January 30, 2019
In
Members Making Deals
Holly Alexander
New South Properties
Thank you Carrie Sharp for your referral. You are an amazing networker, very considerate, and set a great example for all of us!
New South Properties
Thank you Carrie Sharp for your referral. You are an amazing networker, very considerate, and set a great example for all of us!
New firm is named SGA | NarmourWright Design
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 16, 2019) – Two legacy architecture firms in the Carolinas, NarmourWright Architecture (NarmourWright) and SGA Architecture (SGA) are pleased to announce their merger into SGA | NarmourWright Design. Led by seasoned principals who are dedicated to the company’s growth, the newly combined firm fully integrates the expertise, capabilities, services and locations of both companies.
To read the full press release, please click here.
Submitted by Diana Quarry, Womble Bond Dickinson
On January 15, 2019, CREW Charlotte’s luncheon program featured speaker Monte Ritchey, Founder and President of Conformity Corporation and Principal of BK Partners LLC. Mr. Ritchey addressed a sold out crowd, and spoke about the history and cultural significance of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte. Brooklyn was a predominantly black community that thrived as a self-sustainable town within a town. With vibrant shops, schools and places of worship, Brooklyn was home to some of the black community’s families from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and housed critical operations for the community, including Second Ward High School, Charlotte’s first high school for African American children. Unfortunately, during the 1960s and 1970s, Brooklyn was razed in Charlotte’s first wave of “urban renewal,” displacing thousands of neighborhood residents and ultimately destroying more than 1,480 structures.
BK Partners LLC, a venture spearheaded by Mr. Ritchey and business partner Don Peebles, was selected by Mecklenburg County to revitalize the area with its Brooklyn Village development. Mr. Ritchey discussed the future and vision for Brooklyn Village, a mixed-use development that will include residential units (including affordable housing), office, retail, community and cultural spaces. Mr. Ritchey discussed the important role that community outreach and honoring the history of Brooklyn played in putting together the master plan and vision for Brooklyn Village.
CREW Network’s 2015 Benchmark Study Report: Women in Commercial Real Estate found a 23.3% gender pay gap among industry professionals. The gap begins to widen at mid-career and increases to nearly 30% in the C-suite.
Recent social movements have heightened society-wide awareness about negative treatment and pay disparities that women are facing in the workplace. Like other industries, commercial real estate is now under greater pressure to address these issues as companies strive to meet equality and diversity and inclusion goals.
CREW Network’s 2018 white paper, Achieving Pay Parity in Commercial Real Estate, presents expert insight, data, best practices and action items for company leadership, human resources, and women professionals to close the gender pay gap. The publication also explores why the pay gap exists and what’s on the horizon for equal-pay-for-equal-work legislation globally.
CREW Network’s 2017 white paper, Diversity: The Business Advantage, found that gender equity and diversity and inclusion efforts result in clear business advantages and measurable growth in the commercial real estate industry. Along with gender equity and greater diversity and inclusion, pay parity can benefit your business by:
Enhancing your company’s reputation among community, clients and employees
Improving employee engagement, which could lead to greater productivity and profit
Attracting a wider pool of talent
Increasing business activity and overall performance
Fostering workplace diversity
Increasing employee trust in leadership, which could lead to greater retention and productivity
Decreasing employee turnover
More than 80 countries have some form of equal-pay-for-equal-work legislation in effect, while approximately 24 have some sort of mandatory reporting requirement. The white paper provides a snapshot of the U.S., Canada and the U.K.—the countries where CREW Network chapters and affiliate groups are located.
The white paper also takes a look at best practices of companies that have achieved—or nearly achieved pay parity, including Wells Fargo, Adobe, Salesforce and Starbucks, plus insight from leading experts and researchers on pay parity and hiring trends.
Women and men on the executive level appear to be negotiating their salaries equally. Most candidates have outside guidance on the offer process from an employment lawyer, mentor, or HR professional.
Closing the pay gap could be determined by unconscious bias and how employers react to women’s increased and improved compensation negotiations. Harvard research found that for women, sometimes it does hurt to ask for more. In a series of experiments, evaluators penalized women more than men for initiating negotiations. The white paper provides tips and action items for employers to overcome this bias and for women to navigate negotiation.
Pay data is more accessible than ever through technology. Women are open to sharing their compensation information with other women, especially when they’re in similar positions or markets.
