David A. Hitchens has been through industry downturns before, having joined the legal staff of JLL in the midst of the Great Recession. By revenue, the Chicago-based JLL is the world’s second largest commercial real estate company, and its properties endured higher vacancies and lower leases as so many industries cut back between 2007 and […]
Features Real Estate
Sean Dennison – CenterCal Properties LLC
No single project can make a career for a real estate attorney, but each can end one. Sean Dennison kept this in mind as his company embarked on the first phase of the massive mixed-use redevelopment in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, Washington. The Village at Totem Lake it’s called, and since commencing in 2015, […]
Patrick McCraney – Cardinal Ventures/Blake Management Group
Before COVID-19 hit the Deep South, residents at “The Blake” senior living communities could enjoy dinner in the upscale dining room and choose from its chef-prepared menu. No bland institutionalized food and tapioca pudding at 4 p.m. here. While the pandemic has temporarily changed protocols in these community dining spaces—which look more like fancy restaurants—the […]
A. Noni Holmes-Kidd – Parkway Property Investments LLC
The lyrics “there’s a long, long trail a-windin’,” are more than 100 years old, but they still pertain to Parkway Property Investments as it sets a far-ranging course in real estate and development. In the latest twist, Parkway is expanding its commercial office real estate roots into industrial and multifamily asset classes. It’s a challenge […]
Mark Weinstock – CCI
There’s some irony here, and it might be most pronounced in California where the housing crunch is so severe that even Silicon Valley companies can be hard-pressed to attract and retain employees earning a decent income. Yet for myriad reasons, the builders say it’s very difficult to develop ground-up, affordable, multifamily complexes in the Golden […]
Josh Widoff – Black Creek Group
On most days you’ll find Josh Widoff operating as a senior strategic advisor and head of legal matters at Denver-based Black Creek Group. During evenings you’ll find him teaching at the University of Colorado Law School. And some early morning, he might be chairing a meeting of commissioners at Denver’s Urban Renewal Authority. For Widoff, […]
Kevin Simonsen – BioMed Realty
Oh, how the wisdom of the platform has been vindicated. So observes Kevin Simonsen, who started as the only full-time real estate attorney at the fledgling BioMed Realty in 2005 and currently serves as its executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. BioMed Realty had recognized a growing demand for highly upgraded research and development […]
Cheryl R. Lee – Bay Vista Methodist Heights Inc.
The building had been grossly underused since the late 1960s. The former Encanto Boys and Girls Club and its 18,000 potentially valuable square feet essentially gathered cobwebs and dust in a distressed part of San Diego. But how that’s changed, the commercially zoned facility having been bought for $4.2 million last December by a minority-run […]
Jen Nichols – Harsch Investment Properties
Growing up as one of seven Black and biracial children in the outskirts of Detroit, Jen Nichols witnessed racism toward her family firsthand, something she’d also experience later as a real estate attorney. In a genetic twist of fate, Nichols never “looked” Black with her green eyes and long, straight brown hair—a far cry from […]
Jessica Norman – Independence Realty Trust Inc.
When Jessica Norman joined Independence Realty Trust in 2013, her early days were focused on supporting the company’s growth—specifically representing the 2-year-old public company in transactional deals to acquire multifamily apartment properties. Now, as IRT’s executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, Norman’s work benefits the public real estate investment trust across the board: culturally, […]
