Akerman Senterfitt Hosts U.S. Real Estate Summit
Day-Long Event in Miami Beach, Florida Focused on the Totality of Industry Issues, from Deal Financing to Distressed Real Estate
March 17, 2010
Some 200 real estate industry leaders gathered last Friday at Akerman Senterfitt’s first U.S. Real Estate Summit. The event, which took place at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach, featured representation from all aspects of industry leadership including asset managers, builders and developers, REITs, regional and national lenders, hospitality groups and government agencies.
“The state of the commercial real estate industry has been a hotly debated subject for several months now, with significant concern expressed about the availability of capital, the inventory of distressed property and the changing environmental regulatory landscape,” said Richard Bezold, Chair of Akerman’s Real Estate practice. “Friday’s event allowed many of the industry's leaders to voice their concerns about how these issues are affecting business and how, as an industry, these challenges can be confronted and overcome. We are honored that we could contribute to this ongoing dialogue by hosting the Akerman Summit.”
The Summit’s agenda consisted of four panel discussions and two keynote addresses. Ira Kalish, Director of Global Economics at Deloitte, opened the event with a keynote address that offered an economic outlook and Jeff DeBoer, President and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable in Washington, D.C., provided an overview of legislative initiatives (existing and in the works) affecting the industry for the second keynote.
“We are all keenly aware of how important real estate is to the Florida economy and the United States” said Andrew Smulian, Chairman and CEO of Akerman Senterfitt. “The Akerman Summit was an important opportunity for business leaders to begin a dialogue on tackling current challenges and exploring emerging opportunities."
The first panel of the day addressed real estate capital, looking at creative financing structures in a still challenging credit environment. The panel was moderated by Steve Polivy, Chair of Akerman's Economic Development practice and New York Office Managing Shareholder, and featured Jonathan Rehman, Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Financing of TD Bank, Shelly Stuart Carvel, Vice President of Mortgage and Real Estate Investments of Unum, Paul Lamas, Senior Vice President of Roosevelt & Cross and Alex Hurst, Managing Member of Palatine Capital Partners as speakers.
Green building practices were the topic of the next panel and spoke to the role of climate change risks and energy costs in development decisions and building operations. The panel was moderated by Cecelia Bonifay, Chair of Akerman Senterfitt’s Green & Sustainable Development practice, and featured Charles Broun III, Vice President of Franchise Operations for InterContinental Hotels Group, Brian Schwagerl, Vice President of Real Estate and Facilities for Hearst Corporation, Daniel Simon, Group Vice President of Corporate Real Estate at SunTrust Bank and Warren Whitehead, Director of Technical Programs and Sustainability at CB Richard Ellis as speakers.
International investment was the focus of the third panel of the day, providing a unique perspective on the rise of inbound real estate investments. The panel was moderated by Pedro Freyre, Global practice Co-Chair at Akerman Senterfitt and included Loretta Cockrum, CEO of Foram Group, Manny de Zarraga, Executive Managing Director at Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P., Curtis McWilliams, President of CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust and Alan Ojeda, CEO of Rilea Group as speakers.
The day ended with a discussion on the distressed real estate market. The panel looked at the impact of bank-owned property and the increased sales of troubled projects on the future of the market. It was moderated by Ron Kriss, Chair of Akerman Senterfitt’s Distressed Property practice, and featured Edward Kobel, President and COO of DeBartolo Development, Jordan Paul, Senior Managing Director of Related/Lubert-Adler Investment Fund at The Related Group, Ronald Schrager, Chief Operating Officer of LNR Property Corporation and Joel Solomon, General Counsel at ST Residential, LLC as speakers.
With more than 140 lawyers, Akerman’s Real Estate practice represents clients in complex real estate transactions, development and redevelopment projects, public-private initiatives and litigation matters. Akerman's lawyers manage the legal aspects of large land deals and major construction projects, assist developers in meeting environmental regulations and green building standards, conceptualize and obtain development incentives, advise on all aspects of transactional work, including leasing, acquisitions, sales, financings and loan restructurings, and represent clients in disputes and litigation.