Companies that have achieved pay parity agree that it’s not a one-off event and must be evaluated annually and reviewed on an ongoing basis.
CREW Network is the premier business network dedicated to transforming the commercial real estate industry by advancing women globally. CREW Network members comprise of nearly 12,000 professionals in 75+ markets worldwide and represent nearly all disciplines of commercial real estate—every type of expert required to "do the deal." CREW Network is also the leading producer of research on women in commercial real estate. It develops white papers annually and publishes a benchmark study every five years to provide valuable industry data and insights.
For a full version of the white paper, please click here.
Submitted by Stacia Neugent, GreerWalker
The CREW Charlotte annual awards luncheon took place on December 11. Two-time emmy-winning news anchor, Molly Grantham, emceed the event for the second year. Molly opened the luncheon by discussing her TEDx talk “The Real We Are.” Molly discussed the importance of showing your true self despite the role you have to play in your job or other parts of your life. As a news anchor, Molly has to play a role every night. She emphasized how in the roles we play there is often a focus on outward appearance but it is important to make sure others see the person you really are. Following Molly’s talk, she presented the 2018 CREW Charlotte Excellence Awards.
The “Rising Star Award” was presented to Kelly Steele of Narmour Wright Architecture. Kelly joined the Fundraising and the Community Outreach committees in her first year as a CREW Charlotte member. Kelly also plugged into CREW Charlotte with two new charities – Purple Heart Homes and GoJenGo. Kelly’s passion for the community will definitely make her a valuable CREW Charlotte member for years to come.
Wendy Hill of The Regus Group received “The Networker of the Year Award.” Wendy’s name is often seen on the Members Making Deals list for her continual referral of business to other CREW members. Wendy’s willingness to support other CREW members as well as the chapter as a whole makes her a great asset to CREW Charlotte.
The “Outreach Award” was given to Nichole Kelley of Wells Fargo Bank. Nichole organizes the Habitat builds for CREW Charlotte, speaks on panels about commercial real estate at her Alma Mater and has served on multiple committees and the board over the past three years. Nichole goes above and beyond in everything she does and CREW Charlotte has definitely benefited from having her as a member.
Shawn McMillan of McMillan Law, PLLC was the winner of the “Men Empowering Women Award.” Shawn intentionally hires and supports women in his firm. He is involved in multiple committees and on top of that his firm will be a Diamond sponsor of CREW Charlotte in 2019. CREW Charlotte is so glad to have members like Shawn who focus on elevating women in the workplace.
The “Deal of the Year Award” was awarded to Kim Marks of Progressive AE. Kim involved multiple CREW Charlotte members in the development of Barings global headquarters. Members include: Melissa Brown (Progressive AE), Amber Brown (Alfred Williams & Company), Cody Lipson (Balfour Beatty), Jeanne Boeck (Bentley), Scarlet Powell (Unified Technology Systems) and Emily Buehrer. Kim always looks for ways to include CREW members on deals and the Barings headquarters was another great example of this!
Stacia Neugent of GreerWalker LLP was recognized as the “Member of the Year.” This year Stacia co-chaired the Programs Committee, was a member of the Keynote Speaker committee and was a panelist at the April CREW luncheon on the impact of tax reform on commercial real estate. Stacia is valued for the multiple contributions she continues to make to CREW Charlotte.
The “President’s Choice Award” winner was Diana Quarry who was recently named partner at Womble Bond Dickinson. Diana chaired the committee for CREW Charlotte’s inaugural Signature Luncheon that feautured Erin Brockovich. Diana was an active member of the Programs committee on top of receiving multiple awards. Diana’s passion for elevating women will continue to benefit CREW for many years to come.
CREW Charlotte congratulates all of the award members!
Submitted by Stacia Neugent, GreerWalker
Taiwo Jaiyeoba, the Director of Planning, Design & Development for the Ciity of Charlotte, spoke to CREW Charlotte members and guests on November 13th. Taiwo spoke about a fresh vision for Charlotte – the third fastest growing city in the United States as of 2017. He made sure to emphasize that fresh does not mean new. As a top destination for millennials and seniors alike, Charlotte already has a lot to offer.
Taiwo’s focus is on how we can integrate the best of what Charlotte already has with some new and exciting elements. One of the biggest areas of focus for the City of Charlotte is transit-oriented development. With over $2 billion dollars invested and 2.2 million square feet installed along the blue line, Charlotte has already been experiencing a lot of this growth.
