Beds, Sheds and Mixed-Use Property Development with Peter Kelly and Dan Reidy of Lincoln Property Company Midwest

In this edition of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, Ice Miller partners, host Phil Coover and co-host Jay Augustyn, welcome Peter Kelly and Daniel Reidy of Lincoln Property Company Midwest (LPC Midwest). The foursome talks about real estate development and trends, specifically in the Midwest and opportunities that the company is exploring for continued long-term growth in office, residential and industrial space.

During the podcast, Peter and Dan discuss strong Midwest market and epicenters for growth, as well as the importance of having a partner with strong ties to local government and public affairs to streamline projects for success. They also touch on the challenges in the market with increasing costs and if the demand will keep up with the supply that’s trending. Peter speaks to seizing the right opportunities to go forward and long-term fundamentals, while Dan talks about being selective and the importance of building culture, logistics and the inside knowledge of opportunities that will drive demand to spaces.

Peter Kelly is the Executive Vice President of LPC’s commercial real estate activities across the Midwest, which include acquisitions, dispositions, development, joint ventures, agency leasing, property management, construction management and other services. LPC Midwest has grown to over 15 million square feet of assets under management across five states, under Peter’s direction.

As Vice President at LPC, Dan Reidy oversees industrial property acquisitions and development in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest. Dan joined the company in 2019 and has been at the forefront of many major developments in and around the region and is currently leading the efforts of a $100+ million project in Indianapolis and Columbus.

Lincoln Property Company was founded in 1965. LPC Midwest is one of the region’s leading commercial real estate service providers, offering property management, leasing, investment and construction management services. Our regional headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois along with 15 offices across the Midwest employing 60 top-tier real estate professionals with the skills and resources to meet the needs of our diverse clients.

Multifamily Real Estate, Equity Investment and the “Karma Economy” with Nick Earls and Eric DiNicola of Winterspring Capital

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and co-host Jay Augustyn are joined by Nick Earls and Eric DiNicola, co-founders of Winterspring Capital. Phil and Jay sit down with Nick and Eric to discuss the pair’s 20-year friendship and how they successfully developed a business and brand from their first real estate project, which included the renovation and sale of three condominium units in Boston.

The Winterspring story is interesting in seeing how two friends can create a real estate development company, without deep pocket backers, by taking one step at a time, by building skills, by stepping out of their comfort zone and focusing on marketing, and by measuring each decision and learning lessons as they build for the future.  Specifically, the group examines the pros and cons of funding projects with equity investments in lieu of debt; the company’s marketing strategy and plans for future growth including writing books and articles for public consumption; the concept of the “karma economy”; and Winterspring’s foray into Boston’s affordable housing market.

As co-founder and managing principal of Winterspring Capital, Nick Earls has over a decade of experience in all phases of commercial real estate, including asset management, sales, new construction development and property management.

While building his own portfolio, he has also guided many investors down the path of multifamily investment, management or development. He is an expert on multifamily condominium development, underwriting, and asset management in the multifamily space and is also the author of the top-rated book, “Making Millions through Multi-Family Development.”

Eric DiNicola is also a co-founder and managing principal of Winterspring Capital. His strong financial background spans over a decade. Eric began working in public equity in 2010 and moved into the private equity markets where he worked on valuations and capital raising.

Joining forces with Nick in 2015, Eric leveraged his investment experience and expertise to accelerate the growth of Winterspring's real estate business. Heading up the company’s acquisitions team, Eric leans on his extensive broker network to keep Winterspring's deal pipeline full.

For more information, visit: https://winterspringcapital.com/  

Debt Financing and Life Companies with Mark Perkowski of Draper and Kramer, Incorporated

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and his co-host Jay Augustyn are joined by Mark Perkowski, a Vice President in Draper and Kramer, Incorporated’s Commercial Finance Group.

On the podcast, Phil and Mark discuss the process of debt placement and financing for all types of commercial real estate deals. In particular, they examine a particular type of financing from life insurance companies, and what those types of lenders look for in terms of deals.  From there, they discuss the difference between lending sources, from life companies, to traditional banking, to CMBS loans, and current market trends stemming from COVID-19 fallout. Mark highlights the importance of relationships– both his own personal relationships and those cultivated throughout Draper and Kramer, Incorporated’s over 125-year history – in finding the best deals for his borrower and lender clients.

During his time at Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, Mark has closed $600 million in loans across all major property types, including hotels and data centers. He specializes in placing loans with life companies and structuring complicated transactions.

Hailing from western New York, Mark began his commercial real estate career in 2004 helping retailers use market data and analytical tools to identify the most profitable locations. He then served as a consultant to banks, advising them on the quality of their commercial real estate loans, prior to transitioning to commercial mortgage banking in 2011 when he relocated to Chicago. He holds a B.S. in business administration and finance from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.  

