Agenda

7:00 – 7:55 — Registration and Coffee

7:55 – 8:05 –  Opening Remarks
Brian Klebash, Director of Events, GreenPearl Events
Ryan Slack, CEO, GreenPearl Events

8:05 – 8:25 — The State of Distress in Chicago-Area Commercial & Residential Real Estate
In this opening presentation, find out how much real estate debt is in distress in the greater Chicago area. Additionally, discover just where the buying opportunities will exist in the coming years as more and more debt become due in all of the property types.

  • What loan types are in play (whole loans, CMBS, RMBS)?
  • Who will be the active sellers in 2010?
  • What property types are most active today and what types will be active later in the year?

Hear From:
Matthew Anderson, Managing Director, Foresight Analytics (a unit of Trepp, LLC)

8:25 – 9:25 – 60 Minutes of Distress: Myths, Realities, Opportunities
The opening panel will set the stage for the Distressed Real Estate Summit. Will the opportunity for investors in expiring debt in a low-leverage environment become red-hot, or only lukewarm as lenders, special servicers and workout firms amend and extend?

  • Will there be more opportunity than capital raised?
  • Will the supply-demand imbalance continue?
  • Small vs. “Big Banks” and related opportunities
  • What are the appropriate exit strategies for owners in distress?
  • Will sellers’ attitudes about value change? And, are owners expectations of steep discounts unrealistic?
  • Value: Will values continue to plummet despite recovery from recession?
  • Value: What are the factors that will impact value going forward?
  • Has the market bottom arrived? And, is the market bottom likely to linger due to slow recovery from recession and limited debt capital?
  • Will capital markets improvements outpace improvements in real estate market fundamentals?

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Jeffrey Rothbart, Esq. Founder, Superior Street Capital
  • Neil R. Aaronson, Chief Executive Officer, Hilco Real Estate
  • William H. Glazer, President, Keystone Property Group
  • Scott H. Miller, Managing Director, Development and Asset Strategy (DAS), Jones Lang LaSalle
  • Spencer Levy, Senior Managing Director, CBRE Restructuring Services
  • Susan Tjarksen, Managing Partner, Stabilized Asset Resources, LLC
  • William G. Mitchell, Managing Director, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP
9:25 — 10:15 — Networking Break

10:15 — 3:10 — Concurrent sessions
10:15 – 11:05:

Track A — Surviving Distress: Working with Special Servicers and Restructuring Firms

  • What is the role of special servicer?
  • Whole loan lender vs. CMBS special servicer: Analysis and review of workout approaches and variances
  • Analysis and Review of Misconceptions: Do CMBS special servicers have flexibility?
  • Marketing of note sales: Private vs public and key differences
  • Amend, Extend and “Rescue Equity:” Are special servicers expecting borrowers to find fresh capital to avoid necessary foreclosures?  And, how will this approach change the dynamics of today’s distressed investment opportunity landscape?
  • Exploring the importance of workout consultants
  • Differences between master and special servicers: Related obstacles and time horizons
  • Managing Expectations

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Thomas G. Jaros, Partner, Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC
  • Michael Carp, Executive Vice President, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage
  • Christopher Carroll, Managing Director, Capital Markets, Cohen Financial
  • Matthew J. Coleman, Co-Head, D. E. Shaw Real Estate Advisors, L.L.C.
  • Alissa Helgesen, President and Founder, Circle Realty Advisors
  • Eric Lindner, Managing Director, Helios
  • Lori Kohn Neiman, Special Assets | Commercial Real Estate, Northern Trust

Track B – A View from the Bench: How Are Judges Viewing the Foreclosure Process?

  • How is the current real estate cycle similar and/or different to prior downturns in terms of volume of financially-troubled real estate loans in Illinois?
  • Past precedents: Have Illinois judges, historically, sided with the borrower, or lender?
  • How will judges view the significant volume of commercial real estate maturities in the next five years?
  • Analysis and review of receiver selection process
  • How is the current cycle likely to change or impact new regulation and/or legislation related to financial oversight and disclosure?

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Don Shapiro, President/CEO, Foresite Realty Partners
  • Hon. Alan J. Greiman (Ret.), First District, Illinois Appellate Court
  • Judge James F. Henry, Of Counsel, Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP
  • Hon. John Hourihane (Ret.), ADR Systems
  • Hon. Clifford L. Meacham (Ret.), Cook County

11:05 – 11:50

Track A – Chicago Commercial Real Estate Investor Panel: Plotting Success in an Economic Turnaround

In this panel, hear from prominent area investors, owners, developers and brokers who will bring the issue of expiring real estate debt into focus, and what it will mean for Chicago-area real estate. How are local investors approaching the current climate? Are they selling class B, C and tertiary holdings as way to raise capital? And, how are they approaching the distressed debt buying opportunity?

