This past Tuesday November 14 at Pennovation, ULI Philadelphia held its second annual “Shark Tank” event , where local real estate development entrepreneurs (aka “bait”) presented their local development projects to an esteemed, experienced panel of “shark” investors and financiers. These sharks included:

• Tony Rimikis, retired Senior VP for Urban Development at Brandywine Realty Trust and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Drexel University
• Mark Callazzo, CEO of Alpha Funding Solutions
• Melissa Govette, Relationship Manager for Commercial Real Estate at M&T Bank
• Stephen Mullin, President of Econsult Solutions
• John Westrum, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Westrum Development

Three local developers presented to the sharks, the first of which was Argo Property Group, presenting their project “Milk Depot.” Milk Depot is an old milk processing plant for Wawa being fully transformed into a residential complex, including amenities such as a courtyard, roof deck, and study lounge.

Second “bait” to present was Cross Properties, with their project “The Grant.” This is the 2^nd part of a 3-part project in Bala Cynwyd – specifically in North Bala Cynwyd, aka “NoBa.” The project will be ground up construction and will be part 2 of their “NoBa” development (the other 2 multi-family developments are The Kelly and The Mayor).

The final group to present was Renewable Homes, represented by Jeremey Newberg and Laura Blau. Renewable Home aims to produce high performance renewable housing with abundant conservation. The group targets various demographic classes, mainly workforce middle class, by producing a passive home design that includes solar photovoltaic panels, optimized financing, and integrated project delivery. Renewable Homes aims to create zero-energy capable living.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors:                                                                    and our host:

 Jibran Khan is a Bay Area native and Penn 2012 undergraduate alumnus. he is currently pursuing his MBA at The Wharton School, majoring in Real Estate and Finance while also obtaining a certificate in Real Estate Design & Development from Penn’s School of Design.