Since 1893, Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, has sourced commercial real estate debt and equity used to acquire, develop, renovate, refinance and recapitalize assets across property sectors and markets throughout the U.S. Today, through its Commercial Finance Group, the company continues that tradition with innovative financing solutions at all levels of the capital stack that are offered to third-party clients and used by Draper and Kramer for its own investments.

For more information, please visit https://draperandkramer.com/

Medtail and Tenant Rep National Brokerage with Willie Hoag of Tether Advisors

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and his frequent co-host Jay Augustyn are joined by Willie Hoag, Principal and Co-Founder of Tether Advisors, a real estate advisory company founded in August 2020 during the tumult of the global pandemic.

Tether Advisors works with high-growth businesses to help them achieve national reach and alternatively with developers, REITs and private equity to help them find stable tenants and businesses with strong futures. Tether links brands, developers and private equity to physical locations that fit perfectly in the lives of customers. Tether also focuses on “medtail” – the initiative by medical service providers to bring prevention and wellness services to underserved areas via brick and mortar facilities located in shopping centers and other historically retail-focused properties.

During the podcast, Willie discusses his background and what led to the creation of Tether Advisors. Willie shared his insight into the changing real estate model with landlords exploring opportunities outside traditional retail and how he can focus on building value for his clients. Willie encourages the Tether team to embrace a long-term approach to client services and to remain keenly aware of trends and technology that will augment or disrupt the businesses that Tether serves. Willie developed his consultative acumen at Mid-America for more than 15 years, where he was a Partner and Director of Tenant Representation for the leading full-service retail real estate firm in the Midwest. In that capacity, Willie educated developers on the benefits of medtail brands, bringing change and success in a space that had long-held misconceptions and stigmas.

At Tether, Willie facilitates the expansion needs and real estate challenges of a dozen tenants throughout the Midwest and nationally. His many national relationships transcend verticals and foster his true passions: solving problems and refining brands, linking experts to the obstacles they may uniquely solve.

For more information, please visit https://www.tetheradvisors.com/.

Industrial Real Estate Market Analysis with Joe Moriarty of Dayton Street Partners

Today on Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and his co-host Jay Augustyn are joined by Joe Moriarty of Dayton Street Partners LLC (Dayton Street), a commercial real estate investment and development firm focused on the acquisition and development of high barrier to entry infill industrial and logistics properties.

On the podcast, Joe shares Dayton Street’s current investment thesis and passion for challenging development projects. Joe discusses Dayton Street’s pursuit of industrial development projects outside of the Chicagoland area and the process by which the Dayton Street team cultivates relationships with key constituencies in the new markets. Joe then shares his thoughts on why he remains bullish on industrial and logistics facility development as we approach living in a post-pandemic world.

Joe Moriarty is a Director of Acquisitions at Dayton Street, where he is responsible for sourcing industrial real estate acquisitions and land for development opportunities. He co-heads the firm’s acquisition efforts throughout the Midwest, while also focusing on Atlanta and the greater Southeast. Prior to joining Dayton Street, Joe worked in the Capital Markets Group at JLL where he specialized in office transactions.  Joe began his career in 2013 as an analyst for GE Capital Real Estate and graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Kansas.

For more information, please visit https://www.daytonstreetllc.com/.

Cultivating Relationships and Innovation in Real Estate with Stream Realty Partners

In this episode of the Real Estate for Breakfast podcast, host Phil Coover and co-host Jay Augustyn are joined by another dynamic duo, Patrick Russo and Brian Duffy of Stream Realty Partners (Stream), a full-service real estate platform representing clients in connection with the investment, acquisition, development and management of real estate across asset classes throughout the United States.

On the podcast, Patrick and Brian explain how Stream’s core values inform their approach to pursuing new business relationships while cultivating the Stream team here in Chicago and throughout Stream’s geographical footprint. Patrick and Brian discuss the current challenges and opportunities for investors, owners and tenants when evaluating Chicago’s real estate market. They also share stories of Stream’s recent wins in the Chicago market and how asset management changes necessitated by COVID-19 presented new opportunities for innovations to a team that embraces innovation as part of its ethos. As an example, Stream describes the recent “Rapid Office” concept and how this new innovation is attracting tenants even in an office market environment with substantial vacancies. Patrick and Brian provide their expectations for Chicago real estate’s post-pandemic future and what that means for Stream’s clients and the market generally.

