Best Minds: Steve Nygren

September 30, 2025

By Gregg Logan, Managing Director, RCLCO

How can we build more connected, sustainable, and joyful communities?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, Managing Director Gregg Logan sits down with Steve Nygren, the visionary developer behind Serenbe, a pioneering biophilic community just outside Atlanta, that’s become a national model for sustainable, wellness-centered living.

Steve’s upcoming book, Start in Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where We Live with Radical Common Sense (out Oct 7), is both memoir and manual — a call to action for anyone looking to make meaningful change in their community.

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“There’s an idea, you know, a preconception that people do not want live next to each other anymore. Well, maybe it isn’t for everyone, but my goodness, we have shown that there is a huge part of the market that’s not being addressed. We’re having people here from all over the country because they are craving places that actually are walkable and connect to nature at the same time. ”

– Steve on the desire for closer knit and nature-centered communities

Steve shares the extraordinary story of how a simple weekend drive turned into a movement to reimagine how we live, one rooted in connection to nature, community, and human well-being. From his early days revolutionizing Atlanta’s dining scene to orchestrating the zoning and planning that made Serenbe possible, Steve unpacks what it really takes to challenge the status quo and build new home communities that enhance people’s lives while practicing environmental sustainability.

In this conversation we cover the following topics:

• The origins of Serenbe and its biophilic design principles
• How thoughtful land use planning can create long term value while combating sprawl
• Why many of society’s biggest health and social issues trace back to how (and where) we live
• What developers, planners, and everyday citizens can do to create better places — starting in their own backyard

“I many times say our our zoning has been so sanitized over these last decades that it’s taken the vitality out of where we live…[At Serenbe] we have the  single family house across from attached houses (townhouses) and then catty corner from that are our live-works….And then next to that on the on the forth quadrant of the intersection is a purely commercial building, our restaurant, the Glide Daisy. This was a very common mix of uses pre 1930, yet it’s very difficult to find any zoning laws that allow that kind of interaction.”

– Steve on the importance of mixed-use zoning

Photos of Serenbe

Photo credit: Gregg Logan

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About Steve Nygren

Founder and CEO, Serenbe

Steve Nygren is the Founder and CEO of Serenbe, a wellness community created as a model to demonstrate that preserving green space interlaced with agriculture, housing and retail is not only economically viable, but the future of community wellbeing. He is also a Partner at Nygren Placemaking consulting and a serial hospitality entrepreneur. Steve led the effort to create the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance bringing together landowners, developers, and conservationists for a mutually agreed upon solution for balanced growth across 40,000 acres. This effort resulted in a historic Georgia land use plan adopted to preserve 70% of the acreage on the edge of Atlanta while providing 20% more housing than traditional yield of suburban sprawl. His work has earned him the 2025 MLK Jr. Beloved Community Environmental Justice Award for his commitment to sustainability, equity, and environmental stewardship, reflecting Dr. King’s vision, in addition to the Global Wellness Institute’s Leader in Innovation Award and Southface’s Argon Award as well as recognition from the Urban Land Institute and the Atlanta Regional Commission. He was also named Georgia Trend’s Most Respected Business Leader for 2019. Steve currently serves on multiple local and national boards dealing with children, agriculture and environmental issues including The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Children & Nature Network, Chattahoochee Now and The Biophilic Institute. Steve releases his first book, Start in Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where We Live with Radical Common Sense, describing his journey in creating Serenbe and the steps readers can take to take action in their own communities in the fall of 2025.

About Gregg Logan

Managing Director, RCLCO

Gregg Logan is a Managing Director at RCLCO, with over 40 years of experience in the industry. His expertise spans residential and commercial real estate, with particular expertise on mixed-use developments and master planned communities that incorporate residential, retail, office, industrial and distribution space.

Gregg acts as a Project Director overseeing and providing expert input to RCLCO real estate consulting assignments, both domestically and internationally. He has managed RCLCO consulting assignments across the United States and internationally, particularly in South and Central American and the Caribbean.

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September 23, 2025

By Taylor Mammen, CEO, RCLCO Fund Advisors

What are the biggest mistakes in real estate investing, and how can they be avoided?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, Taylor Mammen, CEO of RCLCO Fund Advisors, sits down with Randall Zisler, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Zisler Capital Associates, LLC, a research, investment banking and expert witness firm that serves global institutional investors and managers, about his new book Commercial Real Estate Investing: An Evidence-Based Approach to Risk Management, Strategic Valuation, and Enhanced Returns.

“The book is about, well, let me put it this way: it’s not an attack. I think attack is the wrong word. I would call it a full frontal critique of an industry that has been slow to join the capital markets, and what I focus on [in particular] is the conspicuous inattention to risk.”

