George T. Heery

George Heery

George Heery

June 18, 1927 – January 21, 2021

We celebrate the life of George Thomas Heery, Sr., a cofounder of Brookwood Group and Heery International – and an influential architect, author and mentor to many people around the world.

George passed away peacefully at his home in Atlanta on January 21, 2021 surrounded by family including the true love of his life, Maude Elizabeth Wood (“Betty”) Heery, to whom he was married for more than 70 years.  He was 93.

He was tremendously appreciated and respected by his family, friends and professional colleagues and partners, a good many of whom, in fact, were his close friends or family members.

George was a loving husband, a fine brother to his two younger sisters, a wonderful father of four, and grandfather of seven grandchildren as well as an uncle and great uncle to many nieces and nephews. 

George had a splendid sense of humor.  He was open-minded, determined and driven in positive directions.  He was a natural leader, setting great examples by his own conduct and actions.  He also was a creative disruptor, thoughtfully challenging the status quo – well ahead of his time, especially in pressing for social equity – and, within his industry, consistently seeking new and cost-effective ways to improve performance, especially for the benefit of his clients in the realms of strategic planning, architecture and management of design and construction.

George lived life large.  He truly was “A Man in Full” in the best sense of that phrase.  He was born in Athens, Georgia and grew up in Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia.

In 1942 & 1943, he and his family lived in Silver Spring, Maryland where he attended Montgomery Blair High School while his father, architect, C. Wilmer Heery, Jr., was serving in Washington, D.C. with the Emergency War Housing Division of The Federal Housing Authority, the predecessor agency to the U.S.  Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).

In 1944, at age 17 (with written permission of his parents as required for a minor), George enlisted in the United States Navy.  He was trained as a shipboard anti-aircraft gun crew chief.  He also was among many who practiced night-time amphibious assault landings (possibly in preparation for an attack within the Bay of Tokyo that, thankfully, never occurred).  He observed his 18th birthday on-board a troop carrier transporting U.S.  Marines and Navy Sailors through the Panama Canal as it begin its trip across the Pacific.  Later, he served in the Philippines where his duties included being an air traffic control tower operator at Sangley Point.

Upon being honorably discharged from military service in 1946, George returned home to Athens, Georgia.  A young veteran of World War II, he had an opportunity to serve as a math tutor for 17-year old Betty Wood.  (That first tutoring session was suggested and arranged by their mothers.) From that point forward, their mutual interests expanded well beyond the field of mathematics.

Prior to George’s graduation from Georgia Tech, he and Betty were married on June 19, 1950 at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia.  The newlyweds honeymooned at Chimney Rock, North Carolina and then made their home in Atlanta, starting first at Georgia Tech’s married student housing apartments on North Avenue.

During and after his college years at Georgia Tech, George worked with several architectural firms including: Moskowitz, Willner & Milkey; Finch, Barnes & Pascal (both in Atlanta); and also his father’s architectural practice in Athens.  In November of 1951, he became licensed to practice architecture in Georgia.

George and his father, architect C. Wilmer Heery, Jr., cofounded Heery & Heery, Architects in 1952.  Initially, the firm had offices in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia.  The firm served residential, commercial, industrial, educational and institutional clients.

In 1961, George became Heery & Heery’s Chief Executive Officer and went on to lead the firm, later known as Heery International, Inc., which grew into a 600-person, multi-disciplinary professional corporation with offices throughout the United States and Europe.

George led the design of many sports facilities, including major league stadiums in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Boston (Foxborough), and Buffalo, as well as collegiate stadiums and sports arenas, notably the Carrier Dome in Syracuse and the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. 

George and his colleagues designed and managed projects across a broad variety of sectors, including infrastructure, healthcare, corporate, and education. These projects and programs were executed around the country, from Florida to Alaska – and internationally, from Scotland to Portugal, Jordan to Japan.

From the 1970s, George maintained offices in New York City, after Heery & Heery was selected by Mayor Lindsay and the New York City Parks Department for thirteen innovative and highly accelerated projects including community swimming pools and related recreational centersLater, he led design work for the renovation of Rockefeller Center streetscapes.  George spearheaded innovations in energy efficient design to the transformative redesign of Buckhead’s Peachtree corridor from urban highway to boulevard.

George loved to travel.  He and his family also loved being in Highlands, North Carolina where they maintained a second home for many years.

While consistently committed to civic betterment in Atlanta, he and Betty and their two younger sons, Neal and George, Jr., enjoyed the opportunity to reside in the Knightsbridge area of London (England) during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1986 George and his colleagues sold Heery International, Inc. to BICC, a British conglomerate that owned the Balfour Beatty Construction Company (of which Heery International, Inc. became an operating subsidiary).  In accordance with the terms of the sale, George remained CEO of Heery International until early 1989.  (Heery International Inc. is now part of CBRE, a worldwide real estate services firm.  Most of the architectural studios of CBRE|Heery that were located throughout the USA became part of The S/L/A/M Collaborative in early 2020.)

In 1989, George retired from Heery International and promptly cofounded Brookwood Group together with his two partners including his son, San Francisco based developer, Shepherd (“Shep”) Heery (who had been employed for the previous seven years with Gerald D. Hines Interests), and daughter, New York City based architect/planner, Laura Heery (who had worked with: Johnson Burgee Architects; I.M. Pei & Partners; and Red Roof Design).

Over the course of George’s career, he became an author and an internationally recognized leader in the professional practice of architecture and also within the field of construction program management, of which he was a pioneer.