About Akerman Senterfitt
Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the U.S. by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2009) in number of lawyers and is the largest firm in Florida. With more than 500 lawyers and government affairs professionals, we serve clients from major business centers in Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, Colorado, Texas and Nevada. More information can be found at www.akerman.com or www.twitter.com/akerman_law.
“The state of the commercial real estate industry has been a hotly debated subject for several months now, with significant concern expressed about the availability of capital, the inventory of distressed property and the changing environmental regulatory landscape,” said Richard Bezold, Chair of Akerman’s Real Estate practice. “Friday’s event allowed many of the industry's leaders to voice their concerns about how these issues are affecting business and how, as an industry, these challenges can be confronted and overcome. We are honored that we could contribute to this ongoing dialogue by hosting the Akerman Summit.”
The Summit’s agenda consisted of four panel discussions and two keynote addresses. Ira Kalish, Director of Global Economics at Deloitte, opened the event with a keynote address that offered an economic outlook and Jeff DeBoer, President and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable in Washington, D.C., provided an overview of legislative initiatives (existing and in the works) affecting the industry for the second keynote.
“We are all keenly aware of how important real estate is to the Florida economy and the United States” said Andrew Smulian, Chairman and CEO of Akerman Senterfitt. “The Akerman Summit was an important opportunity for business leaders to begin a dialogue on tackling current challenges and exploring emerging opportunities."
The first panel of the day addressed real estate capital, looking at creative financing structures in a still challenging credit environment. The panel was moderated by Steve Polivy, Chair of Akerman's Economic Development practice and New York Office Managing Shareholder, and featured Jonathan Rehman, Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Financing of TD Bank, Shelly Stuart Carvel, Vice President of Mortgage and Real Estate Investments of Unum, Paul Lamas, Senior Vice President of Roosevelt & Cross and Alex Hurst, Managing Member of Palatine Capital Partners as speakers.
Green building practices were the topic of the next panel and spoke to the role of climate change risks and energy costs in development decisions and building operations. The panel was moderated by Cecelia Bonifay, Chair of Akerman Senterfitt’s Green & Sustainable Development practice, and featured Charles Broun III, Vice President of Franchise Operations for InterContinental Hotels Group, Brian Schwagerl, Vice President of Real Estate and Facilities for Hearst Corporation, Daniel Simon, Group Vice President of Corporate Real Estate at SunTrust Bank and Warren Whitehead, Director of Technical Programs and Sustainability at CB Richard Ellis as speakers.
International investment was the focus of the third panel of the day, providing a unique perspective on the rise of inbound real estate investments. The panel was moderated by Pedro Freyre, Global practice Co-Chair at Akerman Senterfitt and included Loretta Cockrum, CEO of Foram Group, Manny de Zarraga, Executive Managing Director at Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P., Curtis McWilliams, President of CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust and Alan Ojeda, CEO of Rilea Group as speakers.
The day ended with a discussion on the distressed real estate market. The panel looked at the impact of bank-owned property and the increased sales of troubled projects on the future of the market. It was moderated by Ron Kriss, Chair of Akerman Senterfitt’s Distressed Property practice, and featured Edward Kobel, President and COO of DeBartolo Development, Jordan Paul, Senior Managing Director of Related/Lubert-Adler Investment Fund at The Related Group, Ronald Schrager, Chief Operating Officer of LNR Property Corporation and Joel Solomon, General Counsel at ST Residential, LLC as speakers.
With more than 140 lawyers, Akerman’s Real Estate practice represents clients in complex real estate transactions, development and redevelopment projects, public-private initiatives and litigation matters. Akerman's lawyers manage the legal aspects of large land deals and major construction projects, assist developers in meeting environmental regulations and green building standards, conceptualize and obtain development incentives, advise on all aspects of transactional work, including leasing, acquisitions, sales, financings and loan restructurings, and represent clients in disputes and litigation.
About Akerman Senterfitt
Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the U.S. by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2009) in number of lawyers and is the largest firm in Florida. With more than 500 lawyers and government affairs professionals, we serve clients from major business centers in Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, Colorado, Texas and Nevada. More information can be found at www.akerman.com or www.twitter.com/akerman_law.
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©2013 Akerman Senterfitt, Akerman Senterfitt LLP. Attorney Advertising.
©2013 Akerman Senterfitt, Akerman Senterfitt LLP. Attorney Advertising.