– Randall on what to expect from the book, and why he wrote it

Randall discusses his career path through real estate and academia, detailing experiences that inspired him to write the book, including the biggest myths and mistakes he has observed over his career, what can be done to avoid them, and what can happen if they are left unchecked.

“Real estate is not hermetically sealed from the political and social context in which it I immersed. And, you know, I often say that anything that occurs over the ground, on the ground, or under the ground, has a spatial dimension — and that’s real estate.”

– Randall on real estate’s place in, and impact on, society and our political climate

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About Randall Zisler

Co-Founder of Zisler Capital Associates, LLC

Randall Zisler, Ph.D., is Co-Founder of Zisler Capital Associates, LLC, a research, investment banking and expert witness firm that serves global institutional investors and managers.

He was a Princeton University professor who taught economics, finance and planning; real estate research director at Goldman Sachs and Nomura Securities; co-head of investment banking at Jones Lang LaSalle; a partner at Pension Consulting Alliance; and CIO to Merv Griffin.

Randy has consummated over $6 billion of transactions, written hundreds of papers and advised numerous pension funds, money managers and developers.

He holds an undergraduate degree, two master degrees and a Ph.D. from Princeton University; he also holds a master degree in civil engineering and risk simulation.

About Taylor Mammen

CEO, RCLCO Fund Advisors (RFA)

Taylor Mammen is Chief Executive Officer of RCLCO Fund Advisors (RFA), which advises institutional investors on all aspects of their complex real estate investment portfolios, from strategy development to underwriting and asset management. Taylor helped pioneer this business beginning in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, when several prominent pension funds turned to RFA with the goal to construct better performing and more resilient real estate portfolios, and has grown it to become a highly respected institutional real estate advisor, working with some of the largest and most dynamic institutional investors in the world. In the process, Taylor and RFA have sourced, underwritten, and overseen investments on behalf of clients well in excess of $10 billion. Taylor leads the firm’s institutional investor client relationships and is responsible for the firm’s growth and development, in addition to serving on the boards of clients’ portfolio companies.

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April 24, 2025

By Joshua Boren, Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, RCLCO

From player to coach—writing the playbook for successful sports district development

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO’s Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, Joshua Boren, speaks with Eric Nordness, Managing Principal of Marquee Development. In this role, Eric has led the Rickett family’s real estate development and investment arm in its work for over a decade— including the development of Gallagher Way, a mixed-use entertainment district situated in the heart of Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood.

“[There is a] need for us to expand our business beyond just traditional game day–we need to use these venues more than the 81 home games we have or the 10 concerts in addition to that […] and we talked about how you engage your fans earlier, and further out from your stadium. So, can we get our fans here earlier? Can we engage with them in a different way? Can we connect to our community? These assets are embedded in neighborhoods and they can be a big, loud, noisy object at times–so how do we make this about bringing our neighbors over and creating community spaces?”
– Eric on the importance of a 365-day activated sports district

Eric shares his career journey that brought him to Marquee, how his team is bringing the “Wrigley Field experience” to other sports districts around the country, and how sponsorships are challenging the old adage ‘you can’t create more real estate’.

“One executive looked at me and had a really important point for me. They said, “just remember: this is our Wrigley field.” So, as important as anything might be, we need to get this right.”
– Eric on his experience working with clients

About Eric Nordness

Managing Principal of Marquee Development

As Managing Principal of Marquee Development, Eric has led the Ricketts family real estate development and investment business for the past nine years. With 20+ years of real estate experience, Eric excels in master planning, real estate placemaking, and hospitality development. He creatively integrates neighborhoods with hospitality assets, prioritizing inclusive processes, design, and operations. He received his undergraduate degree from University of Iowa and his graduate degree from University of Chicago.

About Joshua Boren

Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Joshua Boren is the Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives for RCLCO and works across the firm’s three lines of business to drive major efforts and undertakings both externally and internally. Specifically, Joshua specializes in leading business development, client management, marketing, and customer solutions as part of the RCLCO team. With nearly 20 years of experience, Joshua brings a particular expertise in understanding how network building and relationship management is critical to organizational success, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue generation and successful RCLCO engagements across a range of client types include institutional investors, developers, owners, operators, and the like.

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February 27, 2025

By Joshua Boren, Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, RCLCO

How does a career in consulting inform a commitment to philanthropy?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO’s Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, Joshua Boren, speaks with Bob Gardner, Managing Director Emeritus, about his over forty year-long career working in the urban environment, with roles spanning the private and public sectors. They discuss Bob’s journey through real estate, from working as an economist, to founding his own firm, to joining RCLCO.

“In order for us to be good consultants, we needed to be good people. You just can’t fool these top developers, entrepreneurs, investors —you need to be straight up, and they need to have confidence in who you are, and the firm that you represent, and equally as important, the work product that comes out….Those are the qualities I take with me into the public work that I do.”

