93: John Coley

John Coley of Lake Martin Voice Realty joins the podcast to discuss recent activity and trends in Lake Martin’s waterfront market.

92: Nadia Niakossary

Nadia Niakossary, Business Development Manager at RCP Companies in Huntsville, joins the podcast to discuss MidCity District, a mixed-use development by RCP Companies. Nadia describes the evolution of Huntsville and the important role that a city's culture plays in attracting businesses and residents. Additional topics include the Huntsville Amphitheater, the city's growing culinary scene, Trader Joe's, and Topgolf. 

91: Mark Ritter

Mark Ritter, CEO of MBFS and Nu Direction Lending joins the podcast to share his insights on how credit unions can be a source of funding for real estate investors and small business owners. Mark discusses the advantages of using a credit union, commercial real estate lending through a credit union, and negotiating small business and commercial loans with your lender.

90: Orchestra Partners with Hunter Renfroe and Caroline Jenkins

Orchestra Partners Principal Hunter Renfroe and Development Manager Caroline Jenkins join the podcast to share how Orchestra Partners' mission and approach sets them apart from other Alabama developers, how Orchestra Partners has evolved over the last six years, the projects they currently have going on in Birmingham, and what's next for the company.

89: Post-Pandemic CRE Outlook with James Lomax

James Lomax, director of asset management and leasing at Corporate Offices Properties Trust (COPT) joins the podcast to share his perspective on office and retail commercial properties post-pandemic and his insights on what to expect in these sectors in the future.

AT COPT, James is responsible for market performance of revenue generating assets at Redstone Gateway, a 468-acre amenity-rich office park joint venture development adjacent to Redstone Arsenal as part of an Enhanced Use Lease with the federal government.

He believes leadership is best displayed through community service. In addition to his role at COPT, James has served as past president of Rotaract Club, was a local Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year nominee in 2017, 2019, 2020, and was a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man of the Year nominee in 2015. He is currently a board member of the Huntsville Rotary Club and the treasurer of the North Alabama Commercial Real Estate Association (NALCOM). He was appointed by the Huntsville City Council to the Medical Clinic Board - Fifth Avenue in 2016 and re-appointed in 2020. James is a featured regular contributor to the Alabama Center for Real Estate Blog.

COPT is a member of ACRE's Alabama Cabinet.

88: What Independent Contractors Need to Know About PPP Loans with Troy Dooley

EXIT Realty Regional Owner Troy Dooley joins the podcast to share information about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and how independent contractors and small businesses with 20 employees or less can take advantage of these forgivable loans.

Troy and his wife Kathy have set up a website to help walk people through the process of applying for a PPP loan including the ability to apply directly from the website.  Visit pppopportunity.com to learn more.

87: Real Estate Valuation with Roger Ball

Roger Ball, senior real estate analyst with Commercial Valuation Services and ACRE Advisory Board of Trustee member joins the podcast to discuss the real estate appraisal industry including what appraisers do, how to get started in the industry, where he thinks appraisal is headed post-COVID, and his insights into the current real estate market.

86: Profiles in Real Estate - Don Erwin

ACRE Data Analytics Coordinator Stuart Norton discusses economic development with Don Erwin, former economic development manager for the Alabama Power Company and vice president of corporate development for Barber Companies.

Erwin earned his bachelor of science in economics at the University of Alabama in 1978 and also studied business and German at UAB. He began working for Alabama Power as a writer and editor for training manuals while in college and began working in IT technical support in 1980. He joined the company’s economic development department in 1990 and helped expand the utility's efforts to recruit businesses from Europe, including its coordination with the state in landing Mercedes-Benz US International in 1993.

Erwin's role in securing George Barber's Barber Motorsports Park led to him moving to Barber Companies as a member of the executive board with responsibilities for corporate development and government relations in 2002, after almost two years with the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. While working for Barber's commercial real estate operation, they did a deal in 2005 that resulted in the Innovation Depot, a 140,000 sq. ft. international award-winning incubator that currently houses more than a hundred companies and 1,300 employees in downtown Birmingham. Erwin retired in 2020.

Erwin's first novel, Buffalo Hunting in Alabama, draws from his experiences as a corporate recruiter. The book was self-published in 2020.

85: A Look at Real Estate in North Alabama with D. Scott McLain

ACRE Data Analytics Coordinator Stuart Norton talk to D. Scott McLain, CCIM, principal and managing broker of Coldwell Banker Commercial McLain Real Estate about real estate and economic development in north Alabama including updates on retail, multi-family, land and residential sectors. 

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D. Scott McLain, CCIM, of Huntsville, Alabama, is Principal and Managing Broker of Coldwell Banker Commercial McLain Real Estate. McLain has served as Southern Division Chair of Governmental Affairs for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Additionally McLain serves as Chair of the Retail Group of Coldwell Banker Commercial globally and also has served as member of the Coldwell Banker Commercial National Advisory Board. McLain is a retail developer, an advocate for downtown redevelopment, and a proponent of adaptive reuse of existing real – estate improvements. Very active in local, state, and national civic, political, and professional activities, McLain holds a degree in Public Policy from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Cumberland School of Law. Most recently, McLain graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) for the Advanced Management Development Program (AMDP) designation in commercial real estate (2007), and serves on the Harvard GSD Alumni Council.

Scott is a member of ACRE's Leadership Council.

84: The Importance of Design, Functionality& Vision Collaboration with Callan Childs and Amanda Loper

Callan Childs, Director of Design and Development for Sloss Real Estate and Amanda Loper, Principal at David Baker Architects, join ACRE Data Analytics Coordinator Stuart Norton to share how they partnered together to create a unique space with intentional design at Pepper Place in Birmingham.

As urban placemakers, they create unique spaces to draw people back to Birmingham’s urban core. Working together, their synergy has been instrumental in the design and connectivity of Birmingham’s creative Pepper Place district. Their latest project was bringing James Beard award-winning ice cream maker, Jeni Britton Bauer, to Birmingham with her first-ever Alabama-based store and the first ground up building in Pepper Place in over 10 years. Childs and Loper talk through the space evolution, decision making process and lessons learned.

The focal point of Birmingham’s Lakeview Design District, Pepper Place is among Birmingham’s 24 commercial revitalization districts that are subject to design review protection. This highly visible renovation project has been celebrated in numerous newspaper and magazine articles and a CNN television feature.