Meridian Capital Group announced that Morris Betesh, Justin Boruchov, and their team of four analysts and junior brokers have joined the firm to focus on mortgage and mezzanine financing in New York City and beyond.
Betesh and Boruchov join Meridian after partnering together at Massey Knakal / Cushman & Wakefield. During that time, they led the firm’s top financing team in New York City, where they closed over 400 financing transactions across all property types.
Betesh and Boruchov have brokered a significant portfolio of financings across the five boroughs of New York City, with a high concentration in Manhattan, Bushwick, Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Long Island City.
The team completed several complex and record-breaking transactions, including the financings of the 2 Court Square in Queens, the 100,000 s/f warehouse-to-office conversion of 215 Moore Street in Bushwick, the acquisition/predevelopment loan allowing for the repurposing of St. Luke’s hospital in Morningside Heights, and 15 Park Row in Manhattan.
Betesh was awarded the REBNY Most Promising Commercial Sales Person of the Year award in 2015, sits on REBNY’s Finance Committee.
In their new roles, Betesh, Boruchov and their team will focus on expanding their growing book of mortgage and mezzanine financing across various property and borrower types.
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Charles J Hatfield, a New Jersey office real estate executive who represents clients globally as well as through the U.S., has joined Colliers International Group Inc.
Hatfield will focus primarily on tenant representation and agency leasing and will be based in Colliers’ Princeton office.
Hatfield has represented a wide range of clients and tenants throughout the U.S. and globally including Merrill Lynch, AIG, KKR, KKR/Capstone, Marsh & McLennan, Mobil, Fuji Securities, Sprint, Siemens, FM Global, AON, Fidelity Investments, Pharmacia, Coca-Cola and Aetna/US Healthcare among others.
He also provided representation through the disposition and acquisition of land; core, shell, and interior office construction; build-to-suits; and large-scale lease transactions.
Hatfield earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Colorado and a graduate diploma from New York University’s Real Estate Institute.
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Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP announced that Matthew Parrott has joined the Firm as a partner in the Litigation Department in New York.
Parrott represents prominent corporate clients and individuals,. Throughout his career, he has gained broad experience in the courtroom and secured many significant litigation victories.
Parrott has represented real estate lenders, developers and banking institutions in some of the largest real estate and construction disputes in New York and across the country.
He handles matters involving breach of contract disputes, partnership issues, securities law claims, Ponzi schemes, RICO actions, corporate merger and acquisition transactions, and fraudulent transfer claims. In addition, his corporate clients regularly seek his advice on day-to-day litigation matters impacting their businesses.
His client matters have included some of the largest construction project foreclosures in New York City in recent history, including the Trump SoHo Hotel, One Madison Park, 47 East 34th Street and 855 Avenue of the Americas.
In addition, Parrott regularly acts as counsel in connection with sales and acquisitions of distressed notes and assets.
Before joining Fried Frank, Parrott was a partner and head of the New York Real Estate Litigation Group at Katten Muchin Rosenman. He received his BA from Manhattanville College and his JD from Fordham University School of Law.
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Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) announced the addition to its Capital Markets’ Rutherford-based Northern New Jersey office of one of New Jersey’s leading capital markets teams.
Executive Managing Director Kevin Welsh, Managing Director Brian Schulz, Associate Chuck Kohaut, Financial Analyst Jason Emrani, and Transaction Manager Maria Betancourt are joining the firm from CBRE.
The group will be headquartered in New Jersey and will service the entire suburban Tri-State area.
Recent notable sale transactions completed by the team include: 80 Park Plaza, a 973,000 s/f office building serving as PSE&G’s Headquarters in Newark, New Jersey for $174.5 million; Two Riverfront Plaza, a 337,500 s/f office building long-term net leased as Panasonic North America’s Headquarters for $165 million; Warren Corporate Center, an 820,000 s/f office campus in Warren, New Jersey for $136 million.
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Polsinelli announced F. Chase Simmons has been nominated as the new Vice Chair and Chair-Elect of the firm.
Simmons, who has been with Polsinelli since 1997, currently serves as Chair of the firm’s national Real Estate Practice Group and Real Estate Equity Group.
His election to these positions is expected to be confirmed by the firm’s shareholders on June 8, 2017. On Jan. 1, 2019, Simmons would become the firm’s third Chairman, taking the reins following the tenure of current Chairman and CEO, Russ Welsh, who has served in the position since 1998.
Simmons will maintain the firm’s focus on priority practice areas which include Health Care, Real Estate and Labor & Employment.