  • Are Chicago-area investors and owners eager to acquire new properties in a distressed debt environment, or are they attempting to maintain their existing portfolios?
  • Is the recession truly over? And, how are landlords preparing for the next cycle?
  • Tenant relationships: How will the current down market impact the interpretation of existing leases and the negotiation of new leases and lease extensions? Bankruptcy? Force Majeure?
  • Should landlords go the extra mile for existing long-term tenants, anticipating an economic turnaround?

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Timothy P. Buss, CCIM, Senior Vice President / Director, NAI Hiffman
  • John F. McKinney, President, JF McKinney & Associates Ltd
  • Gerald Nudo, Vice President of Finance, Marc Realty LLC
  • Todd S. Rich, Managing Director Asset Management, Tishman Speyer
  • Matthew Sigel, Chief Investment Officer, Keystone Property Group

Track B — Assessing Residential Opportunities: Foreclosures, REOs, Bulk REOs, Tax Liens and Other Roads to Investment

  • Bulk REOs: Who’s Buying?
  • Exploring the role of Fannie & Freddie: In an emerging trend, are the GSEs holding onto single-family properties in financial difficulty, and why?
  • Navigating short-sales and tax liens
Hear From:
Moderator: Thomas R. McOsker, Head of Tax Receivables Brokerage Department, GFI Group Inc
Tom Eggleston, Principal, Benham REO

Dave Schumacher, President & Chief Underwriter, Tax Title Services

Robert Shakman, Principal, Regents Park, LLC

11:50 – 12:35:

Track A – Buying, Selling & Determining Value: How are Appraisers Estimating Values with the Lack of Comparable Sales Data Today?

Commercial real estate investment sales volume has plummeted since 2007 following a complete shut-down of the CMBS market and sellers’ reluctance to sell at distressed levels.  Is anyone selling in today’s market? And, how is valued determined in this unusual market?

  • Are there different values, or a range of values for a seller needing to sell quickly (market price or spot sale price) versus higher price which might be obtained over a much longer timeline (intrinsic value)?
  • What is more important in establishing value in today’s market – market value or deal transaction value? How do they interface? How much is financing or lack of it effecting value?
  • Is it appropriate to model a rent spike in the future when preparing a discounted cash flow model today on an investment grade property when commercial rents continue to decline?
  • To what extent, if at all, does the brokerage community contribute to a downward spiral of property pricing?
  • To what extent, if at all, does a third party purchase of a defaulted mortgage at a discounted price influence that property value?
  • Property Taxes: How are owners successfully obtaining real estate tax relief as the value of their properties have declined in value?
  • Does a market value appraisal conclusion for real estate tax purposes really have any semblance to a market value conclusion in the traditional sense?
  • If a property’s assessed value goes down, why do taxes not decline?
  • Given a distressed marketplace for the foreseeable future, is 2010 a time to sell?
Moderator: Scott R. Maesel | Executive Managing Director, Sperry Van Ness | Commercial Real Estate Advisors
Gary K. DeClark, MAI, CRE, FRICS, Managing Director, Integra Realty Resources, Inc.
Evan Gladstone, Executive Managing Director, NRC Realty & Capital Advisors, LLC
Jules H. Marling, III, Managing Director, Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC)
Cherin L. Mooradian, MAI, ASA, Director, Duff & Phelps, LLC

Track B – Distressed Multifamily Opportunities: Who Will Be the First to Jump In, and Who Will Follow?

The multifamily property type is the most significant property type in the U.S. by sheer volume, and is therefore presents a serious—some would call “crisis” level of distress—in the coming years as debt matures. By some accounts, an estimated $41 billion—per year—in multifamily debt will mature annually for the next nine years. Traditional multifamily lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, faced with their own capital constraints, are increasingly conservative, selective, and more focused on so-called hot areas of multifamily, such as student housing. Will this trend continue? Hear from multifamily heavy hitters in this panel who will address just how the lack of debt is impacting their sector, how much is in distress and where, as well as expectations for the future.