– Bob on what lessons he has carried from consulting to his charitable work

The discussion also dives into Bob’s philanthropic work, including his long history with Community Corp. of Santa Monica —who were recently awarded the 2025 RCLCO Foundation Affordable Housing Leadership Award—in addition to his volunteer work with Chrysalis, and contributions to ULI’s TAP program.

“Community Corp is working to provide housing where the private sector does not, and that has proven to be a good fit for me, and has allowed me, at this point in my career, to make a difference and touch so many lives with the work that Community Corp does. At the moment, Community Corp operates over 2,000 apartments —most of them are in Santa Monica, although our new projects are in Los Angeles. Our occupancy rate is over 98%, and it’s been a wonderful experience.”

– Bob on the work of Community Corp. of Santa Monica

“It has been one of the best experiences of my life to be able to be associated with that organization. To see somebody who had no self-image understand that they may have value, that they may have worth—and gain more enthusiasm about who they are and what they can do.”

– Bob’s experience with Chrysalis, a non-profit dedicated to changing lives through jobs.

About Bob Gardner

Managing Director Emeritus 

Bob has served as a Community Corporation Board member since 2005 and currently serves on its Executive Committee as Treasurer. He is a long-time Santa Monica resident and is passionate about helping address Los Angeles’ housing challenges. Bob also engages in community service as a current member of ULI/Los Angeles’ Technical Assistance Panel Committee, having chaired that committee in the past. In addition, he is a long-standing volunteer at Chrysalis in Los Angeles, a non-profit organization providing job readiness programs to individuals seeking to reconnect to the workforce and get on a path to self-sufficiency.

As Managing Director Emeritus in RCLCO’s Los Angeles office, Bob has over 40 years of professional experience providing market and financial feasibility evaluations, and fiscal and economic assessments of commercial and residential real estate projects for both private and public sector clients. RCLCO is proud to also honor Bob’s contributions to Community Corp., and his contribution to RCLCO over more than four decades.

About Joshua Boren

Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Joshua Boren is the Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives for RCLCO and works across the firm’s three lines of business to drive major efforts and undertakings both externally and internally. Specifically, Joshua specializes in leading business development, client management, marketing, and customer solutions as part of the RCLCO team. With nearly 20 years of experience, Joshua brings a particular expertise in understanding how network building and relationship management is critical to organizational success, resulting in millions of dollars of revenue generation and successful RCLCO engagements across a range of client types include institutional investors, developers, owners, operators, and the like.

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October 31, 2024

By Gregg Logan, Managing Director, RCLCO

How Can Cities Avoid the Urban Doom Loop?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO Managing Director, Gregg Logan, sits down with Christopher B. Leinberger — co-founder of Places Platform LLC and RCLCO Alumnus — to discuss Reimagining Cities: Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop, a recently released report from Cushman and Wakefield, in collaboration with Places Platform. The report puts 15 U.S. cities under the microscope to identify the real estate portfolios cities currently have versus what they need, given how much the economy has changed post-pandemic.

“We’re not saying to get out of the office business; we’re just saying build up the residential…people living within 2 miles of work are far more likely to come back to work–the worst thing people have in their life is a commute, that has always been viewed as the worst aspect of modern life. Getting the workers to live closer to their work is going to shore up office occupancy as well. There are all sorts of benefits to balancing the portfolio, but it is a balancing act. It’s not going all the way towards residential.”

– Chris on the continuing role of office in a healthy urban real estate portfolio.

One of the key findings of the study is that the real estate mix in many cities is no longer ideal for them to thrive: specifically, the study finds downtown real estate portfolios are too heavily weighted toward office space which is especially problematic in today’s economy. Chris and Gregg discuss the ramifications of this finding, and the report’s proposed strategies for cities to get back on track.

“We have found that it’s not a public private partnership that’s needed; it’s a private public partnership. All the research we’ve done has shown that every dollar of public money yields ten to 15 dollars of private money… I’m a great believer in both definitions of the Golden Rule, and the second definition is ‘he with the gold rules.’ So, if the private sector is going to bring in $15 for every one dollar of public… you better have the private sector take the lead.”

– Chris on the importance of the private sector when revitalizing downtowns

About Chris Leinberger

Co-Founding Partner and Managing Director Places Platform, LLC; Founding Partner of Arcadia Land Company.

Chris Leinberger is a land use strategist, proptech start-up co-founder, real estate developer, professor, researcher and author. He balances business realities with social and environmental issues. Leinberger was voted one of the “The 100 Most Influential Urbanists” of all time in a poll conducted by Planetizen in 2017.

Mr. Leinberger received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College, where he double majored in Political Science and Urban Sociology, and received an MBA from the Harvard Business School, concentrating in corporate strategic planning.

