AREW luncheon has record attendance

The Association of Real Estate Women's April luncheon had record-breaking attendance for its annual panel of "Powerful Women in Real Estate" and that they were, such that none of them considered discussing women in a male-dominated field to be a relevant for discussion. Topics did include the panelists' current projects and deals; predictions for the market; and advice on building a career and sustaining success. Panelists were Raizy Haas, senior vice president, project management and development, Extell Development Corp.; Jennifer McCool, senior vice president, Related Companies; Melanie Meyers, partner, Fried Frank Harris Shriver and Jacobson LLP; and Hilary Spann, executive director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Roxanne Donovan, CEO, Great Ink Communications, served as moderator. Hilary Spann oversees 10 acquisitions managers and closed 18 transactions in the Northeast U.S. in 2013. Her favorite? Her firm's interest in the south tower of Hudson Yards that she said "touched on everything interesting in real estate" and required a 360-degree skill set. Commenting on 650 Madison Avenue, a $1.3 billion joint venture for which J.P. Morgan Asset Management advised institutional investors, Spann called it "one of the best retail sites in the city" with office rents 20-25% ahead of pro forma. Past AREW president Jennifer McCool focuses on large, complex deals, often in tight time constraints, for Related. With "land values through the roof" in NYC, she referenced Related's recent acquisition of a 3,000-unit apartment portfolio in Midland and Odessa, Texas, commenting that rents are comparable to the Northeast. Describing her role as "advisor, mediator and nerd," Melanie Meyers focuses on real estate development, specializing in land use, environmental review, zoning, public approval and private/public partnerships, at Fried Frank. Asked about development under Mayor de Blasio, she's "cautiously optimistic but it's too early to say." Raizy Haas feels we've "reached a point where there's some room" in the residential market but at Extell, "We have to stop and think about this. Is the market sustainable at $6,000-$7,000 a square foot? At Extell, there is also $2,500-$3,000 per square foot." At One57, Extell's luxury condominium building on West 57th, Haas acknowledged that a "healthy percentage of buyers were foreign." As for the current real estate development market under de Blasio - "It's a Chinese menu out there." Photo Credit: Howard Wechsler