Crown Advisors represents the real estate industry’s most sought after companies and positions including senior executives. Our clients trust us to find top quality candidates and we continually add new real estate, construction, and related opportunities to our list of active searches.
Active Searches
Associate General Counsel
Location:
Richmond, VA
Company Description:
Our client is a multigenerational real estate development, investment, and management company. Over their 50+ year history, they have built over 10,000 homes, developed more than a dozen master-planned communities, and currently own/manage over 7,000 apartment homes.
Position Description:
For the first time in our client’s history, they are adding in-house legal representation. We have been engaged to find an Associate General Counsel to fill this newly created role. The candidate must be licensed in the state of Virginia and have prior legal experience in the real estate industry. They will provide legal guidance and support on all contracts, land/lot closings, and loan closings. They will also lead and coordinate all outside counsel and manage all outstanding legal issues.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Draft and review agreements, contracts, and other legal documents.
- Review and sign off on all contracts, including Boiler Plate Contract Templates and Transfer of Risks with Third Party contracts.
- Negotiate and review terms for land acquisitions.
- Review seller’s documents, and coordinate with seller’s counsel on all land and lot closings.
- Coordinate with bank attorneys and other outside counsel, and review Bank loans for A&D/Builder line, and apartment loans for all loan closings.
- Manage the relationship and rate with title companies, and coordinate title and endorsements.
- Coordinate and manage outside counsel on human resources, trusts, and insurance issues.
- Farm out legal work when necessary and manage outside counsel on all projects.
- Manage all outstanding legal issues.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Juris Doctorate
- Minimum of 5 years of experience practicing as a lawyer with an emphasis on commercial real estate.
- Business-focused mindset with ability to balance legal risk and business impact.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong problem-solving skills.
- Must have outstanding contract negotiation and drafting skills.
- Must be licensed to practice law in the state of Virginia; additional license in North Carolina is a plus.
- Strong organizational skills, detailed oriented with the ability to juggle multiple tasks.
- Demonstrated poise, tact, diplomacy, and the ability to build effective internal and external relationships.
- Work collaboratively with leadership to achieve business unit objectives.
To learn more about this position, contact: Jon Nowikowski | (412) 339-5376 | jnowikowski@crownsearch.com
Director of Leasing
Location:
South Florida
Company Description:
Our client is a forward-thinking real estate development and investment management firm focused on addressing the evolving logistics real estate needs across Florida and the Eastern United States. With a team of seasoned industry executives, the company specializes in developing state-of-the-art logistics facilities in strategically located areas characterized by population growth, rapid e-commerce adoption, and supply constraints
Position Description:
Primary responsibilities:
- Drive and execute leasing transactions and renewals while maintaining positive tenant relationships
- Develop broker relationships and oversee selection of third-party listing brokers
- Establish a leasing protocol and structure, and implement best practices across the platform
- Increase net operating income (NOI) and asset value through successful marketing, negotiations, and leasing transactions
- Develop and nurture quality relationships with current and potential customers, gaining a deep understanding of their business and space needs
- Manage leasing activity to maximize portfolio value and build trust with the broker community
- Conduct marketing activities, including customer prospecting, broker and agent marketing, creating presentations, and writing lease proposals
- Develop expertise in market conditions, such as rents, available properties, and economic trends
- Provide relevant information and market data to internal practice groups, including Acquisitions, Development, and Capital Partners
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of business experience in leasing and asset management, negotiating and executing industrial/office leases/contracts
- In-depth knowledge of market demand and supply, vacancy, absorption, and property-related micro and macro issues
- Professional understanding of building valuation methods, such as income, market, and discounted cash flow
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong organizational skills, including time management and prioritization
- Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams
- Relevant real estate industry experience
- Strong presentation and negotiation skills
To learn more about this position, contact: Natasha Brill | (786) 216-7281 | nbrill@crownsearch.com
National Partner, Logistics
Location:
Texas
Company Description:
Our client is a diversified, national development firm with expertise in multiple property types including industrial, office, multifamily, and mixed-use. The Company operates as a principal, investing capital alongside its institutional equity partners in the development of residential and commercial projects and as a fee developer for clients and user-owners. Over the last decade, the Company has completed or commenced the development of over $9 billion in total project cost across all product types encompassing 20 cities from California to New Jersey. In the last four years, our client has completed more than 14 million square feet of industrial projects throughout the United States.