His legacy is one of innovation and leadership.  He was among a small group of American design and construction professionals (including his Houston-based friend and frequent competitor, Charles B. (“Chuck”) Thomsen) that, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, created the new professions of construction management and construction program management.

George and many of his colleagues at Heery International and at Brookwood Group including Louis N. (“Vic”) Maloof, W. Ennis Parker, Jr.,  and many others created advanced project management procedures (now widely utilized) for controlling project time and cost through the pre-design, design and construction phases of major building programs.

In 1974 George authored Time, Cost and Architecture, said by its publisher, McGraw-Hill, to have been "the first definitive work on construction management".

In 1981 he developed a real estate and facilities planning concept, Strategic Facilities Planning (“SFP”), a specific business planning methodology for business corporations and institutions with multiple facilities and real estate holdings (both leased and owned).

In 1983, after working for several years to devise new and better ways to organize the roles and responsibilities of architects, engineers and contractors, George refined his new method of design and construction procurement to a point of specific procedures.  His goal was to reduce risks, costs and post-construction problems for project owners.  In 1989 (in conjunction with the formation of several new business entities), his son, Shep, suggested that the new method be referred to as “Bridging”.

George considered the Bridging method to be his most important contribution to the advancement of professional practice in the design and construction industry, especially in the United States.  In 2010, he authored a book on the subject, and he later became one of the founders of the Bridging Institute of America.

Over the past four decades, the Bridging method has been embraced by many project managers, architects, engineers and building owners (including U.S. Department of Defense and the State Department).  A hybrid of traditional design-bid-build and design-build approaches, Bridging retains the better features of both and eliminates those aspects of each that often cause problems for the Owner.  Bridging greatly reduces the Owner's risks and costs while retaining full control over design and construction quality and details.

Also, during the period of 1994-96, George and his son, Shep, together with other colleagues, led Brookwood Group into real estate development by designing and developing The Wakefield, a residential cooperative high-rise located at the northwest corner of West Wesley and Peachtree Roads.  The Wakefield proved to be a trend setter for the Buckhead area of Atlanta.

In the mid-2000s, George and his daughter, Laura, together with other Brookwood colleagues, served as planners and advisors to the Buckhead Coalition and Buckhead Community Improvement District for the enhancement and transformation of Peachtree Road (from Piedmont Road to Wieuca Road) into a tree-lined boulevard, with landscaped center medians, new traffic signal and other streetscape design standards (including replacement of overhead lines with underground utilities).

George’s professional experience was long and far-reaching, resulting in the completion of projects throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Canada and Latin America.  His range of experience included major projects in the fields of: K-12 & higher education; healthcare; research, sports & athletics; corporate facilities; and a host of infrastructure projects including water, wastewater, utilities and highway systems.

George’s design projects included: The Coca-Cola Company corporate headquarters expansions during the 1980s; the Woodruff Medical Center Administration Building at Emory University; the 999 Peachtree high-rise office building; and many collegiate and professional sports stadiums along with many institutional, commercial and industrial projects.

In addition to his degrees from Georgia Tech, George completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.  He was a frequent lecturer on Best Practices for Owners in construction procurement and on the Bridging method.  He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and a Fellow and cofounding member of both the Construction Management Association of America and the Bridging Institute of America.

George is survived by his beloved wife of more than 70 years, Betty; by their son, Shep (and his wife, Liz) Heery of Ross, California & Whitefish, Montana; their daughter, Laura Heery of Miami Beach, New York City & Atlanta; their son Neal (and his wife, Rebecca) Heery of Atlanta; their son George Jr. (and his wife, Constance) Heery of Atlanta; their grandchildren: Eliza Heery of Seattle & Friday Harbor, Washington; Charles (and his wife, Kelley) Heery of Bozeman, Montana; Anna Heery of New York, New York; Liam Heery of Atlanta (currently a student at Elon University); Georgia Heery of Atlanta (now a student at American University); Emma Neal Heery of Atlanta (now a student at Eckerd College); and Aidan Heery of Atlanta (a senior at the Atlanta International School); plus nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and extended family throughout North America and Europe.

George was preceded in death by his parents, Sara & Wilmer Heery of Athens, Georgia and by sisters: Caroline (Heery) Berry of Manlius, New York and Harriett (Heery) Kasak who lived in New York City’s East Greenwich Village area of Manhattan.

George’s family will hold a small memorial service and a larger celebration of his life in the months ahead on dates to be announced after the Pandemic has subsided. 

In lieu of flowers, the family and a number of friends are working with Georgia Tech to establish a professorial chair at the School of Architecture in the names of C. Wilmer Heery and George T. Heery.  Donations earmarked for this new chair may be sent to the Georgia Tech Foundations, Inc., designated the “Heery Professorship” at 760 Spring Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30308.

EDUCATION

BS in Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

Bachelors of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

AMP Harvard Business School


ASSOCIATIONS

Fellow American Institute of Architects

Royal Institute of British Architects

Fellow Construction Management Association of America

Shepherd Heery

Shepherd Heery sheery@brookwoodgroup.com Mobile (415) 606-3355

Shepherd Heery, CEO
sheery@brookwoodgroup.com
Mobile (415) 606-3355

Shepherd Heery is Brookwood Group's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He is one of the three co-founders of the firm and has served as a member of Brookwood’s Board of Directors since the firm was established in 1989. He currently divides his time between Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Ross, California (in the San Francisco Bay Area); and his home/office in Whitefish, Montana.