 

About Gregg Logan

Managing Director, RCLCO

Gregg Logan is a Managing Director at RCLCO, with over 40 years of experience in the industry. His expertise spans residential and commercial real estate, with particular expertise on mixed-use developments and master planned communities that incorporate residential, retail, office, industrial and distribution space.

In addition to his work with RCLCO, Gregg previously worked with a real estate developer as well as served as an adjunct faculty member at several colleges and universities, where he taught courses in Real Estate Development Methods and Real Estate Economics. Gregg’s expertise has been recognized in numerous publications where he has been quoted, and he has been a speaker at many national and regional conferences. Gregg is a graduate of UCLA.

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September 19, 2024

By Joshua A. Boren, Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

How can one achieve success while maintaining a focus on community?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO’s Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, Joshua Boren, sits down with Arturo Sneider, Co-Founder & CEO of Primestor, a minority-owned and led real estate developer and investment firm based in Culver City, CA, to discuss Arturo’s unique path to prominence in the real estate industry, from his childhood in Mexico City, and his early activism work in LA, to the founding of Primestor in 1992.

“It is central to our strategy and to my life’s work that we define profit broadly. To us, the definition of profit is community empowerment. It’s economic vitality to neighborhoods and residents. It’s laying a path for the young generations, and the next generations, to see that you can, in fact, invest in your own community and be an agent of change. And in these polarizing times, I think we’re reminded that if we’re not intentional in raising the tide for all boats, that things don’t normally end well, and it’s just not the right way to think about our society.”

– Arturo on the importance of community in his business

They discuss how Arturo’s background has shaped his career and his work today; how Primestor has grown and evolved over the last three decades; and his best advice for those coming up in the industry now.

“One thing that that I have never known is boredom. I don’t know what that feels like: I would never be able to say that I have a moment of boredom in my life.”

– Arturo on his day-to-day life

About Arturo Sneider

Co-Founder & CEO of Primestor

Arturo Sneider is the founding partner and CEO of Primestor Development, where he is responsible for acquisitions, project inception and design, capital structuring, and corporate management. With a strong focus on underserved communities, Primestor’s diverse portfolio has maintained an approximate ninety-five percent occupancy rate across its dozens of projects. Primestor is currently developing approximately two million square feet of new space, managing nearly 3 million square feet in diverse minority markets, and overseeing a portfolio valued at approximately over $800 million dollars. Since 1990, Mr. Sneider has acquired and transacted dozens of properties and projects in CA, IL, NV, FL, TX and AZ totaling an aggregate cost basis of over one billion dollars. He is a member of YPO, a Board Member/Director of the LA County Capital Asset Leasing Corporation, and a member of the Executive Committee/Trustee of ICSC. Additionally, he has advised the City of LA’s Economic Development Department and served on the City of Los Angeles’ Development Industry Advisory Council. Born in Mexico City, Mr. Sneider resides in Los Angeles.

About Joshua Boren

RCLCO Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Joshua A. Boren specializes in leading business development, marketing, and strategic initiatives for various real estate needs and solutions as part of the RCLCO team. With more than 15 years of experience, Joshua specializes in understanding how network building and relationship management is critical to organizational success, which has resulted in millions of dollars of closed engagements. At RCLCO, he has grown the business development and marketing departments, which were recognized by Globe St. in 2019 as “Influencers in Marketing”. Incredibly involved in the global real estate community, Joshua holds membership and leadership positions at Urban Land Institute Los Angeles and Jewish Federation Los Angeles’ Real Estate and Construction Division, among others. Joshua also hosts RCLCO’s monthly Round-Up Webinar Series, which dives into factors in the real estate market, in addition to other RCLCO events and features.

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March 19, 2024

By Taylor Mammen, CEO, RCLCO Fund Advisors

Partners with a Problem to Solve: What happens when two long-time friends and colleagues with 20 years of industry experience find a void in the marketplace?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, Taylor Mammen, CEO of RCLCO Fund Advisors, sits down with Heather Fernstrom Border and Jennifer Stevens, Co-Founders and Managing Partners at Alliance Global Advisors – a women-owned consulting firm focused on developing strategic growth solutions for real asset investment managers. Heather and Jennifer began Alliance in 2020, seeking to be an independent voice for the investment management community.

“What we were witnessing was that the investors and the consultants and the advisors had a very deep perspective, understanding, and amount of resources available to them at all times. But, when those managers needed to solicit advice, there wasn’t a true independent third party team that they could go to for those types of questions.”
– Heather Fernstrom Border on the birth of Alliance Global Advisors

Heather and Jennifer also discuss how their 20 years of industry experience laid the foundation for this new venture, the challenges of launching a new business in April 2020, the power of their partnership in this entrepreneurial venture, and the mentors that have inspired them throughout their careers.

