lodging events including AAHOA, the Lodging Conference, Hunter Conference and MBA.
BERKADIA SMALL LOANS The Berkadia small loans team was founded in 2019 and is made up of mortgage bankers and analysts that bring creative solutions to the multifamily small loan space in every major network nationwide. Led by the head of small loan originations, Christine Pratt, the team leverages data to help customers navigate the agency lending process. Berkadia’s small loan platform grew 270% in 2020 as the team developed innovative tools and processes for small loans. Since its inception in 2019, the team has financed more than $700 million, closed more than 250 loans with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s small loan programs, and, in 2020, its combined agency lending production totaling $19 billion. Looking beyond the numbers, Berkadia small loans strives to help its clients succeed and gain confidence as they embark on their investment journey and grow their portfolios. The firm has experienced huge growth in the small loan space, driven by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac products and executions.
CAPITAL ONE AGENCY FINANCE SALT LAKE CITY Each team member of Capital One Agency Finance in Salt Lake City is under 35 years old, but each has significant accomplishments under their belt. Founded in 2021, the team includes SVPs Jonathan Pratt, Rossana Bouchaya and Maggie Burke. The team brings decades of combined experience along with a unique approach to leveraging data. The team focuses on supporting multifamily owners and investors across the U.S., providing clients with strategies and solutions to support their individual business plans through several capital source executions, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, life companies, CMBS, debt funds and banks. Pratt, Bouchaya and Burke joined Capital One from Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. Throughout their careers, they have been involved in several billion dollars of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, balance sheet, life company, debt fund and CMBS financing. The team has originated more than $2 billion in these product types in the past two years and recently closed a 24-property portfolio with Fannie Mae totaling $477 million. Outside of commercial real estate, the team members are involved in career-oriented organizations and are actively involved in mentoring others, as they credit the mentorship they received early in their careers as crucial to their current success.
CBRE’S MULTIFAMILY DEBT & STRUCTURED FINANCE – GREATER LOS ANGELES & NATIONWIDE The West Los Angeles-based multifamily debt and structured finance group at CBRE was founded in 2010 and is led by SVP Ryan Greer. Greer joined the team with the goal of de-commoditizing the debt business by helping clients realize their business plans. He has expanded the team’s services and has been involved in many of the region’s high-profile multifamily deals totaling more than $10 billion in loan originations during the past six years. Throughout the pandemic, the team strived to produce competitive finance solutions. The group has been successful in assisting clients capitalize on the low-interest rate environment and guiding them through a highly competitive market. In 2020, the vast majority of the team’s production came from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. More than 40% of the team’s loan volume shifted to debt fund capital in 2021, with the remaining coming 40% from debt funds and 20% from life insurance and bank accounts. In 2021, the team expects loan production in excess of $5 billion. The team members support a handful of causes that are important to them and their clients.
CBRE CAPITAL MARKETS WEST STRUCTURED FINANCE TEAM The CBRE capital markets west structured finance team, based in San Francisco, was founded in 2013 and is led by EVP Brad Zampa and SVP Michael Walker. The team specializes in the placement of acquisition, bridge and construction financing for value-add and opportunistic investments in the western U.S., with a special emphasis on the large loan space. The team is built on a foundation of strong relationships with more than 150 clients and capital sources that have helped it build a unique niche in life science, industrial and office financing. The team holds a combined 37 years of experience specializing in complicated value-add financing assignments, including ground-up construction for tech firms as well as numerous industrial and life science developments. The team provides continued off-market advice to institutional clients and advocates for them throughout the life of the loan. Among its recent significant deals were the $629 million PG&E headquarters debt fund in San Francisco, the $220 million Pacific Commons South Life Co. project in Fremont, CA, and the $180 million Santa Clara Towers debt fund in Santa Clara, CA. Despite the pandemic-related disruption, the team procured its highest transaction volume in 2021, with more than $1.5 billion in loans pricing in the market today, having closed another $1.8 billion year-to-date in October 2021.