Shep’s experience as a developer, architect and construction program manager for private and public sector owners spans five decades. He has extensive management, leadership and marketing experience, especially in the realms of high-rise office and residential developments, encompassing all aspects of the development process.

Shep has been in his current role at Brookwood since mid-2013. He also previously served as Chairman/CEO of the firm from 1989-1997 (when it was known as Satulah Group). In 2009, when he returned to the firm as an employee, he became Brookwood’s President, again becoming CEO in 2010, and Chairman/CEO in 2013.

At Brookwood, Shep has served as the Senior Principal for client relationships including Salesforce, Aflac, Wells Fargo Bank, Cal Poly, and the City of South San Francisco. He also has led the firm into opportunities as a principal developer/investor.

From 2002 through early 2009, Shep served as Senior Vice President of San Francisco based Myers Development Company where he had overall responsibility for implementing the firm's development and construction activities.

From 2000-2001, Shep was employed with Tishman Speyer Properties as the Director of Development in San Francisco where he and his colleagues secured planning and zoning approvals to develop the 33-story, 650,000 square foot office tower at 555 Mission. He and others initiated the environmental review process for four residential towers in San Francisco. Two of the towers completed by Tishman Speyer are known as The Infinity. The other two towers on an adjacent block are known as Lumina.

At Satulah Group, Shep guided the growth of the firm from 1989-1997. In 1997, he negotiated the sale of Satulah's corporate real estate project management, facilities management and software units to LaSalle Partners, predecessor to Jones Lang LaSalle. In conjunction with the sale, Shep joined Jones Lang LaSalle where he worked for two years in a multi-disciplinary marketing capacity. At the time of the sale to LaSalle, the company's name was changed from Satulah Group to Brookwood Group. Shep remained on Brookwood's Board of Directors.

From 1982-1989, Shep was a Project Manager with Gerald D. Hines Interests, responsible for the development of several high-rise projects in Oakland and San Francisco. While at Hines, he coordinated and closed a number of transactions, the largest of which involved an ownership interest in 101 California Street. Prior to Shep’s experience at Hines, he was a practicing architect and construction program manager in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Aspen, Colorado.

Shep holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also attended summer sessions at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and at University College, Oxford.

EDUCATION

MBA, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Architecture Cornell University

Don Eichelberger

Don Eichelberger is a Brookwood shareholder and Senior Program Manager. He has more than 40 years of experience building major projects for both public and private clients, including several milestone projects such as Texas Commerce Tower in Houston, Library Tower in Los Angeles, San Francisco City Hall, and the Ohlone College Newark Center for Health Sciences and Technology in Newark, California.

Don started his career as a structural design engineer with Bechtel Power Corporation in San Francisco and after graduate school, spent 23 years working for general contractors, including nearly 20 years with Turner Construction Company. Don managed two business units for Turner over a period of 10 years and was personally involved in dozens of Turner’s most important projects in the western United States.

From 1998 through 2015, Don was a Principal of Stegeman and Kastner, Inc. in an Owner's Representative role, managing the complete project implementation process for various Northern California clients.

From 2015 to present, Don has operated as an independent consultant and from 2015-2016 also assisted the Lawrence Livermore National Lab during an intense rebuilding effort of their internal Project Management group.

Over the years, Don has also engaged in various personal real estate activities and from the perspective of the person who takes the risk, fully understands the opportunities as well as the trials and tribulations of real estate ownership.

Don has four university degrees. He received two undergraduate degrees (B.S. Civil Engineering and B.S. Business) from the University of Colorado in Boulder, an MBA from Harvard University in Boston, and a JD from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Don is both a Registered Civil Engineer and a Licensed General Contractor in California, and is past Certified by the Construction Management Association of America as a Construction Manager (CCM). Don belongs to many professional organizations include the Urban Land Institute, the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California, and American Society of Civil Engineers.

EDUCATION

B.S.C.E. (Emphasis on Structures), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

B.S. Business (Emphasis on Accounting), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

MBA (Emphasis on General Management and Real Estate), Harvard University, Boston, MA

JD (Emphasis on Real Estate and Constr.), Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA

REGISTRATIONS

Licensed Civil Engineer, State of California, License No. C26183

Licensed General Contractor, State of California, Class B License No. 940429 (Currently Inactive)

Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), Certified Construction Manager No. A1617 (Past Certified)

AFFILIATIONS

Urban Land Institute (ULI)

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Danny Gutlay

Danny Gutlay dgutlay@brookwoodgroup.com Mobile: (770) 689-6665

Danny Gutlay
dgutlay@brookwoodgroup.com
Mobile: (770) 689-6665

Danny Gutlay is a Managing Principal of Brookwood Program Management LLC and a shareholder of its parent company, Brookwood Group, Inc. He has more than 35 years experience in the construction industry. His experience includes such diverse projects as school facilities, hospitals, military installations, airports, capital improvement programs and public works programs.

From the Fall of 2007 to Spring of 2009, Danny was the on-site project manager and Owner’s Representative for the renovation of three residential halls at Clark Atlanta University. Since then, Danny has represented the interests of the Atlanta Public School system in its Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST I,II,III) in negotiations with facilities departments, school boards and government agencies. Danny has participated in the process to redesign prototype schools and develop design standards for the local school system, reviewed presentations for unique school concept to districts and has developed and managed annual capital outlay.

Danny's experience spans several disciplines and his experience reflects the flexibility and resourcefulness necessary to address client concerns throughout the construction process.