“For me, those were the people who would sit me in front of a boardroom and sit at the back of the boardroom and let me fail or let me just get grilled by a CIO or a board member on public record and then say ‘I have a lot of confidence in how you just handled that situation, here’s what I might have done differently.’”
– Jennifer Stevens on the importance of mentors in her career

About Heather Fernstrom Border

Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alliance Global Advisors

Heather Fernstrom Border is a versatile, performance-driven, real asset professional building deep Limited Partner and Consultant networks over nearly two decades.

Prior to forming Alliance, Heather was Managing Director for National Real Estate Advisors and held positions with Hunt Investment Management and The Townsend Group. At those firms, she was responsible for assisting institutional clients in developing investment objectives, strategic planning, underwriting investments and capital raising. Heather’s professional experience also includes seventeen years within the private and public real estate sector, where she developed, implemented and led Investor Relations platforms.

Throughout her career, she held memberships at the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP), Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and Institutional Real Estate, Inc. (IREI) among others.   Heather continues to speak and moderate various panels on industry-wide topics and was recently asked to participate on PREA’s Governance Committee.  In 2022, Heather received the GlobeSt. Women of Influence award and the GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum’s 50 under 40 award.

About Jennifer Stevens

Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alliance Global Advisors

Jennifer Stevens is an executive-level professional with real asset expertise and extensive knowledge of the General Partner & Limited Partner Universe.

Prior to forming Alliance Global Advisors, Jennifer spent sixteen years with The Townsend Group where she gained experience in institutional portfolio management and consulting, strategic and investment planning, real asset investment underwriting and a specialization in areas including ESG and industry best practice.  Jen was the lead Portfolio Manager for Townsend’s West Coast client base and ran Townsend’s San Francisco office, including certain growth initiatives. She has experience in both portfolio management and underwriting and was responsible for developing and leading Townsend’s ESG efforts.

Jennifer has served as a representative member of the UN PRI, GRESB, PREA, PREA Foundation Diversity Working Group, IREI, WIIN and NCREIF in addition to speaking at numerous educational and industry events. In 2016, Jennifer Stevens received the inaugural GRESB Leadership Award from the U.S. Green Building Council to recognize her efforts in establishing and growing Townsend’s ESG Program.  In 2019, Ms. Stevens was included on Chief Investment Officer’s annual list of the world’s most influential investment consultants. In 2021, Jennifer received the GlobeSt. Women of Influence award. In 2022, Jennifer was elected to the PREA Board of Directors and joined PREA’s Social Impact Committee.

About Taylor Mammen

CEO, RCLCO Fund Advisors (RFA)

Taylor Mammen is Chief Executive Officer of RCLCO Fund Advisors (RFA), which advises institutional investors on all aspects of their complex real estate investment portfolios, from strategy development to underwriting and asset management. Taylor helped pioneer this business beginning in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, when several prominent pension funds turned to RFA with the goal to construct better performing and more resilient real estate portfolios, and has grown it to become a highly respected institutional real estate advisor, working with some of the largest and most dynamic institutional investors in the world. In the process, Taylor and RFA have sourced, underwritten, and overseen investments on behalf of clients well in excess of $10 billion. Taylor leads the firm’s institutional investor client relationships and is responsible for the firm’s growth and development, in addition to serving on the boards of clients’ portfolio companies.

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December 14, 2023

By Joshua Boren, Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting

What happens when the public and private sectors join forces to revitalize an iconic retail anchor and the surrounding downtown?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO’s Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, Joshua Boren, sits down with Shelley Brindle, Mayor of Westfield, New Jersey and Doug Adams, Senior Vice President, Development at Streetworks Development, to discuss the “One Westfield Place” redevelopment project—an adaptive reuse of a former Lord & Taylor building and its adjacent parking lots—that is poised to create a vibrant mixed-use downtown, with new office, retail, and residential.

“One of the hallmarks of Streetworks is we look – always start with a larger context and how does the property or the project fit into that larger picture.”

– Doug on the importance of local context

They discuss the history and background of the project, the unique challenges and surprising benefits of repurposing large-scale retail into new office space, how the Mayor’s background at HBO as a Executive Vice President, Domestic Network Distribution and Marketing, helped prepare her for the public sector, and how they worked to incorporate resident input throughout the process.

“I would just say to any of your listeners who are developers: don’t be afraid of the public input. It only helps you get people invested in the success of the project and ultimately helps you with approvals.”

