Episode 27 - G. Michael Verden - Security, Protection, and Active Shooters

In this day and age of security breaches and active shooters, Phil brings on G. Michael Verden, the CEO of the Lake Forest Group, a private security consulting firm, to discuss crafting a security plan for your company.  With an extensive career as a police officer, 21 years as a Secret Service agent guarding the First Lady and President, Director of Security for the NBA, and security consultant, Mike Verden understands how to apply security best practices to your unique setting to safeguard people, property, and assets.  Before Mike comes on, our managing principal, Andy Annes, sets the stage by discussing how landlords and businesses should approach having a security plan for their employees and business.  Then, our feature guest Mike discusses the specifics of security, the different types of security threats, and different policies that can help keep companies and people safe in the event of an emergency.  Later in the episode (34:00), Mike shares real life stories of security situations he has encountered during his extensive career.

You can learn more about the Lake Forest Group here:   http://lakeforestgroup.com/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 26 - Mike Piper - Student Housing and Tax Incentives

Joining Phil on this episode is Mike Piper, the CEO of ICS Tax, LLC, to explain P3s, or Public-Private Partnerships, and tax strategies such as cost segregation. Mike brings a wealth of expertise to provide beneficial tax strategies to both public and private entities that have made investment in student housing facilities beneficial. By using the example of public universities, Mike shows how pairing together a tax paying private entity with a tax free public entity can create a win-win for developer and university.  Mike then delves a little into his business and the software they have developed to help companies large and small identify beneficial tax strategies.

You can learn more about ICS Tax, LLC here:  http://ics-tax.com/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 25 - Bob Cavoto - Successful Interviewing Strategies

He’s back!  Bob Cavoto joins the podcast again to talk to Phil about successful interviewing and making an effective sales pitch, taking your career to the next level, and the state of the real estate jobs market.  With over 20 years of experience matching executives with careers as CEO of 20/20 Foresight Executive Search, Bob is able to give unique and personal advice.  First, Bob takes Phil though his 3 basic principles of interviewing, exploring the ideas of likability, credibility, and competence.  Bob and Phil discuss body language and using voice modulation for effective communication.  From there, Bob delves into his thoughts about what can help make a successful career and the different management techniques he comes across.  Finally, a look at the current real estate jobs market, and the possibility of a cooling down period.

You can find out more about 20/20 Foresight here.   http://www.2020-4.com/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 24 - Bill Barry - Financing Commercial Real Estate

Bill Barry (a/k/a “BB”) is a Senior Vice President and the current head of the Commercial Finance Group at Draper and Kramer. A 30 year finance veteran, BB has closed $25 billion in real estate during his storied career, and believes deals are like snowflakes—no two deals are the same.   Bill sits down with Phillip to explain how commercial lending works and the different lenders available to borrowers.  From there, Bill describes current types of attractive asset classes and the weak asset classes in the market.   The interview has complex financial and legal terminology, explores various strategies for financing deals, and discusses trends in the marketplace while Bill personalizes the discussion with war stories on various deals.    

What are the current prime asset classes?   Listen and find out.

You can learn more about Draper and Kramer and Bill Barry here:  http://www.draperandkramer.com/meet-our-team/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 23 - David Moore and The Willis Tower Redevelopment

David Moore, as Senior Vice President and Portfolio Director of Equity Office’s Chicago portfolio, comes on the podcast to discuss the company’s $500 million investment/redevelopment of famed The Willis Tower.  As the second tallest building in the country, The Willis Tower is most recognizable building in Chicago and one of the most recognizable in the world. This episode is a fascinating consideration of the massive scale of a $500 Million redevelopment and investment into Chicago’s most quintessential and historic building. 

David discusses the “why” of redevelopment and the movement to amenitization of office buildings in Chicago. The company’s objective is to look at how to enhance the daily lives of the people in the building and create a better experience for those people. Equity Office is creating an amenity destination for its 15,000 daily inhabitants and visitors. The Willis Tower is delivering multiple floors of tenant only amenities, including a “Tower House” which is a West loop style creative space, and an “Altitude Lounge” grab and go location built in a high rise Gold Coast style, as well as a floor of tenant only fitness space with cardio, workout classes, spin, yoga, and much more.  In addition, the base of the structure is being torn down and built out and expanded, to include 300,000 square feet of commercial space with a Wintergarden style space full of various food and drink offerings. This episode is a great explanation of why these massive investments in existing office product are taking place in Chicago and around the world.

Find out more about the Willis Tower here:  http://www.willistower.com/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 22 - Doug Childers

Doug Childers (HFF) on housing tax credits.  What happens when the government utilizes market forces to reinvigorate its public housing programs? For decades, publicly subsidized affordable housing was an underutilized aspect of commercial real estate. This all changed in 1986 with the introduction of the Section 42 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program that incentivized private developers and investors to work together to modernize the US’s public housing infrastructure. To give you an idea of the scale of this program, our guest advises that over 50% of the rental units in America today have component of section 42 tax incentives.