Prior to joining Brookwood, Danny was tasked with the management of three hospitals in Florida, where his responsibilities included identifying hospital facilities’ $800M capital improvement projects and developing a scope of work for various department users. He evaluated necessary recommendations from internal committees in upgrading facilities needs to ensure compliance with governing agencies such as the Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) and the Healthcare Joint Commission.

Before working in Florida, Danny represented the interests of the DeKalb County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools in their Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST I and II), specifically in their negotiations with district superintendents, facilities departments, school boards and government agencies.

Frank Jesse

Frank Jesse is a Senior Consultant and Advisor to Brookwood Group. He brings extensive strategic and tactical capabilities to the Brookwood team, focusing on corporate real estate and facilities. His past work has spanned large corporate initiatives such as headquarters projects and international expansions, as well as creative solutions for start-up entities. These assignments have been geographically diverse including throughout Asia, India, Europe and the Americas.

In recent years, Frank led the real estate and facilities function for national dialysis treatment provider Satellite Healthcare, Inc. in developing numerous new facilities and leveraging the organization’s investments with profitable sale/leaseback transactions. Prior to his work for this healthcare company, Frank managed the worldwide real estate and facilities for software company BEA Systems from shortly after its founding, through its 11 year growth to 85 major locations in 36 countries, until the 2008 $8.6 billion acquisition by Oracle Corporation. A major achievement during his tenure at BEA was the securing zoning entitlements and various related exemptions to facilitate a 2.9 million s.f. development in San Jose, CA, now likely to become a major future Apple campus.

Prior to BEA, Frank managed the diverse real estate portfolio of global express delivery company DHL Worldwide Express. Facilities included more than 220 distribution centers, on-airport operations, data centers, a software development center, billing operations facility, and corporate offices. In the 12 years preceding his corporate work, Frank managed complex healthcare and laboratory design and construction projects, including for Stanford University Hospital and the U.S. Veterans Administration.

Frank earned a B.S. from the University of Virginia, and Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. He continues to be highly engaged in civic and business community activities in the SF Bay Area.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, University of Virginia

Masters, University of Michigan

REGISTRATIONS

Brett Keeler

Brett M. Keeler is a Brookwood Consultant and he also is the owner of San Francisco based Maverick Development (maverickredevelopment.com). He is a real estate project professional with 14 years of experience as a representative for real estate owners and developers, particularly in the hospitality sector. He is accomplished at managing architectural/engineering design teams, entitlements/approvals, community engagement, site acquisitions, and project cost reviews.

He recently served as the Owner's Representative for Bridge Investment Group, completing the development of innovative multi-family projects at 361 Turk Street and 145 Leavenworth Street in San Francisco.

Upon graduation in 2010 from the University of Virginia with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business product development, Brett started his career as a General Contractor in Manhattan from a construction “boots on the ground” perspective to begin learning about the development industry.

Brett relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2013 to continue learning about the development industry as a General Contractor for two major projects: a campus wide retrofit of the entire water supply system at Stanford University; and the construction of the 42-story high rise at 399 Fremont Street in San Francisco.

Since 2015, Brett has worked as an Owner’s Representative / Developer Manager for Multi-Family and Hospitality projects, including:

Pre-construction services for three proposed new residential highrises at the 150-acre Parkmerced property for Maximus Real Estate Partners

  • A global expansion of the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand for North, Central, and South America

  • Full-scale renovation of the former St. Regis Princeville Resort into the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay flagship along the north coast of Kauai, Hawaii

  • Full-scale renovation of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel into the Beacon Grand Hotel, 450 Powell Street in the Union Square area of San Francisco, California

  • Ground-up construction of a Kimpton Hotel in Pacific Grove in California's Monterrey Peninsula

Learn more at: maverickredevelopment.com

EDUCATION

University of Virginia, Mechanical Engineering and Business Product Development

Ennis Parker

Ennis Parker is Professor of Practice at Georgia Tech, holding a joint appointment with the Schools of Architecture and Building Construction. He brings more than 40 years of experience managing large complex projects and has directed the design and construction efforts for more than $2 billion in capital projects for a diverse range of programs and building types. His in-depth knowledge in the construction management revolves around project delivery, and construction management risk.

Mr. Parker’s most recent consulting assignments include advising Clark Atlanta University on their overall capital improvement program, advising the City of Fayetteville, Georgia on a new city plan and new building programs, and serving as senior advisor to the City Council and City Manager for a new, $300 million complex called City Springs. City Springs is a city center for this newly formed city. It includes 300 units of housing in a public private partnership, a new City Hall, a 70,000 sf performing arts center, extensive retail, and a new city park.

Other projects that Ennis has managed include the $130 million Network Operations Complex for Turner Broadcasting, the $120 million USA Headquarters for the Coca-Cola USA, the 38-gate expansion of Greater Cincinnati Airport, the new $115 million food processing plan for Beechnut in upstate New York, as well as government agency projects for the Georgia Board of Regents, the Technical University System of Georgia, Department of Human Resources, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Prior to his work with Brookwood, Ennis was president of Heery International, a five hundred person A/E and program management firm and was also CEO of Facility Group, Inc., a design/build firm of similar size.

Ennis has served as national President of the Professional Services Management Association and as President of both the Georgia Association and the Atlanta Chapters of the American Institute of Architects. He has focused on program and project management in his career, and was nominated for “Man of the Year in Construction” by ENR Magazine for management accomplishments. He has been involved in architecture and program management for government and private institutions for his entire career.