  • Where, geographically, are the greatest buying opportunities?
  • New construction & development: Has the lack of credit sidelined new multifamily projects?
  • Will Fannie and Freddie stay in the picture for multifamily? How much are they lending now, and are underwriting standards likely to change?
  • Have new multifamily lenders emerged?

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Mike Kelly, President, Caldera Asset Management
  • David P. Cohen, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
  • Richard A. Hanson, Principal and Founder, Mesa Development, LLC
  • Scott Krone, Principal of Developing/Consulting, Coda LLC
  • W. Seth Martin, Managing Director, Pritzker Realty Group, L.L.C.
  • Marc Swerdlow, Executive Vice President, Waterton Associates

12:35 – 1:35 — Networking Lunch

1:35 – 2:20:

Track A – Institutional Capital, REITs & Private Equity: How Are Equity Players Approaching Distress?

  • Strategies for raising capital
  • Strategies for deploying capital
  • Timing the Market: Has the market bottom arrived in some property types, but not others?
  • Understanding execution risk in a market with deteriorating fundamentals
  • Core vs. Value Add: Where to deploy capital in a distressed environment

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Lawrence C. Eppley, Partner, K&L Gates LLP
  • John J. Butler, Managing Member, Durango Real Estate Investments
  • Bob Flannery, Chief Operating Officer, JRG Capital Partners, LLC
  • Tariq A. Khan, Vice President – Alternative Investments, KTR Capital Partners
  • John Rutledge, Founder, President & CEO, Oxford Capital Group, LLC

Track B - Avoiding Vacancy: Working with Retail & Office Tenants in Portfolio Restructures

Not to be overlooked in the maturing debt real estate climate is the challenge of lack a liquidity in the consumer credit market, and ramifications for retailers, office tenants, and subsequently property owners. Hardest hit in the recent recession were the nation’s retailers, especially high-end and luxury brands. The ramifications for real estate investors and developers have been far reaching and, in some cases, detrimental to the bottom line. In the largest bankruptcy filing since 1980, GGP failed to reach a deal with creditors in early 2009. Since that time, Brookfield Asset Management infused $2.6 billion into GGP in a plan that would pull the mall owner out of bankruptcy. This session will bring focus to tenant challenges in an economic downtown and subsequent recovery. Learn about the tenant retention strategies and restructuring efforts that are making a difference for both landords and clients, ensuring short-and long term sustainability.

  • Retail’s Quest for Survival: What types of concessions are required of landlords in the current climate in terms of lease terms, rental rates, and size?
  • How should an owner respond to a tenant’s request for rent relief?
  • What are the different forms can this relief take? Reduction, deferral, lease extension?
  • Are retail building owners more willing to compromise with clients?
  • Has today’s economy paved the way for a new tenant base (in office and retail) that can afford premium rents?
  • Changing Economy: Are retailers anticipating a rebound in sales?
  • Office Sector: What are the sectors poised to see growth? And, what sectors are considered high-risk?
  • What actions are tenants taking to reduce their rent burdens?
Hear From:
Moderator: Ted Parris, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Restructure Group, Chapter 11 Consulting, Grubb & Ellis
Thomas G. D’Arcy, Senior Vice President, Hines Interests, Limited Partners
Yvonne A. Jones, CPM, CCIM, President, Principal, Zifkin Realty Group, LLC
James Kaplan, SCSM, Managing Principal, James Kaplan Companies, LLC

2:20 – 3:10:

Track A – Half Full, or Half Empty? Is There Opportunity—Or Only Distress— in Broken Condos, and Other Financially-Challenged Construction and Development Projects?

Quickly joining the ranks of distressed assets are broken condo deals, defined as either completed projects (but vacant), or incomplete with an uncertain future. In most cases, the values of the condos are less than that debt load incurred by developers. While many broken condo deals are not closing, the projects are increasingly rising on investors’ radars as the next wave of distressed buying opportunity. Will banks continue to hold onto properties? Will these properties continue to sit as idle as mere broken projects? Or, will the “dam finally break?” for investors?

  • Mitigating risk involving broken condo deals
  • Barriers to reposition properties: Regulation and potential litigation
  • What are the hidden risks apart from market forces?
  • Exploring the role of litigious homeowners associations
  • Other obstacles: Mechanics liens and title issues
  • Comparing and contrasting opportunities in various markets: Chicago vs Miami, etc.
  • Factors affecting investment, including: stage of completion and deal terms
  • Exploring repositioning based on stage of completion: Half-complete vs substantially-complete
  • Banks’ course of action and time horizon to completion: Is there greater opportunity–and less difficulty in acquiring partially, or substantially-completed assets from banks?