MCGUIREWOODS’ REAL ESTATE CAPITAL MARKETS The McGuireWoods multidisciplinary real estate capital markets industry team helps Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, commercial developers, investors, buyers, sellers and nonprofit organizations in all aspects of real estate financing and development. The team was founded in 1987 and today is led by Dennis Mensi, partner and co-chair; Gregory Riegle, partner and co-chair; and Alice Youngbar, partner. The team’s clients take on complex multidisciplinary projects that require a breadth of legal services that often cross traditional boundaries. Built on the need for a multidisciplinary perspective to address sophisticated real estate transactions, the team draws upon the firm’s expertise in areas such as construction litigation, corporate transactions, environmental concerns, fund formation, financing, leasing, land use and zoning, restructuring and insolvency, and tax. Members of the team have extensive involvement and knowledge in multifamily agency lending transactions involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as mortgage banking and mortgage brokerage services and letter of credit-backed construction bond transactions. The group handles transactions involving all types of commercial real estate. In addition, the team works closely with McGuireWoods Consulting, a full-service public affairs firm offering infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications, grassroots issues management and government relations services. Over the past 12 months, the team has completed 265 real estate loan transactions and has 75 real estate loan transactions in progress, for an approximate total of 340 real estate loan transactions. As an extension of the national real estate capital markets practice, McGuireWoods formed a multidisciplinary affordable housing group in April dedicated to advising clients on all sides of affordable housing projects, developments and transactions.
NEWMARK’S PHILADELPHIA DEBT & STRUCTURED FINANCE TEAM The Philadelphia debt & structured finance team at Newmark points to building a successful team during the pandemic as one of its greatest achievements. Since joining Newmark in early 2020, the team members have established themselves as top-tier producers and have expanded the team with three new junior associates, all while pivoting from their ambitious first-year business and marketing goals and largely working remotely. With a combined 60 years of experience through 15 years of working together, the team has originated and closed more than $10 billion in financing. Executive managing director Jim Badolato leads the team, which also includes executive managing directors Steve Comly and Matt Cullison and managing director Mike McKee. The team is primarily responsible for originating and closing financing opportunities on behalf of the firm’s internal and external capital sources, including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, life insurance companies, CMBS, debt funds and regional/national banks. While the team’s members are well-versed in all property types, they are deeply experienced in the multifamily sector. Over the past three years, the team has originated $4.5 billion via 150 different transactions with more than 25 different lenders. During the past year, the team has closed 50 transactions with a total value of $1.5 billion. The team prides itself on the loyalty of its clients and the diversity of its lender base, and it approaches each assignment with a long-term view. This forward-thinking vision is also evident in the team’s impact on internal process improvement, which it has impacted through commitments to initiatives on technology, streamlining processes, cross-platform synergies and employee empowerment.
THE KAY PROPERTIES TEAM The Kay Properties team operates one of the largest 1031 exchange marketplaces and has made an impact on the commercial real estate industry and the Delaware Statutory Trust 1031 exchange investment platform. As the number of DST transactions has grown, new investors look to DST expert advisory firms such as Kay Properties to help them navigate the marketplace. The Kay Properties team was founded in 2010 and includes Chay Lapin, president of Kay Properties & Investments; Jason Salmon, SVP and managing director of real estate analytics; Betty Friant, SVP; and VPs Matt McFarland, Orrin Barrow, Steve Haskell and Alex Madden. The team operates on a customer-centric philosophy that views each client as a unique entity with individual investment objectives and special challenges. The team focuses on educating clients on 1031 exchange dynamics over months and sometimes years to help them achieve their specific goals. Since its founding in 2010, Kay Properties has created a business model that provides clients access to the marketplace of DSTs from more than 25 sponsor companies, full due diligence and vetting process for each DST property they represent; the industry’s first secondary market for those wishing to sell their DST interests prior to the property going full-cycle, and the industry’s largest selection of debt-free DSTs and leveraged DSTs for 1031 debt replacement. As a result, Kay Properties has participated in nearly $20 billion of real estate offerings since its founding and placed more than $430 million so far in 2021, a more than 90% increase over the firm’s total DST equity placements in 2019.
THE MOZER GROUP OF GEORGE SMITH PARTNERS The Mozer Group of George Smith Partners was founded in 2019 and includes managing director Gary E. Mozer, SVP Robert Horton, VPs Dorian Aftalion and Tommy Adelson, and analyst Ben Shofet. Mozer has been in the business for 37 years; however, the most recent iteration of his team was created about two years ago. The team members are top performers at the company and are on track to end 2021 with $950 million in total financings via 27 transactions. The team spends considerable time analyzing each deal as a lender or investor would in order to understand its importance and market credibility. Through decades of experience, the team has established a wide array of relationships, as its business model is focused on relationship building. The team recently closed deals with two experienced sponsors, including sourcing $130 million of debt and equity for an international sponsor making its mark in the U.S., as well as sourcing $122 million of debt and equity for the construction of 190 townhomes and condos in what is its biggest project to date. Outside of the office, Mozer has dedicated his time as a leader with ICSC, ULI, YPO and the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks.