EDUCATION

Georgia Tech, Bachelor of Architecture

Georgia State University MBA

REGISTRATIONS

Licensed architect, Georgia

National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) certification

Dormant licenses, UK, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana

American Institute of Architects (former President, Atlanta Chapter and Georgia Assoc.)

Former Member, Royal Institute of British Architects

Professional Services Management Association (former National President)

Linda Simon

Linda Simon lsimon@brookwoodgroup.com Office: (404) 350-6865

Linda Simon, SVP
lsimon@brookwoodgroup.com
Office: (404) 350-6865

Linda Simon is Brookwood's Senior Vice President and Financial Controller. She is a member of the firm's four person Executive Committee and is a shareholder. She has extensive financial management experience in the development, design and construction industries.

Linda has been with Brookwood since 1994, and in 2001 was promoted to the position of Controller reporting to the company's CEO.

Before joining Brookwood, Linda spent 10 years as Assistant Controller for the Land Development division of Cousins Properties. She also has experience as the Controller for the real estate development firm Brookside Properties, Inc., and Cumberland Builders, Inc., a volume homebuilder.

Lev Weisbach

Lev Weisbach, AIA, is an integral member of the Brookwood organization and a Senior Consultant to several different business units of The Brookwood Group of Companies.  He also is the founder and president of Weisbach architecture | design. He has more than 30 years of experience as a project manager and architect covering a diversified range of project types and scales.  He has been responsible for the management of projects ranging from $500,000 to $75 million, and he has extensive experience leading projects from inception through completion.

Since joining Brookwood in 2010, Lev has had leadership roles in project management, due diligence, planning and preliminary design services for: Salesforce; Jamestown; Dominican University of California in San Rafael; the Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City, California; the Cabrillo Unified School District in Half Moon Bay, California and the Culver City Unified School District in Southern California.

From 2003 to 2010, Lev was a principal at CCS Architecture, a nationally recognized architectural design firm.  At CCS, he was responsible for the management of the firm’s San Francisco office.  Representative projects include work for Hyatt Hotels, numerous retail and restaurant projects, the flagship store for Tesla Motors in Santa Monica, and the Holy Family Day Home Pre-School in San Francisco.

From 1996 to 2003 Lev worked for Gensler Architecture in San Francisco.  As a project manager for commercial and cultural projects, he managed the development of all phases of documentation and regulatory agency approvals.  Representative projects include the Shaklee Corporate Headquarters, the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, and the Bay Meadows Mixed-Use Projects in San Mateo, California.

Lev’s projects have been exhibited in San Francisco, New York, Toronto, and New Delhi, and have appeared in Architectural Record, Architecture, Praxis, and Dwell.

A native of San Francisco, Lev is a licensed architect in California.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University.  He is a Registered Architect in the State of California.

Andrew Duncan

Andrew Duncan is a Brookwood shareholder and the firm's Creative Director responsible for design, production and maintenance of the firm's marketing materials, publications and websites. He also is actively engaged in the delivery of the firm's professional services.

With more than 31 years experience in electronic design, a background in traditional illustration, and a minor in computer science, he provides a blend of web development and graphic design services for Brookwood and its clients.

Andrew was a member of Brookwood’s original BCID team and an instrumental player in the final design guidelines used by the district to accomplish the first decade of improvements to Buckhead.

He previously served as designer and editor of guidelines for The Mall of Georgia at Mill Creek, The City of Roswell’s Commerce District, campus guidelines for Turner Broadcasting’s Turner-Techwood Campus, a concept design for the Atlanta Soccer Village, and gateway bridge cladding designs for the City of Woodstock’s proposed technology corridor.

Prior to joining Brookwood, Andrew worked in the motion picture industry for more than a decade, primarily on-set as the Assistant Propmaster, then later as a Graphic Designer, Set Designer and Art Director. His most recent projects include graphics support for "Last Vegas", special hero props for "Prisoners" and special assignments for "Drop Dead Diva". He occasionally dayplays for the prop department on a popular vampire-themed television series.

Andrew has more than a dozen projects on his resume including well-known projects like "Remember the Titans", "Sweet Home Alabama", "The War" and various television projects.

Andrew is a graduate of the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech.

Mike Gion

Mike Gion mgion@brookwoodgroup.comMobile: (858) 736-6699

Mike Gion
mgion@brookwoodgroup.com

Mobile: (858) 736-6699

Michael J. Gion is a Brookwood shareholder and consultant. He currently heads real estate services for SAA, a Los-Angeles based architectural firm. Until recently he was Executive Vice President and Region Manager for Brookwood’s Southwestern Operations. In his capacity at SAA, Mike remains available to Brookwood and its clients.

Mike has a consistent track record of assisting corporate business clients in assuring that their workplaces are both strategic and sustainable assets.

In early 2010, Mike Gion merged his Mobius CRE consulting practice into Brookwood. He had previously been with Brookwood, and was part of a project management business unit that was sold to LaSalle Partners by Brookwood in 1998.

Mike founded Mobius CRE in 2008 and has provided a range of professional corporate real estate services to clients including MedImpact and SAIC. Mike brings proven leadership with depth of experience in creative and effective utilization of real estate to enhance client’s profitability in a variety of economic and socio/political settings.

From 2005 through 2008 Mike served as Intuit’s Site Development Leader for the development of an 1,800 employee corporate campus in suburban San Diego. The project involved the largest lease transaction in metropolitan San Diego in 2005, consisting of 470,000 square feet with a fit-up budget of $80 million. The project has been certified at the Gold level under the US Green Building Council LEED-CI program.