As our client continues to expand, the Company is seeking a National Partner to lead its industrial platform including the regional development teams based across the country.
Position Description:
Reporting to the President, the National Partner will provide leadership to formulate and implement strategies for the management and continued expansion of our client’s industrial business. This position will be responsible for all operational oversight and prioritizing initiatives with a view towards long-term success as a national leader in industrial development. It is important for this person to have 20 years of experience working through various market cycles.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:
- Partner with the President and the investment committee to establish the strategic direction, goals, and major initiatives of the industrial business
- Oversee all aspects of industrial operations including the development and implementation of business plans, initiatives, project performance, and profitability
- Provide dynamic leadership focused on inspiring teams to outstanding results and excellence while achieving superior financial performance
- Identify, recruit, motivate, and retain top development professionals and staff in a profitable manner
- Take proactive role in raising capital for development projects and managing investor relations in coordination with the efforts of the capital raising team
- Assess risks and opportunities, optimize overall business performance, and ensure that the organizational structure in place supports the company’s strategy
- Manage up and down the organizational chart through leadership and strong communication; prepare and present business plans to senior leadership; oversee, approve, and present division budgets, overhead requests, and capital expenditures for sponsorships and memberships
- Participate as a member of the Investment Committee and control development opportunities going through Investment Committee
- Monitor and approve fee splits and ownership splits for the development team
- Monitor and mentor teammates for long-term growth plans; hire, promote, discipline, construct compensation/participation, and occasionally release teammates for poor performance, as necessary
- Exemplify and further our client’s unique and collaborative team-oriented culture in making it the “right place to be” for clients and team members
- Along with the President and finance staff:
- Coordinate investment analysis and financial structuring of development projects
- Participate in the evaluation and underwriting of all industrial projects
- Lead the review of land acquisition and development decisions from a financial institutional market strategy point of view, supported by the other members of the Investment Committee
- Participate in industry and client events to raise the firm’s profile in the real estate and business communities; position him or herself as a visible and respected thought leader nationally and communicator for the industry
- Oversee national deal level strategy and underwriting
- Lead asset management, sales, leasing and deal pricing efforts
To learn more about this position, contact: Christine Pinkerton | (919) 679-9149 | cpinkerton@crownsearch.com
Chief Financial Officer
Location:
Kansas City, MO
Company Description:
Our client is a real estate private equity firm headquartered in Kansas City, MO. They are backed by one of the world’s largest investment managers with close to $1 trillion in assets under management. Since 2012, the company has invested in factory-built housing communities across the United States, specifically focused on detached single family homes in manufactured housing and build to rent communities.
Manufactured Housing
The company acquired its first manufactured housing community (MHC) in 2012 and has assembled a portfolio of approximately 5,000 home sites across seven states. The strategy is market driven to acquire and/or develop MHC assets and deliver steady returns through core-plus, value-add and opportunistic approaches utilizing efficient management and targeted capital expenditures.
Development
The development practice begins with a thorough, analytical-based approach focusing on home price, wage, and population trends. The process is designed to provide superior risk adjusted returns for clients. The firm’s development approach creates value by responsibly undertaking real estate projects that enhance their relationship with clients, customers, communities, and partners.
Full Service Real Estate Company
In order to fully integrate its businesses, our client launched a property management company in 2020, which now has approximately 80 employees, allowing for better operational transparency in a dedicated team, as well as accounting and HR resources to scale the portfolio. The focus is on providing steady and strong returns through stable cashflows.
Position Description:
SUMMARY: Our client is looking for a seasoned financial executive with strong experience in finance, accounting, legal, tax, risk management, corporate governance, strategic planning, and value creation. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and the desire to work in a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment. This position represents a key leadership role within the company’s executive team.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will report to the President. This individual will be a proven executive and a strategic business thinker who can help drive the organization to the next level. He/She will play a critical role in all facets of the organization.