COMPANIES
ARIXA CAPITAL ADVISORS Arixa Capital has played a leading role in changing the landscape of bridge and construction lending for smaller projects, traditionally the domain of the mom-and-pop industry for amounts under $10 million. The company was founded in 2006 to provide capital to smaller residential developers and real estate investors and launched its first lending fund in 2010. Arixa first focused on the West Coast and has expanded to major job centers across the Western U.S. The firm is led by founder, managing director and chief investment officer Jan Brzeski, and managing directors Greg Hebner and Seth Davis. Arixa’s borrower satisfaction consistently scores above 90, and about three-quarters of all of its loans are to repeat borrowers. The firm’s borrowers typically build for-sale or for-rent residential and mixed-use projects and need a source of flexible capital that allows them to move quickly when opportunities arise. The company counts one of its greatest accomplishments as its ability to help its borrowers after the pandemic hit as some lenders drew back. Arixa stayed focused on taking care of all of its existing clients and existing loans and picked up many new clients as a result. Other achievements include surpassing $2 billion of total loans funded; signing a joint-venture with Belay Investment Group that connects Arixa to institutional capital from one of the nation’s largest pension funds; and numerous awards. Many of the company’s team members participated in ULI’s Young Leader Group Partnership Forum program, and Brzeski mentors a dozen young adults each year through the program.
BAUTA CAPITAL ADVISORY Bauta Capital Advisory’s mission is to create long-term value for clients through careful guidance of strategic objectives. The commercial real estate advisory business arranges mortgages and capital on behalf of institutions, property owners and developers. The company was founded in 2016 and is led by director Astrit Bauta and president Murteza Bauta. The firm provides advisory services for all major property types, including hospitality, office, multifamily, retail and industrial, servicing brokers, investors and developers to structure acquisition, bridge and permanent financing. The company’s typical deal size is $31 million and closes on average in 42 days. With a strong focus on providing advisory beyond a single transaction, the company focuses on arranging debt, equity and investment sales of real estate assets. The firm’s capabilities span nationwide and it places a priority on understanding client needs whether capital stack related on the debt and equity side or cap-rate related on investment sales. Among its larger deals were the $146 million acquisition and financing of the Marriott LAX Hotel, the Doubletree Hotel in Downtown LA, the Hilton San Jose, and the capitalization and renovation of 381 Broadway. During the pandemic, the company diversified its asset classes from a specialization in the hard-hit hotel asset class to office buildings, multifamily and industrial warehouses in addition to hotel and retail. The firm works with many local and national charitable organizations, especially during the holidays, including iMentor, St. Judes Children’s Hospital, New York Presbyterian Children’s Hospital, New York Cares and Project Hospitality.
CROWDSTREET CrowdStreet, one of the largest online commercial real estate investing platforms in the nation, was founded in an attempt to leverage the trend of crowdfunding to open an industry to individual investors that historically served only insiders and institutional investors. Its online platform connects sponsors who are raising equity capital with individual investors who choose to invest. In 2020, the company officially crossed the $1 billion milestone for total online investments by individual investors, and in 2021, it crossed the $2 billion mark. CrowdStreet was founded in 2014 and is led by Tore C. Steen, co-founder and CEO; Darren Powderly, co-founder and VP of capital markets. Since 2014, the firm has closed more than 540 commercial real estate investment offerings and raised more than $2.4 billion for sponsors from thousands of individual investors. The average project capitalization has increased almost fourfold from $20 million in 2014 to $78 million in 2021, and the company has investors in every state and territory across the U.S. Real estate sponsors moving their fundraising operations and investment management activities online and investors expecting more online investing options have created a ‘virtuous cycle’ of supply and demand. This phenomenon has led to a diverse online marketplace for developers and operators to raise capital with CrowdStreet and for individual investors to help diversify their investment portfolios. For sponsor clients, CrowdStreet’s platform allows them to raise funds and acquire new investors online, speeding up the investment transaction process and helping firms manage new and existing investors and investments on a single platform.
DXD CAPITAL DXD Capital, founded in 2020, paired Radius+, a data analytics company built by Cory Sylvester for the storage industry, with the development experience of Drew Dolan. Radius+ was built around providing accurate supply and pricing data for developers and REIT operators. Together, principals Dolan and Sylvester reverse engineered site selection and created technology tools that revolutionized the development process. Sylvester leads DXD Capital’s investment committee and site selection, while Dolan serves as the fund manager and focuses on creative deal structure, debt and equity. In the one and a half years since the company’s inception, DXD Capital has raised approximately $50 million during a pandemic, recession and election year, in addition to filling the fund’s pipeline with 13 deals and overseeing three starts in 2021. Dolan is a board member of Delta Dental, One Albuquerque Foundation, YPO and ULI, and he serves the local community as well as peers throughout the CRE industry. Sylvester speaks at events nationwide to share his industry knowledge and predictions with the community at large.