From 2000 to 2005, Mike served as the Workplace Portfolio Manager for Sun Microsystems, Inc. with the primary responsibility under original engagement was the land acquisition, planning and development management for a 1.5 million square foot corporate campus in San Diego, as well as smaller development initiatives in Portland, Oregon and other western states. Additionally, his responsibilities included general portfolio management for the Western US and Latin America consisting of 2.3M square feet in 55 locations. Specific activities included strategic portfolio planning, site consolidation and disposition, project design and delivery, site operations, portfolio P&L and business-unit relationship management.

From October 1995 to November 2000, Mike served as a Vice President of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. In that role with JLL he was senior manager for the Project and Development Group in southernmost California and Arizona, primary responsibility was for the growth and profitability in that region. Specific duties include business development and relationship management, staff management and development, large project delivery and P&L ownership. In that position he directed services to Sun Microsystems, SAIC, Chart House Enterprises, GTE Mobilnet, Chase Manhattan Mortgage, Waterhouse Securities, Ameriquest Mortgage and Union Bank of California.

From December 1990 to October 1995 Mike served as Vice President, Corporate Real Estate of California Federal Bank.

Prior to 1990 Mike served in corporate real estate management positions with Imperial Corporation of America and Central Capital Development Corporation.

Additional Information

AFFILIATIONS

Corenet Global

REGISTRATIONS

California RE Broker License (#01123381)

Bruce Fukuji

Bruce Fukuji is an architect and city planner with twenty-five years of award-winning experience in shaping sustainable communities. Highly effective at listening to stakeholders, framing issues and bridging technical, economic and community concerns, Bruce is recognized by clients and stakeholders for his inclusivity, depth, and creative design solutions for complex and often controversial urban infill development.

Bruce’s work with Brookwood clients includes the Mariani family, the Jefferson Union High School District, the Culver City Unified School District, and others.

As the Urban Design Practice Leader with PB Placemaking, Parson Brinkerhoff ’s top ranked transit-oriented development practice, Bruce designed the transformation of Tyson’s Corner from an auto-oriented edge city to a walkable, transit-oriented central business district as featured in Time Magazine and The Washington Post, receiving the American Planning Association’s 2011 national planning award.

As Director of Planning at Ken Kay Associates, Bruce led the planning and design of several large scale New Urbanist master plans including the Coyote Valley Specific Plan in San Jose, a mixed-use community for 50,000 industry leading jobs and 25,000 residences. Working with Alan Jacobs, Bruce designed six traditional neighborhoods for the 1,110-acre Rock Creek site in Sacramento.

Prior to Ken Kay Associates, Bruce was with Calthorpe Associates, the internationally recognized leader of transit-oriented urbanism. Bruce authored the highly regarded Bay Meadows Specific Plan, as well the nationally award-winning handbook “Creating Livable Streets” for Portland’s METRO, recognized by the American Planning Association as a planning classic.

For eight years, Bruce has served on Palo Alto’s urban design committee, working with Stanford University, developers, retailers, residents, and downtown businesses to develop the plan for downtown.

Bruce holds a Master of City Planning and a Bachelor of Arts from U.C. Berkeley. He is a Registered Architect in the State of California, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a member of the US Green Building Council.

EDUCATION

Master of City Planning, University of California at Berkeley

Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, University of California at Berkeley

REGISTRATIONS

American Institute of Architects

AFFILIATIONS

American Planning Association

U.S. Green Building Council

John Grannis

JOHN GRANNIS

John Grannis is a Senior Consultant and Advisor, bringing 40 years of comprehensive construction management experience to Brookwood Group.

As an accomplished senior construction professional, John has managed many large-scale public and private sector projects in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and West Coast regions of the United States.

His expertise as a general contractor, from contract to build-out, has been applied across a diverse range of private and public sector project types, including: retail, hospitality, health care, educational, correctional, wastewater treatment and light industrial.

Since 2010 his firm JDG Group LLC has provided inspection and construction management services to asset management groups and general contractors.

In previous roles he provided management and administration services for the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Charlestown Races and Slots, Marriott’s Courtyard brand, and the Internal Revenue Service.

EDUCATION

Bachelors degree from Tri-State University, Indiana

Artis Johnson

ARTIS JOHNSON

Artis L. Johnson is a co-founder and Principal of Brookwood|Johnson and he is a strategic joint venture partner with Brookwood Group, delivering services to the Atlanta Public Schools and other clients.

Artis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Construction Services, a minority owned construction and program management firm located in downtown Atlanta. He is responsible for the successful and profitable operation of the firm which serves commercial, institutional and industrial clients throughout Georgia.

The 12-person office is comprised of project managers, engineers, estimators and administrative personnel.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, Management, Georgia State University

AFFILIATIONS

National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC)

Alan Katz

Alan Katz akatz@brookwoodgroup.com MOBILE: (510) 499-5674

Alan Katz
akatz@brookwoodgroup.com
MOBILE: (510) 499-5674

Alan Katz is a Co-Managing Principal of Brookwood Partners (also known as Brookwood Equities LLC) and, with Chris White, Alan co-leads most of Brookwood’s development activities in California.

Alan’s broad experience as an urban designer, architect, corporate real estate leader, and private sector developer guides his project understanding and overall strategic approach to real estate in both the private and public sectors.