– Mayor Brindle on public feedback and collaboration

About Shelley Brindle

Mayor of Westfield, NJ

Shelley Brindle is currently the Mayor of Westfield, NJ, (pop 31k) elected as the first female Mayor in town history in November 2017, unseating a three term incumbent with her vision for transforming and reimagining Westfield’s historic downtown. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President, Domestic Network Distribution and Marketing at HBO where she was responsible for the revenue, marketing, and overall distribution and growth strategy of HBO’s $4.4B domestic subscription business where she oversaw many of HBO’s most important initiatives, including the launch of HBO’s first streaming service.

About Doug Adams

Senior Vice President, Development

Following a passion for real estate Doug Adams followed a path from banking and equity lending to being a developer for the past 25 years. Working for both large and small companies, he has developed an expertise in large scale entitlements and public-private partnerships in most asset classes.

About Joshua Boren

Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Joshua A. Boren specializes in leading business development, marketing, and strategic initiatives for various real estate needs and solutions as part of the RCLCO team. With more than 15 years of experience, Joshua specializes in understanding how network building and relationship management is critical to organizational success, which has resulted in millions of dollars of closed engagements. At RCLCO, he has grown the business development and marketing departments, which were recognized by Globe St. in 2019 as “Influencers in Marketing”. Incredibly involved in the global real estate community, Joshua holds membership and leadership positions at Urban Land Institute Los Angeles and Jewish Federation Los Angeles’ Real Estate and Construction Division, among others. Joshua also hosts RCLCO’s monthly Round-Up Webinar Series, which dives into factors in the real estate market, in addition to other RCLCO events and features.

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November 9, 2023

By Eric Willett, Managing Director; Adam Ducker, CEO, RCLCO; Ellen Klasson, Managing Director; Jim Wright, Managing Director

How can you grow and foster talent within real estate organizations?

RCLCO announced its partnership with CEL Compensation Advisors, LLC to expand and enhance its industry-leading talent management practice, building on the CEL annual Real Estate Compensation & Benefits Survey and its compensation consulting practice.

In this special episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, listen to the recent webinar where leaders of the new partnership, Eric Willett, Adam Ducker, Ellen Klasson, and Jim Wright, discussed challenges real estate companies are facing today regarding talent management, trends in employee and executive compensation, and answered questions from the audience.

 

“…the two top of mind issues for people managing real estate organizations for 2024…will be optimizing NOI at the property level and maximizing talent within the organization.”

– Adam Ducker speaking on the broad consensus of topics raised that management in real estate organization have for the coming year

“The importance of talent development is going to become particularly more acute and it’s really exacerbated by all these shifts in how we work.”

– Eric Willett’s observation on talent expectations

 

View the full webinar and access the slide deck by logging into your RCLCO web portal account, or by filling out the form to the right of the webinar page and following the “watch” link that appears.

About Eric Willett

Managing Director, Management Consulting

Eric Willett is the Managing Director of RCLCO’s management consulting practice. Eric works with a wide variety of market-leading firms throughout the real estate industry to craft and execute organizational strategy, portfolio transformation, and corporate growth initiatives. Eric brings extensive experience in strategic planning and organizational improvement to projects that interface with client teams at all points in the development lifecycle. His collaboration with executive teams has resulted in transformational strategies for real estate companies across all industry sectors and a range of global markets.

More broadly, Eric regularly contributes innovative client-focused research and solutions across industry topics including risk management, alternative investment structures, and evolving consumer demographics. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry events and is regularly cited as a commercial real estate expert by national and regional media including The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and others. In addition, Eric is adjunct professor of Business Economics at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business where he leads a course on commercial real estate strategy.

Eric previously worked as the Director of Research and Thought Leadership at CBRE, where he oversaw the delivery of forward-looking insights spanning all major property sectors. Eric graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

About Adam Ducker, CEO

Adam Ducker is Chief Executive Officer of RCLCO and oversees the firm’s Real Estate Economics and Management Consulting Practices. Adam joined RCLCO in the mid-1990s as an associate directly after graduate school and learned the trade with the firm. He is a recognized expert in strategic planning for real estate companies, investment analysis, market and financial analysis, and marketing of real estate assets. He has particular depth of expertise in high-density housing, retail/entertainment, and hotel development.

Adam is a member of the Executive Committee of RCLCO, which manages shared resources and oversees overall company strategy. He also sits on the board of the RCLCO Foundation.

Adam is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from place-making, urban redevelopment, retail trends, and in-town housing. His writing has been widely published and quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Urban Land, Real Assets, among others. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), vice chair of the Redevelopment and Reuse Council, and a board member of the Terwilliger Center for Housing. A native of the New York metropolitan area, Adam received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Columbia University.

About Ellen Klasson

Managing Director, Executive Search

Ellen Klasson is a Managing Director in RCLCO’s Management Consulting practice, working out of the Washington, DC office. Ellen leads executive search engagements for leadership roles at development, investment, and land use companies across all asset classes. Ellen’s consultative nature has enabled her to identify and attract talent for both traditional and nuanced roles, and her deep understanding of the business lends itself to a more analytical approach of a candidate’s viability. Working for twenty years in the real estate industry has allowed Ellen to forge long-lasting relationships with and earn the trust of both clients and candidates.