He/She will be tasked with growing the accounting, finance, and compliance teams, either as direct reports or through third party vendors. The CFO will serve on the executive team, recommending strategy based upon company capital, goals, and cash flow. The CFO will have direct responsibility for financial reporting, treasury, transactional accounting, asset management, tax, risk management, and financial modeling while ensuring the completion of timely financial, tax and statistical reports for management and investor use. Establishing processes and systems to facilitate the organization’s growth plan will be critical.
PRIMARY DUTIES
- Effectively integrate into the company and its culture.
- Assess and enhance existing processes and procedures associated with investor reporting and communications.
- Evaluate and enhance the current business model and metrics that measure the company’s performance.
- Oversee the organization’s day-to-day financial operations and accounting processes. Lead the development and ongoing improvement of the organization’s financial forecast and budgets while monitoring progress towards the attainment of financial objectives. Preside over the preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports and related consolidations.
- Supply timely, accurate, and sophisticated analyses while evaluating the impact of long-range strategic planning efforts and the introduction of new initiatives. Provide strategic financial input plus negotiation support associated with the evaluation of potential property acquisitions, alliances, and investments.
- Maintain a lead position in negotiations with third parties and vendors that would include: partner relationships, insurance, employee benefits/retirement plans, etc. In addition, the CFO will coordinate and control legal expenditures including outside legal counsel, contract reviews and management, and other risk management activities.
- Enhance the timeliness and accuracy of the organization’s cash flow and management of the billing, receivables, and payables process. Optimize the handling of bank and deposit relationships and initiate appropriate strategies to assure a prudent cash position.
- Develop, implement, and enforce fiscal policies and procedures of the organization by way of systems that will improve overall financial management and operational efficiencies.
- Interact with ownership, limited partners, the external auditor(s) and business operations leaders to design, implement and execute effective internal control systems.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business or finance is required. A CPA designation is strongly preferred.
- Experience in commercial real estate investment, development, and/or construction industries.
- Strong operational financial experience, preferably within a growth environment and with scale.
- Demonstrated track record of structuring and implementing processes and controls in the finance functions to ensure highly reliable and predictable outcomes.
- Early career experience in public accounting will be advantageous.
- A minimum of 15 years of progressive experience leading and managing financial activities in an organization of similar size and scope.
- Preferred candidates will have experience working with large institutional limited partners (“LPs”).
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
- A strategic advisor and a practical “doer.’
- A personal value system that encompasses high integrity, commitment to quality, a sense of mission, and similar qualities of the highest caliber in order to effectively match up with the values and culture of the company and its ownership.
- A team player who demonstrates a partnering attitude and capability to work with other associates throughout the organization in a positive and collaborative manner.
- Excellent negotiation and presentation skills and the ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with superiors, colleagues, and individuals inside and outside the organization.
- Strong work ethic combined with natural, self-starter tendencies. Quality strategic business judgment with the knack to quickly assimilate information.
- Solid business acumen with a results-first mindset; the ability to deliver outcomes rather than just output.
- A high level of intelligence; analytical/conceptual problem solving, critical thinking, planning and organizational skills (i.e., good at setting and prioritizing goals).
- Excellent interpersonal skills, able to establish and develop instant credibility and respect.
To learn more about this position, contact: Margie Arcangelo | (239) 362-1335 | margie@crownsearch.com
Director of Preconstruction
Location:
Washington, DC
Company Description:
Our client is a nationally recognized leader in multifamily development, innovation, and sustainability, creating world-class mixed-use developments in top MSAs in the U.S., driven by class-A multifamily rental housing. As one of the largest vertically integrated developer-builder- owner-operators in the U.S., they are a leader in both ground-up and adaptive reuse projects and have developed over $5B of projects over the last 15 years and own a $2B pre-construction development pipeline of approximately 2,500 units in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
Position Description:
Our client is creating a new position of Director of Preconstruction. This position offers a long-term prospective pathway to become one of the senior-most construction executives in the company, with regular interaction with C-suite executives.