Prior to becoming Co-Managing Principal of Brookwood Partners, Alan was President and Vice Chair of Brookwood Group, Inc. where he led the company’s real estate strategic advisory and development management practice in California.

Prior to joining Brookwood, Alan was Senior Vice President of Development at Stockbridge Capital, advising on property acquisition and disposition, due diligence, and oversight of development activities with several of Stockbridge’s operating partners. Stockbridge is a real estate investment management firm pursuing opportunistic, value add, and core investment strategies across multiple product types.

Alan’s previous experience also includes serving as Director of Development for two real estate investment trusts - Spieker Properties and Equity Office Properties. Alan led the approvals, development and construction of the award-winning Park Place at Bay Meadows Project in San Mateo, a mixed-use 10-acre infill development.

Earlier in his career, Alan served as Director of Corporate Real Estate, Facilities and Operations for a publicly traded international specialty retailer where he reported to both the CFO and the COO.

Alan is a Licensed Architect in California and has practiced architecture and urban design with SOM (Chicago), Cooper-Eckstut (NYC) and RMW (San Francisco) with an emphasis on adaptive reuse of existing buildings, master planning strategies and urban infill projects.

Alan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree from UC Berkeley, a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University and a Masters in Urban Design from Harvard University.

He resides in Oakland, California.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts with Honors, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley

Master of Architecture, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University

Master of Urban Design, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University

REGISTRATIONS

Registered Architect, State of California

Allison Knapp Wollam

Allison Knapp Wollam

Allison Knapp Wollam

Allison Knapp Wollam has served as a Brookwood Consulting Planner since 2009. She is an expert in environmental review and planning process matters, particularly in California. She also is the principal of Allison Knapp Wollam Consulting, a firm she founded in 1996 after three years in the private sector and ten years in the public sector. She provides land use and environmental planning services, often managing complex and sometimes controversial projects. While rigorously protecting the interests of her clients, she works to identify common ground and to attain consensus among diverse groups with divergent interests to produce winning and implementable projects.

Allison regularly prepares and manages environmental documents and project entitlements for her clients that include Northern California municipalities such as Belmont, East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Pacifica, San Bruno, Saratoga, South San Francisco and Union City.

As the consulting planner for the City of South San Francisco for the Terrabay, Mandalay and Centennial Towers projects, Allison has worked with Shepherd Heery and Alan Katz. Her responsibilities have included project planning and community outreach, as well as identification, management and enforcement of mitigation measures for environmental issues, especially in the realms of archaeology, biology, geology, hydrology and traffic.

Allison’s interests and talents are diverse. She has taken an active role in the successful construction, financing and operation of special needs housing. In the 1990’s she provided management services for the construction of a hospice. Allison identified and assembled the project team from construction through the program operations of the hospice. She processed the project entitlements, conducted public outreach, identified and secured the funding, facilitated state licensing and coordinated public donations. Belmont House Hospice is the first state licensed facility in California and was awarded six state and national awards of excellence.

Her awards include the National League of Cities James Howland Award of Merit, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Award of Merit, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Award of Excellence, Northern California Chapter American Planning Association Award of Excellence for Advocacy Planning, Helen Putnam California League of Cities Award of Excellence, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Award of Merit, California Chapter American Planning Association Award of Merit for Advocacy Planning. Allison received two congressional proclamations for her work one from Congressman Tom Lantos and from Congresswoman Eshoo.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, San Francisco University

Brinton Smith

Brint Smith

Brint Smith

Brinton E. Smith, Jr. is a shareholder and senior advisor to Brookwood Group. He has more than 40 years of professional experience as an architect and program manager.

Brint's experience covers a wide range of complex building types. He has been responsible for the development of project budgets and schedules, the hiring of specialty consultants, and managing design and construction projects from pre-design to move-in.

Brint’s primary focus over the past 6 years has been in the Healthcare market. Brint has provided construction program management service for three of the major Healthcare systems in the southeast including the design and construction of a large 235-bed hospital tower, 500-car parking garage and multiple pedestrian concourses that connected the hospitals and clinics.

Previously, Brint served as Brookwood's Principal in Charge for Pre-Construction services to Union County, North Carolina for a $42 Million Human Services Building. He also served as Senior Program Manager for a $13.3 Million Health & Human Sciences Complex at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia.

Prior to his work in the Healthcare sector, Brint was primarily involved with the Higher Education market. Brint served as Senior Program Manager and Project Director for the California Polytechnic State University’s Student Housing Project in San Luis Obispo, California and established Brookwood’s San Luis Obispo office where he hired six new staff members to manage a this large design and construction program. He was responsible for the overall management of the design and construction of this $300 Million, multi-use project. The project consisted of 35 acres of campus infrastructure, 2676 beds of student housing, a student retail/recreation village and two large structured parking facilities to accommodate 1,900 vehicles. The project also required the relocation and new construction for several existing Agricultural Facilities on campus.

Brint also served as Brookwood's Senior Program Manager for a $22 Million Ray Charles Fine Arts Center at Albany State University in Albany, Georgia, and a $32 Million renovation project in downtown Atlanta for the General Services Administration.

He was Brookwood’s Project Director responsible for the construction of a $13.6 Million, 375 bed student housing complex for Morehouse College in Atlanta and was the Design Phase Project Manager for three classroom and lab buildings on a new Savannah Campus for Georgia Tech. Brint carried out the program management of Georgia State University’s $34 Million Student Recreation Center.