Before joining RCLCO, Ellen spent five years as a Managing Director at Terra Search Partners, a national boutique executive search firm focused exclusively on the real estate industry. Previously she worked at the Urban Land Institute as the Senior Director of Leadership, overseeing the leadership programs for the organization’s 40,000 members worldwide. Prior to joining ULI, Ellen co-directed CohnReznick’s Real Estate Development Advisory practice, analyzing real estate opportunities for developers and municipalities. She is also a former Vice President of Economic Development at Central Atlanta Progress, where she attracted new investment into Downtown Atlanta. She began her career consulting to developers while a project manager at RCLCO.

Ellen continues to be actively involved with the Urban Land Institute. She is the Past Chair of the Americas of its Women’s Leadership Initiative and now serves as Governance Chair. She is also DEI Chair of the Urban Revitalization Council (Gold Flight) and a Management Committee member of ULI Washington. She volunteers with UrbanPlan, a program for high school and college students that introduces them to the complex trade-offs of real estate development.

Ellen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University and a Master of City & Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

About Jim Wright

Managing Director, Compensation Consulting

As Managing Partner – CEL Compensation Advisors, Jim Wright brings over 35 years of experience in all sectors of the real estate industry stemming from an Executive career encompassing engineering, finance, management consulting, financial restructuring, project management, and business development in private and public sector environments.  Mr. Wright has provided insightful and valuable management counsel to corporate CEOs, Senior Management, Boards of Directors, Investors, Advisors and their intermediaries.

Jim has particular expertise and is a nationally known leader in the area of executive compensation program design, plan structuring, market benchmarking, and policy for the real estate industry.  Mr. Wright works with Compensation Committees, Boards of Directors, CEOs and Senior Management on a variety of compensation, performance, management, and governance related issues.  His career has involved assignments with over 300 clients including public/private REITs, national/regional development companies, investment management firms, private equity funds, national/global brokerage/service firms, and advisors in all sectors of commercial and residential real estate.

Jim has proven strategic, analytical, operational, organizational and management skills in creating, directing and implementing successful business solutions to challenging and complex company issues.  Jim has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University; an MA (Economics) from the State University of New York; and a BS from Bradley University.  Jim is the author of articles published in Real Estate Portfolio, Boards & Directors, Real Estate Review, Urban Land, Units, and other real estate publications.

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September 22, 2023

By Adam Ducker, CEO, RCLCO Real Estate Consulting

How does academia set the course for the future of real estate?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO’s CEO, Adam Ducker, sits down with Ellen Dunham-Jones, a Professor of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology and director of the MS in Urban Design.

An award winning co-author of two books, Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies for Urgent Challenges (2021) and Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, (2009) as well as the podcast host of REDESIGNING CITIES, Ellen gives us academic perspective on what it means to be an urbanist and the future of real estate practitioners.

“The biggest difference between urban planning and urban design is that urban designers draw a lot. Most urban planners in the U.S….do great analytical research, they write papers, they do a lot of community engagement…but it’s not drawing the actual layout of neighborhoods…and really integrating at that larger scale.”

– Ellen on the main difference of urban planning vs. urban design

In addition, the Adam and Ellen discuss retrofitting suburbia and what the suburbs represent in the current real estate market space.

“…the supply of sites that are ripe for some kind of retrofitting just keeps growing.”

– Ellen’s optimistic outlook on re-imagining suburbia

About Ellen Dunham-Jones

Ellen Dunham-Jones is a professor of architecture and directs the MS in Urban Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  An authority on sustainable suburban redevelopment, she maintains a unique database of over 2,500 suburban retrofits, hosts the REDESIGNING CITIES podcast series, was Architectural Record’s 2018-19 Woman Educator of the year and was recognized in 2023 and 2017 by Planetizen as one of the 100 most influential urbanists.

She is co-author with June Williamson of two award-winning books: Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Strategies for Urgent Challenges (Wiley, 2021) received the Place Book of the year award from the Environmental Design Research Association. And Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, (Wiley, 2009, 2011, Mandarin 2013) received a PROSE award as best architecture and planning book of 2009. These books document how successful retrofits of aging shopping centers, strip mall corridors, office parks, etc. are helping their communities disrupt automobile dependence, improve public health, support an aging population, leverage social capital for equity, compete for jobs, and add water and energy resilience. The work has been featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, PBS, NPR, TED and other prominent venues.

