MIT Forum Tapping Into Local, Global Experts

BOSTON — Titans of the CRE development world will descend upon the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston building on April 20 for the Alumni Association of the MIT Center for Real Estate’s annual Global Real Estate Forum, giving voice to prominent speakers and panelists representing the full spectrum of product types and disciplines from North America and around the globe. The all-day event will drill down on a wide array of topics, with programs including Innovations in Real Estate Product Design and Delivery; International Capital is Changing the U.S. Investment Landscape; MIT Solutions Series: Energy Costs and the Future of Cities; and The New Global Investor. There is an impressive local presence in the lineup of panelists and speakers, both from a standpoint of Boston holdings or headquarters. Ben Butcher, CEO and Chairman of STAG Industrial; prolific investor David Greaney, CEO of Synergy Investments; and Bryan Koop, Senior VP of Boston Properties, all call Beantown home, while Bryce Blair, Chairman and former CEO of Avalon Bay; Matt Bronfman,CEO of Jamestown; and Susi Yu, Senior VP at Forest City, have developed or acquired significant assets here. There is also an international contingent attending, including Emre Camlibel, CEO of Soyak Holdings in Istanbul and Qian Wang, CEO of Boson Development in Shanghai. Tod McGrath, Lecturer in Urban Studies and Planning at MIT, and an alumnus of the MIT Center for Real Estate, says he is especially looking forward to one of the Forum’s new programs, the Legal Lightning Round. “What we’re going to do is focus on recent judicial decisions that are changing the way that real estate investors transact,” says McGrath. Three cases will be discussed: an environmental dispute involving the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act; a second discussing nonrecourse cases involving CMBS loans from Michigan; and a third case regarding provisions in joint venture partnerships that are being negotiated. The MIT Forum will open with a networking breakfast sponsored by Keller Augusta Partners and close with a cocktail reception at day’s end. The event is being sponsored by The Real Reporter in conjunction with several leading CRE industry organizations, including Eastdil Secured, Saul Ewing and Skanska. Further information can be obtained at mitcrealumni.org under the Events category.