He served as Brookwood’s Project Architect on The Wakefield, a $30 Million luxury residential mid-rise project in Atlanta and was also a key member of Brookwood’s master planning and design team for a 2.5 million square foot expansion project of The Coca-Cola Company’s corporate headquarters.

Brint is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Construction Management program at a local Technical College.

EDUCATION

Bachelors of Science in Architecture, Southern Polytechnic State University

REGISTRATIONS

Architect, State of Georgia

ASSOCIATIONS

Construction Management Association of America

Charles Surber

Charles Surber is a Brookwood shareholder and Advisor. He is recognized for his ability to lead teams and develop strategies for start-up, fast-growth, stable, and under-performing businesses and institutions; and work with diverse clients including high-profile entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions.

He most recently served as the Director of Sales & Marketing for Sheldon Good & Company; was Chief Marketing Officer for the Racebrook Portfolio of Companies; and is a co-founder and principal of The Winnmark Group, whose specialized real estate, financial, strategic, marketing, and operations services have merged with Brookwood.

Charles has held leadership positions as a fundraiser and non-profit manager for several national organizations including The Children’s Village in Dobb’s Ferry, NY; New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; the Palm Beach County Council of the Arts; and Business Volunteers for the Arts / John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Charles has a multi-disciplinary educational and professional background, with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Distinction from the University of Virginia; a Master of Science Degree in Learning Disabilities and Psychology from Radford University; post-graduate certificates from The Grantsmanship Center and IBM Leadership Commitment Program; Advanced Studies in Religion and Theology; and Specialized Training in Keyboard and Voice.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts degree, with Distinction, University of Virginia Master of Science Degree in Learning Disabilities and Psychology from Radford University

Post graduate coursework: Bard College and Certificates: The Gransmanship Center & IBM Leadership Commitment Program

Mark Troen

Mark Troen, Senior Vice President of Brookwood Group, brings a broad investment perspective to its development projects and real estate advisory services practice throughout the United States. He also serves as managing principal of Brookwood’s affiliate, The Winnmark Group.

Mark has experience in all aspects of real estate investment, development and management, including: acquisitions and dispositions; financings and re-financings; asset repositioning, workouts and restructurings; management, leasing, marketing and sales; and construction, redevelopment and new development. He currently focuses on specific asset and portfolio strategies for Brookwood Equities including: identifying opportunistic situations; sourcing urban infill investments; and developing transit-oriented mixed-use projects.

Prior to joining Brookwood, Mark served as Chief Operating Officer of Sheldon Good & Company. He began his career at Security Pacific Realty Advisory Services and subsequently worked for HSBC USA (Marine Midland Bank), The Weitzman Group, Monday Properties, Racebrook Capital Advisors.

Mark has a multi-disciplinary educational and professional background, with an MBA from the Wharton School and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College, majoring in economics.

Mark is active with the Urban Land Institute (ULI); a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS); a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); a Registered Architect (NCARB & Florida); and holds Real Estate Broker’s Licenses in New York, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Maryland, and Connecticut.

Mark teaches graduate level real estate development, economics, and market analysis at the Masters in Real Estate Development + Urbanism Program of the University of Miami School of Architecture.

EDUCATION

Master of Business Administration: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Master of Architecture: University of Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude: Harvard College

REGISTRATIONS

Licensed Real Estate Broker: Connecticut, New York, Florida, Maryland, Missouri & North Carolina

Registered Architect: NCARB Certified, Florida, AIA

Fellow, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)

Chris White

Chris White is Co-Managing Principal of Brookwood Partners (also known as Brookwood Equities LLC) and, together with Alan Katz, Chris co-leads most of Brookwood’s development activities in California.

Chris joined the Brookwood organization in 2017 and has been leading Brookwood’s major Bay Area development and advisory projects, including 380 units of high-rise housing in downtown Oakland and the entitlement of more than 1,000 residential units on the San Francisco Peninsula. He has led several of Brookwood’s other high-density housing and mixed-use projects including a commercial, hospitality and residential project in Santa Clara. In addition to the development management of these projects, Chris also provides financial analysis and proforma underwriting for project capitalization.

Throughout his career, Chris has played an integral role in billions of dollars of real estate development projects and investments. Prior to joining Brookwood, Chris acquired multifamily properties with a large owner of apartments in San Francisco. His responsibilities included developing the investment strategy for each new acquisition, raising debt and equity capital, and leading the financial analysis, due diligence, and closing process. Chris then oversaw the design and construction team to execute on the rehabilitation or redevelopment strategy for the real property assets acquired.

As with Alan, Chris worked with Stockbridge Capital, where he played a key role in the development and capitalization of some of the largest projects in California including Bay Meadows Phase II, located in San Mateo. The mixed-use project included more than 1,100 units of housing, 700,000 square feet of office, and the public infrastructure to support the community including parks, utilities, and preparation of land pads for sale.

In Southern California, Chris worked closely with the Executive Managing Director of Stockbridge providing the complex financial analysis required for the capitalization and strategic disposition of Hollywood Park, a $3 billion mixed-use 238-acre village that includes housing, office, retail, and the new SoFi stadium to host the LA Rams and Chargers.

Prior to moving to San Francisco, Chris worked with The London Group Realty Advisors in San Diego where he specialized in market analysis and financial feasibility studies for investment and development projects including student housing, office, and retail. Chris has also worked in architecture and construction management, and holds a BA in Economics from UCLA.

He resides in Oakland, California.

EDUCATION

BA in Economics, UCLA