Doug Childers, Managing Director at HFF’s Atlanta office (formerly, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler), sits down with Phil and Raul to discuss LIHTC and other tax incentive programs. In his 10 plus years in the industry, Doug has been in involved in the disposition of over 1 billion dollars in affordable housing assets throughout the country including Parkway Gardens on Chicago’s south side. Doug takes Phil and Raul through the hurdles of affordable housing transactions and how LIHTC has incentivized companies, like Google, to get involved in the affordable housing tax credit market. Doug discusses how he built his book of business as a broker and finds leads. Doug also shares his experience working in the Atlanta Braves clubhouse during their dynasty years and the genius of Bobby Cox.

Learn more about Doug’s work in affordable house here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-childers-1510117/

http://www.multifamilybiz.com/PR/778/HFF_Closes_694Unit_Affordable_Housing_Sale

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 20 - Donna Salvatore

Data analytics are everywhere. The commercial real estate industry is ultra-competitive and companies are looking for any sort of edge.  Phil sits down with Donna Salvatore, the CEA and founder of Megalytics, a Chicago based tech company providing data analytic services to the commercial real estate industry.  Phil and Donna discuss the value of utilizing big data, the trend of data being applied to various industries, and specific applications to the commercial real estate industry. Megalytics has proprietary software which assimilates data from over 100 sources and scores prospective commercial tenants to help property owners determine the tenant’s ability to meet financial obligations.   

Megalytics is an impressive Chicago based start-up that enables timely, effective investment and management decisions through an automated platform that integrates large and disparate data sources and proprietary algorithms and scoring models to help standardize due diligence and risk assessment processes.   The founder, Donna Salvatore, has a 37-year track record for successful launching and growing new businesses in data analytics and technology, with 22 years as CEO of a number of different SaaS/IT companies. Before founding Megalytics, she was Group CEO of Techniche (Australia) managing a global portfolio of IT Companies located in the UK, Germany and Australia as well as doing M&A work. Prior to that she was the CEO of an early stage health care company in healthcare population management and medical homes. Prior to that she was CEO of an artificial intelligence/knowledge management company with a focus on CRM.

Learn more about Megalytics here:  http://megalytics.net/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Follow-Up Call with Colin Laitner

Phil’s friend Colin Laitner (Deeter Investments / Metis Capital) comes back on the podcast as a follow up to Episode 4 to let us all know the resolution of his company’s real estate lawsuit between the Nook and the Westin regarding the Westin’s claim that the Nook’s awesome sound was infringing on its use and enjoyment of its property.  It is an interesting discussion of litigation strategy, finding common ground in a multi-dimensional negotiation, and realizing value in the midst of a contentious real estate litigation.   This episode is an experiment on using an Uber conference call to connect people across the country, and as such, please excuse the audio quality.

Check out the subject of this podcast, The Nook, here.  http://www.nookamphitheater.com/

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 14 - Jon Winick

Distressed Debt.  Debt buying is a multi-billion dollar industry that operates largely under the radar.  Phil has Jon Winick of Clark Street Capital come on to discuss the business side of debt purchases and sales, the industry, and how it all works.  As it turns out, all banks sell loans.  There are professional loan buying companies, private equity groups, and individual investors, out there that purchase loans to restructure (i.e. workout) loans and enforce delinquent debt.  Jon talks about the process and costs of loan management, the reasons for selling loans, the purchasers in the market, and the opportunities available for loan purchasers.  Jon also gets into the 2008 downturn, the consequences on the banking industry, and how that changed the loan sale industry. Clark Street Capital puts debt sellers and buyers together and creates a market for these transactions.  Their primary business is value management and sale of complex loan portfolios by selling loans and valuing loans.

Learn More about Clark Street Capital here.

Link to FTC report (The Structures and Practices of Distressed Debt Buying Industry) mentioned on podcast can be found here. 

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Episode 13 - Sam Rosen

In order to learn more about the coworking phenomenon, Phil has Sam Rosen, co-founder of Deskpass, on the podcast.  Sam, a design and technology professional by trade, is a long time pioneer in the coworking space industry (former founder of the “Coop” in River North), and Deskpass allows users to dip their toes in the coworking atmosphere.   Sam discusses trends with the millennial workforce, the shift to the freelance workforce, and how companies are using creative strategies to attract top tier talent in urban areas.

Learn more about Deskpass:  www.deskpass.com.   At the 21:00-23:00 minute mark, Sam offers our listeners 50% of their initial month.  Call and mention that you heard about the deal on our podcast.

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests, SATC Solution Center L3C, or Schenk Annes Tepper Campbell Ltd. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.