Patrick Russo is an Executive Managing Director at Stream, where he leads the strategic direction and operations of the Chicago office. Patrick’s primary responsibilities include expanding Stream’s acquisition, development, leasing, and property management platforms and building Stream’s presence in the greater Chicago market. Prior to joining Stream, Patrick was with Lincoln Property Company for more than seven years where he most recently served as Vice President of Acquisitions and Asset Management. While at Lincoln, he assisted in acquisition activities on assets with an aggregate value of more than $700 million on behalf of joint venture and separate account clients. In addition, he was responsible for an asset management portfolio of more than 2.3 million square feet of commercial assets that was valued at more than $500 million.

Brian Duffy is a Senior Vice President of the firm’s tenant representation team in Chicago. He is responsible for growing all facets of the tenant representation business including serving existing and expanding new client relationships while recruiting and retaining top-tier talent. In addition to driving the tenant representation business in Chicago, Brian is responsible for identifying and executing acquisition and development opportunities. Prior to joining Stream, Brian spent seven years at Cushman & Wakefield where he was most recently a Director on the tenant representation team. In that role, Brian participated in more than 125 transactions valued at close to $600 million. His experience spans all industries including professional services, technology, legal, manufacturing and finance.

For more information, please visit https://streamrealty.com/locations/chicago/.

Investing in Hospitality with Highline Hospitality Partners

In this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover, joined by co-host Jay Augustyn, chats with Todd Roffman and Jordan Scheiman of Highline Hospitality Partners (HHP), a family office platform focusing on investments in hospitality assets throughout the United States.

On the podcast, Todd and Jordan discuss their backgrounds in hospitality investment and asset management and what excites them about the potential of the HHP platform. Todd and Jordan highlight the advantages of operating as part of a family office platform—greater flexibility in identification of investment opportunities throughout the capital stack, return thresholds and asset hold timeframes. They then share lessons learned in hospitality asset management throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and outline innovations that will endure beyond the end of the pandemic. Todd and Jordan provide their insights into the current state of the hospitality market and opportunities for debt and equity investment in hotel assets in the post-pandemic world.

Todd Roffman is a partner at HHP, responsible for identifying and evaluating new investments in the hospitality sector and asset management of HHP’s existing hospitality portfolio. Prior to joining Highline, Todd was a Director at Garrison Investment Group, a New York based private equity fund, where he was responsible for executing on new hotel acquisitions as well as all aspects of asset management of Garrison’s hospitality portfolio (peak exposure of 55 hotels and nearly 10,000 keys). In his time at Garrison from 2013 through 2019, Todd lead or assisted in the acquisition of 44 hotels totaling more than 7,000 keys with a combined value in excess of $830MM. Todd received a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University.

Jordan Scheiman is a managing director at HHP, responsible for sourcing, evaluating and capitalizing new debt investments in the hospitality sector. Prior to joining Highline, Jordan was a Vice President in the Investment Group of Rockbridge Capital, a private equity fund manager focused exclusively on investments in the hospitality space. Before Rockbridge, Jordan was a Director of Garrison Investment Group where he was responsible for managing all real estate financings across multiple active closed-end private equity funds and separately managed accounts for the firm’s approximately $2 billion in commercial real estate assets under management. Jordan holds a B.A. in Economics and Spanish (Phi Beta Kappa) from Vanderbilt University.

For more information, please visit https://highlinehp.com/

Building-For-Rent in Chicago with Steel City Management

On this episode of Real Estate for Breakfast, host Phil Coover and his co-host Jay Augustyn chat with Brett Holmes and Andrew Dealy, co-founders and managing partners of Steel City Management (SCM), a Chicago-based boutique investment company that develops and manages real estate projects for high net worth individuals and institutional investors. Founded in 2015, SCM identifies innovate investment opportunities that generate sustainable, risk-adjusted return for its investors.

On the podcast, Brett and Andrew discuss their backgrounds and initial forays into real estate investment, sharing lessons learned from hands-on ownership and management of multi-family assets in Chicago.  Brett and Andrew then describe the evolution of SCM’s capital deployment strategy, focusing on investments in single-family residential rental community development. The single-family residential rental product is increasingly popular with individuals and families across generations who increasingly value flexibility but demand high-quality living spaces and amenities typically associated with home ownership. Brett and Andrew describe in detail the successes earned and challenges overcome with their most recent single-family residential rental investments in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN and Nashville, TN. They also share their outlook for the future of single-family residential rental development and those markets that are ripe for that product.

Brett Holmes has more than 13 years of real estate investment experience. His investment experience includes luxury rehab, value-add multifamily, ground-up single family rental and multifamily development. Brett’s skills include real estate financial modeling, deal structuring, equity syndications, investor relations and capital raising. Brett also has a decade of interest rate futures trading experience at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Board of Trade, where he specialized in financial modeling, trade execution, and portfolio risk management.