The firm will continue to pursue the five-year strategic plan most recently updated and approved by its Board in January.
Under Welsh’s leadership, the firm increased from 90 attorneys to nearly 800. Polsinelli was named one of the fastest growing law firms in the U.S. and is among the 100 largest firms in the nation.
Welsh will continue as Chairman and CEO through Dec. 31, 2018.
As Chair of Polsinelli’s Real Estate Practice, Simmons’ forward-thinking and deep knowledge of the market has expanded the group’s capabilities and gained national recognition.
Simmons counsels real estate investors, operating companies and health care institutions in all aspects of real estate transactions. He is a graduate of the Kansas City Tomorrow leadership program. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law.
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Greystone Development announced the appointment of Tiffany Rufrano as Director of Asset Management.
Rufrano brings over a decade of commercial asset experience from her prior positions at Paramount Group, J.P. Morgan and Clarion Partners.
In this newly created role at Greystone, Rufrano will manage the company’s growing portfolio of nationally-based multifamily and mixed-use properties, including current holdings in New York City, Miami, and Palo Alto.
At Paramount Group, Rufrano served as a Vice President of Asset Management. She also handled debt financing for Paramount’s commercial assets.
Prior to Paramount, she was a Vice President in J.P. Morgan’s Global Real Assets group. She also served a role in J.P. Morgan’s Real Estate and Lodging Investment Banking Group, primarily focused on raising debt and equity for publicly traded REITs.
Rufrano began her career at Clarion Partners where she handled acquisitions, asset management and investor relations.
She received an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance with a specialization in Real Estate from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has hired Jamie Butler as managing director in its Capital Markets group.
Butler is responsible for sourcing equity and debt for development projects and stabilized assets across all property types, with a focus in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Prior to joining Walker & Dunlop, he was senior vice president at CBRE in the firm’s capital markets group, where he arranged equity, mezzanine debt, and senior debt through a range of capital sources. He was previously vice president in the Capital Markets group at Cushman & Wakefield (formerly Cassidy Turley).
HAP Investments announced that Steven Petri has joined the company as Project Executive.
Petri brings more than 25 years of experience to his role He worked for some of the region’s top construction managers and general contractors on projects including high-rise apartment towers, hospitality, hospital and pharmaceutical properties.
Petri will be working on HAP tower, a 42-story mixed-use residential rental project in development at 500 Summit Ave in Jersey City, New Jersey, and reporting to Lee Karlin, SVP, Design and Construction.
Petri joins HAP Investments from Equity Residential where he served as Construction Manager in the Development Group. E
Petri’s background includes serving as construction manager and owner’s representative for Prism at Park Avenue South (400 Park Avenue South), 70 Greene Street Apartments (Hudson Greene), TEN23 Apartments (500 West 23rd Street), and 300 Prospect Avenue Garage Reconstruction.
Petri holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering Degree from Penn State University.
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MAST Construction Services announced the promotion of team member Sean Edmonds from project manager to senior project manager.
Edmonds, who has been with MAST for nine years, oversees services in all phases of construction for projects under his management.
Currently, Edmonds is serving as senior project manager for the pre-construction phase for the Union County Courthouse Fire Code Renovation project in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as well as the closeout phase of the Union County Family Courthouse project.
Among Edmonds’ prior projects are the recently completed new athletic and recreational facility at Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey; the new $44-million Union County family court building in Elizabeth, New Jersey; and the $40-million Hudson County Community College North Hudson Campus.
Edmonds has a Master of Science in Construction Management from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences from Saint Thomas Aquinas College.
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Peckar & Abramson, P.C. announced the addition of four Associates in its New York and New Jersey offices.
Navid Ansari was formerly an Associate with Byrne & O’Neill LLP. Ansari is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and the US District Courts for the Southern District and Eastern District of New York. He holds a JD from Western New England University School of Law.
In addition to her JD, Melissa Salsano received the designation from the National Counsel of Examiners for Engineers and Surveying as an Engineer in Training (EIT). Prior to joining P&A, she was an associate with Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti, LLP. She holds a JD from Rutgers School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, magna cum laude, from New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Attorney Dorthy A. Koncur was previously an Associate with Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, LLC. Koncur is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and the US District Court, District of New Jersey. She holds a JD from Seton Hall University School of Law.
Ian L. Schlanger is a Senior Associate in the firm’s Real Estate Practice group. Prior to joining P&A, he was an attorney with the Weber Law Group. Schlanger is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York and the U.S. Supreme Court. He holds a JD, cum laude, from Albany Law School of Union University.