Taiwo recognizes that growth can lead to displacement and he wants to ensure that affordable housing is a key component in the continued development of the city. He also wants to make sure that as the city continues to grow the needs of all constituents are met. He envisions growth that focuses on equity instead of equality – an approach of meeting people where they need to be met versus providing the same thing to all members of the community. Taiwo’s passion and excitement are contagious and served as a reminder that this is definitely a great place to live and it will only continue to get better.
Submitted by Diana Quarry, Womble Bond Dickinson
Our October luncheon program focused on some of the most critical yet challenging issues our membership currently faces. In addition to promoting this year’s Queen City in Pink campaign, an initiative targeted at raising breast cancer awareness across the Charlotte region, the luncheon program spoke to issues of diversity, inclusion and equity. After a moving personal account about how inclusion – or a lack thereof – can have lifelong impacts from CREW Charlotte President Adrienne Bain, attendees were also treated to a powerful video about how diversity and inclusion affects everyone in the workforce, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status or other variables. (A link to the video can be found here.) Members and guests then heard from Dr. Corliss Brown Thompson, Associate Teaching Professor at Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Education College of Professional Studies, Chara O’Neal, Counsel and Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, and Fred Dodson, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership. The panelists spoke broadly about what “diversity” truly encompasses, the differences between diversity, inclusion and equity, and the wide-ranging impact of implicit bias. Mr. Dodson also spoke to the importance of focusing on what makes a community unique when developing real estate in the area. The panelists also offered specific tips and strategies for how to improve diversity in the workplace, how to spot patterns of implicit bias and discrimination, and how to monitor whether an employer’s diversity and inclusion efforts are having a meaningful impact.
Columbia, SC—Full-service commercial real estate firm Trinity Partners has opened an office in Columbia, SC, bringing its extensive service line to a fourth location. The firm also has offices in Charlotte, Raleigh and Greenville (SC), and leases or manages more than 20 million square feet of space across the Carolinas.
The Columbia office located downtown at 1556 Main Street, Suite 200, will be led by four partners: Bruce Harper, Roger Winn, Nick Stomski and Macon Lovelace.
To read the full press release, please click here.
GREENSBORO, N.C. Effective Nov. 1, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP will merge with Fox Rothschild LLP. This move, which adds 130 attorneys to Fox, signals the firm’s first foray into the Southeast. The addition of six offices in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina propels the combined firm to 27 locations nationwide with a headcount of more than 900 attorneys.
“Expanding our footprint in the Southeast through this merger is an important milestone for the firm,” said Mark L. Silow, Chair of Fox Rothschild. “We have explored opportunities in this region for many years and are delighted to have found in Smith Moore Leatherwood a firm with a superb roster of talented attorneys who share our values, our approach to client service and our entrepreneurial focus.” Silow said that the six added office locations “provide a base in some of the most rapidly developing markets in the country.”
To read the full press release, please click here.
Submitted by Stacia Neugent, GreerWalker
The Lynx Blue Line began servicing passengers in March of 2018. It extended light rail service from uptown Charlotte’s Seventh Street Station to the UNCC campus in the University City area. The extension of the light rail has created great opportunities for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). This development was the focus of CREW Charlotte’s June luncheon, “The Girl on the Train.”
Alan Goodwin, planning coordinator and urban designer with the City of Charlotte, opened the luncheon by discussing what makes an area qualify as a TOD. The requirements are counterintuitive to other residential developments – there are minimum requirements for density and maximum requirements for parking spaces.
Darlene Heater, executive director of University City Partners, spoke next and discussed some of the benefits that the University City area has to offer. There are several strong anchors such as the Atrium hospital and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte that make the University City area a prime spot for development. Darlene said that the focus is currently on making the area more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. This will be key in supporting the residential aspect of the upcoming mixed-use developments.
Jane Wu, president of Panorama Holdings, was the final speaker at the luncheon. Jane discussed her recent project, Blu at Northline. This upscale apartment complex is unlike anything else in the University area. It offers luxuries and amenities similar to those found in Uptown and Southend. Jane discussed how she wanted to do something that was completely different, and it seems that she hit the mark with the Blu at Northline project. The project is already exceeding expectations for number of leases and price per square foot.
One thing is for sure, the transit-oriented development occurring along the light rail is going to be something to keep an eye on in the upcoming weeks, months and years.