Third Tuesday: Build for Rent as an Innovation Tipping Point

Brad Hunter is a housing market economist with 35 years of experience analyzing builder projects, master-planned communities, rental developments (multifamily and SFR/BFR), and mixed-use projects nationwide. His company is Hunter Housing Economics, a market advisory firm serving developers, builders, and lenders/partners. In a prior career position, Brad was chief economist and national director of consulting at Metrostudy, a housing research firm specializing in tracking residential markets around the country. At Metrostudy, where he worked for 20 years, he directed work on hundreds of market studies on sites all around the country. He advised the investment community in setting strategy, analyzing the potential of real estate, and determining economic value. Prior to joining Metrostudy, he was president of Powers-Hunter Group, a real estate consulting firm based in Fort Lauderdale. From 1988 to 1991, he was vice president and chief economist for Goodkin Research Corporation. During the 1980s, he served as a regional economist with Data Resources (DRI)/McGrawHill, producing all of the firm’s forecasts regarding population, employment, and housing for the southeastern United States.  While at DRI, Hunter authored several chapters of a book called Metro Insights, published by McGraw-Hill, covering all key aspects of the Top 100 MSAs in the country.

As CEO, Lawrence leads the development of the strategic vision for Onyx + East.  She is focused on expanding the reach and breadth of Onyx + East within Indiana, Florida and beyond to new markets as well as driving innovation, culture, and execution within the organization. Prior to joining Onyx + East, Lawrence served as a partner in multiple full-service development and construction firms specializing in institutional quality multi-family communities throughout the Midwest, helping to grow those companies project portfolios and market reach.  Lawrence has been involved in the development of approximately 4,500 multi-family, for-sale, and rental residential units, valued at more than $750 million, in numerous markets across the Midwest. Lawrence started her career in the public sector, where she served as the long-range planner for the City of Carmel, Indiana. Lawrence graduated with a Bachelor of Urban Planning and Development from Ball State University, with a double major in economics. Subsequently, she achieved a Master of Business Administration degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, majoring in marketing. She has been a volunteer leader in numerous organizations including serving as Chair for the Indiana District Council of the Urban land Institute, Chair of the Riley Children’s Foundation Riley Society Board, and is currently serving as the Chair of the Ball State University Alumni Council. Listen in to this brief recap on our Build To Rent Coffee Talk featuring Kelli.

Jeff is the co-founder and CEO of Simple Homes. A lifelong architecture & construction geek. After a career path that has spanned a variety of fields, including philanthropy, investing, and management consulting, he has finally realized his dream of building houses for a living. Jeff has a deep passion for innovation, technology, and a burning desire to help solve the nation’s housing crisis.

Dennis is a catalyst. An expert at driving market transformation programs, he knows people, money and how to get things done. As president of the Alliance, he leads our strategic vision and smart growth of our community. Prior to the Alliance, Dennis helped change the face of the housing industry in Saudi Arabia through two key initiatives: the Ministry of Housing’s Building Technology Stimulus Initiative (BTSI) and SABIC’s Home of Innovation™ program. In BTSI, Dennis helped to create a nationwide program to develop a modular housing industry—modeling 26 strategic initiatives that would jumpstart the creation of a robust construction ecosystem, evaluating 200+ global technology providers, and securing initial approval for $4B in government investment. Within one year, the commitment grew to $40B. Dennis was also a key player in SABIC’s Home of Innovation program, a $30M+ multi-year market engagement program focused on encouraging collaboration among the housing value chain and ensuring that better construction practices are adopted throughout the region. Together with his team, Dennis established and managed a global ecosystem of more than 1,000 subject matter experts, including 46 leading manufacturer partners. The program resulted in the Middle East’s first LEED platinum home, a pilot community of 1,200 LEED Silver homes and a LEED gold interactive exhibition center, which has become the epicenter for collaboration in the region. As of 2016, the program yielded 40+ business opportunities with more than $200M in new value creation. Before and after going global, Dennis acted as a consultant to and developer of residential and mixed-use real estate projects in southwestern PA, several of which are considered pioneering examples of placemaking in North America—including Venango Trails, Edgewater and Newbury. In his spare time, he enjoys big adventures with his wife and sons on the water and in the mountains and supports the efforts of other entrepreneurs—advising and investing in their startup companies.