She is a Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism as well as the Brook Byers Institute of Sustainable Systems, lectures widely, and conducts workshops and research on the many co-benefits of retrofitting – as well as on the potential urban design impacts of autonomous vehicles. She serves on several national committees, has BS and M.Arch degrees from Princeton University, practiced architecture for 20 years, and taught at UVA and MIT before being recruited to direct the Architecture Program at Georgia Tech in 2000.

About Adam Ducker

CEO, RCLCO

Adam Ducker is Chief Executive Officer of RCLCO and oversees the firm’s Real Estate Economics and Management Consulting Practices. Adam joined RCLCO in the mid-1990s as an associate directly after graduate school and learned the trade with the firm. He is a recognized expert in strategic planning for real estate companies, investment analysis, market and financial analysis, and marketing of real estate assets. He has particular depth of expertise in high-density housing, retail/entertainment, and hotel development.

Adam is a member of the Executive Committee of RCLCO, which manages shared resources and oversees overall company strategy. He also sits on the board of the RCLCO Foundation.

Adam is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from place-making, urban redevelopment, retail trends, and in-town housing. His writing has been widely published and quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Urban Land, Real Assets, among others. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), vice chair of the Redevelopment and Reuse Council, and a board member of the Terwilliger Center for Housing. A native of the New York metropolitan area, Adam received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Columbia University.

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April 28th , 2023

By Adam Ducker, CEO, RCLCO

What sets mountain resorts apart from other mixed-use resorts?

In this episode of Conversations with the Best Minds in Real Estate, RCLCO’s CEO, Adam Ducker, sits down with Jon Paul “JP” Testwuide and Andrew Lang of Alterra Mountain Company, a curator of a family of destinations including recreation, hospitality, real-estate development, food and beverage, and retail businesses.

The group discusses Alterra Mountain Company’s positioning in the mountain resort market and the strategies leading to their successes at Winter Park Resorts and Steamboat Springs in Colorado. A particular focus includes Alterra’s strategic planning of the mixed-use base villages that emphasizes creative placemaking providing for a great guest experience.

“We have the hat of an operator and the hat of a developer.”

– Andrew Lang on Alterra’s charter

In addition, the group discusses trends in mountain resorts from the last 10 years including how the rise and falls have impacted the market and what the future holds.

Alterra prioritizes its resort operations, and in doing so they recognize that fostering good culture, providing great recreational and entertainment opportunities and maintaining a strong resort identity is paramount to success.

“How do we create the asset that speaks to where the place is and how do we define that in connection with the resort and guest experience at the top of mind?”

– JP Testwuide on what to ask when considering how to best create a successful resort with guest satisfaction in mind

About Jon Paul “JP” Testwuide

Director of Development, Alterra Mountain Company

Jon Paul Testwuide serves as the Director of Development for Alterra Mountain Company. Mr. Testwuide leads development related activities for select resorts to grow and scale. Major initiatives include master land planning, entitlement pursuits, repositioning of existing assets, land acquisitions and dispositions, and horizontal and vertical development in resort product types. Prior to AMC, Jon Paul spent 5 years at KSL Capital Partners, a Denver based private equity firm with nearly $10 billion in assets under management, where he was responsible for leading large capital projects and repositioning’s within the hospitality space. He graduated from the University of Denver with a concentration in Real Estate & Finance. During his time at DU he played D-1 hockey for the Pioneers.

About Andrew Lang

Vice President of Strategic Planning and Development, Alterra Mountain Company

Andrew Lang serves as the Vice President of Strategic Planning and Development for Alterra Mountain Company and are part of the Financial Strategy team within the Finance Department.  In addition, since 2013, Andrew has been a Co-founder and Partner at HLR Group, Inc., an investment management and holdings company dedicated to capital growth via applied statistical methods and factor-based investing across a range of assets. Prior to AMC, he spent a year at Genworth Financial as a Senior Manager. Andrew is an alumni from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and is currently based in Denver, CO.

About Adam Ducker

CEO, RCLCO Real Estate Consulting

Adam Ducker is Chief Executive Officer of RCLCO and oversees the firm’s Real Estate Economics and Management Consulting Practices. Adam joined RCLCO in the mid-1990s as an associate directly after graduate school and learned the trade with the firm. He is a recognized expert in strategic planning for real estate companies, investment analysis, market and financial analysis, and marketing of real estate assets. He has particular depth of expertise in high-density housing, retail/entertainment, and hotel development.

Adam is a member of the Executive Committee of RCLCO, which manages shared resources and oversees overall company strategy. He also sits on the board of the RCLCO Foundation.

Adam is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from place-making, urban redevelopment, retail trends, and in-town housing. His writing has been widely published and quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Urban Land, Real Assets, among others. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), vice chair of the Redevelopment and Reuse Council, and a board member of the Terwilliger Center for Housing. A native of the New York metropolitan area, Adam received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Columbia University.

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