Hear From:
Moderator: Michael E. Breier, Partner, Shepard Schwartz & Harris LLP
Albert M. Berriz, Chief Executive Officer, McKinley
Carlos F. Crespo, President/CEO, The NIGMA Family of Companies
David A. Grossberg, Partner, Schiff Hardin LLP
Gail L. Lissner, CRE, SRA, Vice President, Appraisal Research Counsel­ors
Joel Solomon, General Counsel, ST Residential, LLC

Track B – Hotel Workouts: Has the Distressed Debt “Tidal Wave” Arrived in Chicago-Area Hospitality?

  • Challenges & opportunities associated with hotel workouts
  • A look back at 2009: How did the luxury brands hold up in terms of vacancy rates and overall cash flow?
  • Is the budget hotel “recession-proof?”
  • Buying and selling hotels: What kind of deals are getting done in today’s environment?
  • Financing for hotel acquisition and disposition: What’s required of sellers? (i.e. built-in financing) And, how are lenders approaching acquisitions in today’s climate?

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Dana Rowan, Managing Director, Paradigm-Exeter Advisors
  • John Hamilton, SVP Acquisitions & Business Development, Pyramid Hotel Group
  • Robert C. Hazard III, VP of Acquisitions and Development, Hersha Hospitality Trust
  • Steven Kisielica, Principal, Lodging Capital Partners, LLC
  • Dennis Langley, Co-Founder, Montclair Hotel Investors, Inc.
  • Bill Tennis, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, DiamondRock Hospitality Company

3:10 – 3:40 — Networking Break

3:40 – 4:25 — Alternative, Traditional & Emerging Debt Sources: Who is Lending?

Due to the virtual disappearance of the securitized debt market, Fannie & Freddie, combined, accounted for 92% of real estate acquisition and development financing in 2009. Now, however, it appears CMBS could be returning, albeit very slowly. Will CMBS see its shadow in 2010, or will there be a gradual thawing of the securitized debt market? If not, where will real estate investors and developers turn for debt capital?

  • CMBS Predictions: Signs of life, or false hope?
  • Fannie, Freddie & Government Intervention: Will the GSEs remain active in commercial and residential financing?
  • Defining today’s lenders: The credit crunch has changed the landscape of lending. What’s alternative? What’s emerging? And, what’s traditional in a new lending environment?
  • What will the debt market look like in 12 months from now?

Hear from:

  • Moderator: Jeff Sondgeroth, Principal, West Oak Partners
  • Sue Blumberg, Vice President, Northmarq Capital
  • Daniel Owen Mee, Executive Director, Tremont Realty Capital
  • Ursula Moncau, Executive Vice President, Advantage Bank
  • Brian Shniderson, Managing Director, B&A Capital Partners

4:25 – 5:10 — Featured Discussion: Cracking the Vault: Challenges & Obstacles in Acquisition of Banks’ Real Estate Assets
Banks continue to play a significant role in today’s distressed real estate debt climate. Credit spreads continue to narrow. However, continued illiquidity in the debt market presents challenges for over-levered investors and developers, and potentially new opportunities for investors. How are opportunistic investors approaching distressed debt opportunities with banks? What are the latest trends and patterns in the banking system (and FDIC) that may lead to an increase in distressed note sales? Are healthier banks selling distressed real estate loans, while weaker banks are holding onto troubled loans? In this session, find out, precisely, how the myriad of banks are managing troubled loans, and the best strategies for working with lending institutions.

  • Working with banks: How should an opportunistic investor approach potential opportunity with banks?
  • Representing the banks: How are law firms and service providers working with banks to manage troubled assets?
  • Core vs. non core borrowers: How are banks approaching stable vs. fiscally-challenged real estate firms, and debt?
  • Buyers’ perspective: For current buyers, how are they approaching opportunities with banks? And, is there a typical time cycle for acquisition?
  • Issues from the banks’ perspective: What are the obstacles for banks in terms of liquidating troubled loans?

Hear From:

  • Moderator: Jon Winick, President, Clark Street Capital
  • Brian D. Holmes, Director, RSM McGladrey, Inc.
  • Francis L. Keldermans, Partner, Holland & Knight
  • Michael S. Shechtman, JDI Realty

5:10 — Distressed Real Estate Summit: Chicago Concludes