MESA WEST CAPITAL Commercial real estate portfolio lender, Mesa West Capital, attributes its success to its ability to expand offerings while staying true to its core values. The firm was founded in 2004 and is led by co-founder and CEO Jeff Friedman, co-founder and principal Mark Zytko and principals Matthew Cohen, Raphael Fishbach, Steve Fried and Ronnie Gul. The company provides non-recourse first mortgage loans for core/core-plus, value-added or transitional properties throughout the U.S. In 2018, the firm was acquired by Morgan Stanley Investment Management, allowing it to expand its global footprint with exposure to global investors while continuing to operate under its well-established brand as a business unit within MSIM’s Real Assets group. Its lending portfolio includes all major property types with loan sizes ranging from $20 million to $400 million. Mesa West Capital was one of the first managers to focus exclusively on commercial real estate debt when it debuted in 2005 and it constantly seeks to evolve and grow its operations. The company’s early debt strategy allowed it to thrive during the 2008 financial crisis, and since then it has grown from $500 million in loans annually to more than $19 billion on 300 transactions today. During the COVID-19 crisis, Mesa West Capital stayed active and originated loans, including a $135 million first mortgage construction loan in North Las Vegas.
PROGRESS CAPITAL In 1990, at a time when women were a rarity in the commercial real estate industry, Kathy Anderson founded Progress Capital in an effort to fill a void in the property investment market, as many banks in the industry were failing. Three decades later, the company is going strong, providing three different business lines to help clients with all of their industry needs. The company provides CRE mortgage advisory services for real estate owners and developers. After identifying the need for reliable bridge lending sources, the firm launched Progress Direct to fill the financing gap and to continually add value to Progress Capital’s clients. As an additional company affiliation, Progress Realty Partners is a vertically-integrated investment firm that offers direct ownership in commercial real estate to accredited investors, while applying hands-on management to facilitate every step of the asset’s life cycle including acquisition, leasing, asset management, property management and disposition. Among Progress Capital’s notable, recent transactions are a $130 million construction loan that facilitated the development of a 110,727-square-foot class A office building in Manhattan slated for a Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a $105 million acquisition loan for a three-property office portfolio in New Jersey, and an $85 million loan to refinance Union Crossing in the Bronx. With more than $40 billion in closed loans and more than $150 million in directly funded bridge loans, Progress Capital has recently expanded its reach by opening an additional office in Florida.
TOORAK CAPITAL PARTNERS Toorak Capital Partners’ CEO John Beacham established the company in 2016 in an effort to increase access to lending and reduce interest rates across the market by institutionalizing lending for purchasing and constructing or rehabilitating homes and multifamily apartment buildings. Based in Summit, NJ, Toorak Capital Partners is an integrated correspondent lending platform that funds small balance business purpose residential, multifamily and mixed-use loans throughout the U.S. and the UK. While providing capital to real estate investors across the nation, the firm works to restore urban and suburban communities and is particularly focused on financing affordable housing, with more than 80% of the units financed by Toorak to date being affordable to families earning the median income in their neighborhoods. The firm has funded more than $6 billion in loans to renovate, stabilize or rent out approximately 30,000 units since its inception. Toorak Capital Partners has financed projects in many New Jersey communities, including Newark, Paterson and Jersey City. The company’s approach democratizes real estate investment opportunities, providing affordable housing to working families, creating jobs for local contractors and laborers and increasing economic activity within communities. Toorak Capital Partners is an active member of the American Association of Private Lenders and an advocate for standardized, institutional processes and more transparency across the industry.
TOWER CAPITAL Co-founded by Adam S. Finkel and Kyle B. McDonough, Tower Capital has become a successful commercial real estate finance firm in Arizona and is growing its presence beyond the state’s borders. In 2015, Finkel and McDonough left the security of previous companies to pursue the new venture. The two professionals survived six months without earning any money until they turned the corner with a commission from a $15 million hotel deal in Phoenix, AZ; a deal that led to a path to success with lessons learned in hard work, dedication and persistence. Tower Capital now ranks as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies with a three-year revenue growth of 245%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company continued to attract a wide array of debt and equity placements in housing, multifamily, industrial, single-family rentals and hotel conversion projects. The company successfully navigated pandemic-related challenges by assisting multifamily clients with lowering their interest rates and pulling cash out, while at the same time continuing to nurture the ongoing housing trends of single-family build-to-rent development and hotel-to-multifamily conversions. Tower Capital is currently on track to reach $800 million in deals for 2021. The company is poised to become a $1 billion-per-year company in annual origination volume. Finkel and McDonough are active in the community through NAIOP, CCIM and ULI, as well as various charitable organizations.