Brett volunteers as a Board Member of Autism Speaks to Young Professionals in Chicago. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University where he played varsity soccer.  He also completed the Commercial Real Estate Investment Course at MIT’s School of Architecture & Planning.

Andrew Dealy has more than 12 years of real estate investment experience. This experience includes value-add multifamily contracting, single family rental development, deal initiation, property management, investor relations and capital raising. Andrew has nine years of securities trading experience on trading desks and in the open outcry markets at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), specializing in trade execution, deal flow, and portfolio risk management.

Andrew holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University where he played varsity soccer.

Learn more about Steel City Management: www.steelcitymgmt.com/.

The Hospitality Industry and COVID-19 with Scarlett Hotel Group

In this episode, host Phil Coover and Jay Augustyn of Ice Miller LLP are joined by Zio Pekovic and Rob Sadoff of Scarlett Hotel Group, a hotel owner and operator based in Chicago, to discuss the hospitality industry and its challenges in the face of COVID-19. Despite these challenges, Scarlett Hotel Group maintains a growth mindset, exploring distressed investments and creditor advisory opportunities. Scarlett Hotel Group proactively and transparently implemented procedural and practical changes in hotel operations and infrastructure to safeguard guest and employee health and safety in response to COVID-19.

Mr. Zio Pekovic is a co-founder and principal of Scarlett Hotel Group. During his career, Mr. Pekovic has cultivated strong relationships with owners, brokers and financial institutions throughout the country and internationally, allowing him to identify both on- and off-market opportunities for investors. His focus includes identifying and analyzing potential hotel investments and structuring joint-venture partnerships with private equity funds, endowment funds, family offices and private investors. Mr. Pekovic is also involved in asset management and investor relations and is responsible for third-party management and receivership opportunities.

Mr. Rob Sadoff is a co-founder and principal of Scarlett Hotel Group where his focus is in the investment and development of hotel real estate assets. Since the formation of his new company in 2017, Mr. Sadoff has managed the execution of each transaction for the company’s portfolio of owned hotels. His expertise in deal structuring, franchising, financing and legal oversight provides the team with the confidence to execute and close on each transaction. Additionally, Rob’s strong business reputation of high ethics has been the catalyst for the addition of new capital and joint venture partners.

Jay Augustyn is a Partner in Ice Miller’s Real Estate Practice. He represents clients in all manners of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing and joint ventures. Jay also advises investors, developers and entrepreneurs in fund formation and investment matters with respect to the federal Opportunity Zone program and other federal, state and local programs to improve efficiency of project financing.

For more information, visit https://scarletthotelgroup.com/.

Raising Equity in a COVID-19 World with Jay Soave and Matthew Burskey of Cadence Capital Partners LLC

In this episode, host Phil Coover is joined by Jay Soave and Matthew Burskey of Cadence Capital Partners LLC and Jay Augustyn of Ice Miller LLP. The Cadence team shares its approach to raising equity and placing debt for sponsors and developers to facilitate their real estate projects. Cadence employs a proprietary data-driven scoring system that evaluates and weighs deal vitals, demographics, trends and risk probability for its sponsor clients and capital sources. The discussion includes an insider’s look at how COVID-19 has impacted the retail and hospitality sectors and investments in Opportunity Zones.

Jay Soave, Cadence Managing Principal

Jay Soave in a Managing Principal at Cadence and leads the Chicago office with responsibility for sourcing debt and equity for all asset classes nationwide, focusing on the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. Jay has structured, negotiated and closed sophisticated transactions for 16 years, representing over $15 billion in gross value. Before joining Cadence, Jay worked in Tishman Speyer for nine years as a Managing Director in the Transactional Tax Group based in New York. Before Tishman Speyer, Jay worked as an attorney in the Chicago offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Kirkland & Ellis, and Baker & McKenzie where he represented clients in mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, restructurings, and fund formation.

Matthew Burskey, Cadence Partner

Matthew Burskey is a Partner at Cadence and is responsible for the firm’s directional strategy and sourcing equity for all asset classes nationwide. Matt has established himself as an expert in the art of opportunity zone capital raises, yet his experiences spans all aspects of the capital raise spectrum.

Jay Augustyn is a Partner in Ice Miller’s Real Estate Practice. He represents clients in all manners of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financing, leasing and joint ventures. Jay also advises investors, developers and entrepreneurs in fund formation and investment matters with respect to the federal Opportunity Zone program and other federal, state and local programs to improve efficiency of project financing.

For more information, visit the Cadence Capital Partners website: https://cadencerec.com/.