Joseph Blankenship
Boston Planning and Development Agency
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ULI Boston/New England - The Future of Western Ave
This event is currently sold out! Please reach out to [email protected] to join the waitlist.
Join ULI Boston/New England in Allston/Brighton for a Young Leaders Group led walking tour of recently completed, in-progress, and approved future development sites along the Western Avenue corridor! As the subject of a recently completed BPDA rezoning study and the notable new venue for the Boston Calling Music Festival, this neighborhood has become a hot spot for new development in recent years.
Featuring sites controlled by:
Berkeley Investments – 176 Lincoln Street
King Street Properties – Nexus at The Allston Innovation Corridor (Allston Labworks)
National Development –1170-1190 Soldiers Field Road & WBZ-TV/CBS Studio
The Davis Companies – 1234-1240 Soldiers Field Road (Former Skating Club Site)
The Mount Vernon Company – RADIUS Apartments & 30 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway
Participants will get an inside perspective from these firms and representatives from the BPDA on the recent resurgence and future of this corner of Boston. The tour will conclude with a ULI-hosted reception at the revitalized Charles River Speedway.
Read about the BPDA Western Avenue Corridor Study here!
Registration 5:15pm - 5:30pm
Tour 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Reception 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Speakers
Kathleen Onufer
Boston Planning and Development Agency
Esther Byun
Berkeley Investments, Inc.
Esther oversees residential, lab and mixed-use development projects throughout greater Boston, from project inception through to completion, including due diligence, feasibility studies, permitting, design, construction and lease-up. Prior to joining Berkeley Investments, Esther was a trained architect and urban planner, and worked with the development team at The Community Builders and the Land Use and Zoning Division of the City of Cambridge Community Development Department, where she performed feasibility studies and designed various mixed-use projects, supported the development of mixed-income housing and researched zoning issues to support Planning Board decisions. Ms. Byun is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of City Planning. She is an active member of Boston ULI and NAIOP.
Michael Harris
Senior Project Manager, Development, National Development
Michael manages all aspects of the development process including design, permitting, construction oversight, and cost management. He specializes in delivering multi-family and retail projects. Key projects include the redevelopment of the Midtown Hotel as well as the Cole Hersee Buildings at Iron Works in South Boston. Prior to National Development, Michael worked at Cranshaw Construction where he managed multiple projects ranging from multi-phase tenant fit-outs to a high-rise multi-family project in Somerville. He also worked for Gilbane Building Company managing complex projects within the commercial and higher education markets.
Brian Grisaru
Senior Director, King Street Properties
Brian joined King Street in 2016 and has over 13 years of commercial real estate experience. As Senior Director, he is responsible for a broad range of development management activities, including design, permitting, financing, construction, and leasing. Prior to joining King Street, Brian was an asset management associate at AEW Capital Management where he managed a $1.5 billion portfolio consisting of over 3 million square feet of core retail properties across the US. At AEW, he was responsible for budgeting, asset valuations, debt financing, and financial reporting. Previously he worked as property manager at Carruth Capital LLC, where he helped manage tenant relations, vendor coordination, contracting, and leasing for over 1 million square feet of office and industrial property located across the metro-west submarket of Boston. Brian graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Connecticut with a concentration in real estate finance.
Erick Shinrock
Executive Vice President, The Mount Vernon Company
Eric is Executive Vice President of the Mount Vernon Company. In this role he is responsible for sourcing new investment acquisitions and development opportunities throughout New England with a strong focus on the Greater Boston region. Additionally, alongside Bruce, Eric manages the firm’s commercial development endeavors, leading entitlement processes and overseeing large scale construction projects including the development of Radius Apartments, Arthaus and the upcoming 30 Leo Birmingham Pkwy project. Eric is also involved in operational oversight and asset management for the firm’s diverse portfolio of multifamily, commercial, and hotel properties. Eric received a B.S. in Finance from Boston College. He is a native of Washington, DC and currently resides in Boston.
Bruce Percelay
Chairman and Founder, The Mount Vernon Company
Bruce A. Percelay is chairman and founder of The Mount Vernon Company, a real estate investment firm considered among the leading apartment landlords in Massachusetts. The company has grown over the past 30 years to include over 2,500 apartments, 5 hotels, as well as select office and retail properties. The company has received the Community Excellence Award from the Rental Housing Association of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Paragon Award for Industry excellence by the National Apartment Association, Best Landlord in Boston by Boston Magazine, and Best Places to Work in Boston by the Boston Business Journal. Percelay’s signature development was the Allston Green District, an eleven building assemblage which was the largest new construction project in Allston in over half a century and jump started the Allston real estate boom. The three centerpiece buildings in the Green District set a new standard for environmentally sensitive living and have won over nine awards for their forward thinking sustainable design.
Morgan Pierson
SVP, Development, Berkeley Investments, Inc.
Morgan Pierson manages Berkeley’s mixed‑use ground‑up Developments, including Berkeley’s upcoming 176 Lincoln Street project. In this role he oversees Berkeley’s team of project managers across all of the company’s development projects from due‑diligence through project completion. Prior to joining Berkeley, Morgan was Director of Development at Greystar where he oversaw a variety of housing projects throughout the Greater Boston area. Previous to Greystar he was Vice President of the Mount Vernon company where he oversaw the permitting and development of commercial, housing and hotel projects. Morgan is a member of ULI and NAIOP and a longtime Boston resident. He holds a BA in Economics from George Washington University and an MS‑RED from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sloan Elsesser
The Davis Companies
Sloan Elsesser is a Project Manager on the Development Team at Davis and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day development of projects across the Boston Market in the Life Science and Multi-Family disciplines. This includes activities involving project acquisition, financing, entitlements, construction, and management activities. Sloan’s experience has spanned multiple product types through many phases of the development process. Notable projects include The Mark (East Boston, 107 unit condominium project), 1515 Commonwealth Ave (253 Unit, Rental/Condominium Building), Boston Market Terminal (250,000 square foot of industrial distribution space). Prior to joining Davis, Sloan was a Project Manager for Studio Troika Architects focused on ground up development. Sloan holds a Masters of Architecture (M.Arch II) degree from the University of Miami (Miami, FL) with a concentration in Real Estate Development and New Urbanism as well as a Bachelor of Science in Architecture (BS) with a concentration in Construction Management from Roger Williams University (Bristol, RI).
Ted Tye
Managing Partner, National Development
A founding partner of National Development, Ted has been named by Boston Business Journal as one of the 50 most influential Bostonians. He has been the principal responsible for National Development’s award-winning Boston-area projects such as Ink Block, the WBZ-TV/Allston re-development, the Midtown Hotel/Boston, MarketStreet Lynnfield and Station Landing, as well as over thirty senior housing projects including three recognized as best in the US. He has been involved in permitting and developing projects in more than forty municipalities. Ted has served in a leadership capacity with many professional, charitable and community organizations.