Our client owns two office-to-residential conversion projects in pre-development in Washington, DC totaling 1.8M square feet, the first of which is in the construction drawing phase and being actively bid to contractors. They are bidding both to general contractors and subcontractors directly and aim to have the work substantially bought out by the second quarter of 2024. The immediate responsibilities of the role are a successful buyout of the first project with a hands-on approach for each subcontractor, along with a direct engagement for potential direct subcontracts with trades following structure and envelope. The Director of Preconstruction will be the point of contact and face of the company for Washington, DC general contractors and subcontractors.
The medium-term goal of the DC activities is to grow the skillset, network, and reputation to directly field, contract, and manage all subcontractors on future DC construction projects (if the pool of existing general contractors is deemed not sufficient to meet the end cost and quality goals). To this end, our client expects to be in touch with every aspect and minutia of a hired GC’s scope and buyout to successfully manage the GC and have the relationship and ability to perform the same if called to do so. The Director of Preconstruction will be the vanguard of this expansion into Washington, DC; an enterprising individual who has field and office experience, combining leadership traits with the intimate knowledge of the costs which constitute each subcontractor’s scope.
The candidate may be based in either Washington, DC or Philadelphia, with at least 1-2 days per week spent in each Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
Critical skill sets for this role include:
- High level of comfort reading Architectural, Structural, MEP plans
- Ability to create scope sheets, building on a library of what has already been created
- Estimation and takeoff ability
- Ability to create a project budget, building on templates that have been created from past projects
- Knowledge of relevant unit value metrics for all major trades, and the ability to discern unit values resourcefully from subcontractors and dissecting bids
- Ability to create a thorough schedule of values for all trades, building on company library, to ensure proper cost loading and sectoring of the subcontract for billing and managing risk
Critical performance traits for this role include:
- Comfortable taking responsibility for a project and proactively engaging people and resources to achieve the goal of a fully contracted buyout within the budget constraints
- Salesmanship and persuasiveness in engaging valuable subcontractors (i.e. beyond the roster that every GC typically bids to) and engaging them in company’s project to competitively bid
- Ability to interact with smaller subcontractors without administrative staff
- Comfortable presenting both good and bad information, identifying risks along with solutions or mitigation measures
- An entrepreneurial spirit to push past roadblocks and industry norms, not settling for what an institutional GC or Subcontractor finds is comfortable and creating new solutions
To learn more about this position, contact: Jon Nowikowski | (412) 339-5376 | jnowikowski@crownsearch.com
Managing Director – Data Centers
Location:
Atlanta, GA
Company Description:
Our client is a privately owned national real estate investment, development, and management firm focused on office, life science, residential, industrial, hospitality, and retail uses. Their multi-faceted expertise sets the standard of excellence for developing high quality stand-alone and mixed-use developments. Each asset class is led by an individual asset leader and supported by the common execution and corporate infrastructure.
Position Description:
This position will be responsible for establishing the Data Center development business. Initially this business will be focused within the USA and may eventually expand across North America or a wider geography.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The role will include (but not be limited to) the establishment, overall management, and profitability of the Data Center business, including the following specific tasks:
- Prepare a business strategy, ongoing annual business plans, and annual operating budgets.
- Recruit and manage an appropriate team to execute the strategy and annual business plan.
- Operate a profitable data center business and ensure current cash flow, long-term market value of assets, and overall enterprise value and profitability are maximized for all stakeholders.
- Represent the business to the data center community including brokers and other business stakeholders.
- Oversee deal sourcing, development, construction, and management of operations, and deal exits.
- Work with and leverage capital markets, construction, management, legal, accounting and all other team resources across the platform to maximize financial and business outcomes.
- Ensure that the reputation and credibility of the brand name is retained and enhanced within the real estate and stakeholder community.
REQUIRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES
- Data center development experience for a minimum of 15 years, including experience in determining target markets and locations, site sourcing, financial underwriting, ability to establish program, knowledge and network of consultants to determine building specifications, and familiarity and credibility with sources of equity and debt capital (the ability to raise capital is not essential)
- Undergraduate degree in finance, real estate, or related business field
- Collaborative approach, team player with a focus on analytical and problem-resolution
To learn more about this position, contact: