The People Transforming Philadelphia

Meet the People Behind The Bellwether District

Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) is a leader in the redevelopment of complex real estate, focusing on responsible environmental remediation, creating new economic opportunities, all within a community focused context.

Find out more about the people behind The Bellwether District and learn about HRP at hilcoredev.com

Team

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Roberto Perez

CEO

Roberto Perez joined Hilco Real Estate in 2008 and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of HRP.

Roberto is responsible for overseeing all real estate capital investment activities at Hilco. Under Roberto’s leadership, the HRP team has grown its assets under management to nearly $3 billion. Roberto’s extraordinary vision and leadership have resulted in an impressive portfolio of significant transactions for the company, such as Tradepoint Atlantic in Maryland, L Street Station redevelopment in Boston, as well as numerous other value add and opportunistic transactions across North America. Roberto has been instrumental in establishing the current synergistic partnership between Hilco’s real estate and industrial businesses, pursuing the acquisition of end-of-life industrial facilities for the purposes of redevelopment to new and more functional uses. Under Roberto’s leadership, Hilco is now one of the country’s leading buyers of Brownfield sites for purposes of redevelopment. Prior to Hilco, Roberto worked at U.S. Equities Realty on their tenant representation team.

Prior to his work at U.S. Equities, Roberto built his own successful real estate investment firm in addition to a healthcare recruiting firm. Roberto was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States as a young teenager. He graduated from Lake Forest College in 2000 and currently resides in Chicago, IL.

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Andrew Chused

Chief Investment Officer

Andrew is a founding partner of the HRP platform and co-heads HRP’s Boston office. Since joining Hilco in 2010, Andrew has been actively involved in the management of all aspects of the HRP platform, including the company’s overall strategy, acquisitions, entitlement, development, leasing, capital relationships and personnel. Andrew has been instrumental in growing HRP into a national real estate owner, operator, and development company that re-imagines complex properties and redevelops them for the future.

Andrew was one of the deal leaders for transformational transactions such as Tradepoint Atlantic in Maryland, the L Street Station redevelopment in Boston, a 1,300 acre oil refinery in Philadelphia, as well as numerous other significant investments across the country. With a focus on creating a best-in-class team to execute on HRP’s vision, Andrew maintains a very active role across HRP’s 25 million square foot existing building and development pipeline.

Prior to joining HRP, Andrew was Vice President of a regional real estate operator, where he was responsible for managing the real estate acquisition, due diligence, and equity syndication of industrial and office real estate throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. He also served as an analyst for Wellington Management Company, LLC. He received his B.S. in Finance from Bentley College.

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Benjamin Spera

COO

Ben is a founding partner of the HRP platform and co-head of HRP’s Boston office. Since joining Hilco in 2011, Ben has played an instrumental role in the acquisition of many of HRP’s transformational projects, including Tradepoint Atlantic and L Street Station.

Ben is actively involved in the management of all aspects of the HRP platform, including investment strategies and decisions, debt and equity partnerships, and personnel. In addition to his management responsibilities, Ben maintains an active role in deal execution across the portfolio, including project entitlement, financing, leasing, and development,

Prior to joining Hilco, Ben worked as a Vice President with Anglo Irish Bank. He received a BA in economics from Boston College and is a CFA charterholder.

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Anne R. Garr

General Counsel

Anne R. Garr joined HRP in January 2020 serving as General Counsel. Anne is responsible for managing the day-to-day legal needs and the robust deal flow within HRP.

Anne joined HRP as a highly accomplished attorney with over 20 years of legal, real estate and deal making experience at top law firms. Most recently, Anne worked as a Partner and Co-Leader of the real estate practice at Freeborn & Peters LLP, was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and was the co-chair of the firm’s recruitment committee. While at Freeborn, Anne expertly represented HRP in a variety of matters.

Anne has extensive experience in commercial real estate deals, with an emphasis on acquisitions, dispositions, development, financing and commercial leasing. During her tenure at Freeborn, Anne represented owners, developers, landlords, and tenants in a variety of sophisticated matters, including retail, industrial, restaurant, and mixed-use projects. A significant portion of Anne's time at Freeborn was spent on corporate real estate deals, counseling companies with large real estate portfolios and coordinating legal strategies with in-house executives and outside vendors to deliver creative and intelligent, business-driven solutions for her clients. Before joining Freeborn, Anne was an Equity Partner at Lord Bissell & Brook (now Locke Lord LLP) and Chair of its Hiring Committee.

Anne has a B.A. from The American University in Washington D.C. and her Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law, where she graduated with honors. Anne has been recognized with many awards and distinctions including but not limited to the following: The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer – 40 Under 40 Illinois Attorneys to Watch – 2008; Leading Lawyers - Land Use, Zoning and Condemnation Law; Real Estate Law: Commercial; and Real Estate Law: Finance -2009; The Illinois Leading Lawyers - 2019 (cited in multiple years).

Anne is actively involved in legal and real estate industry organizations such as The Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and The Real Estate Investment Association (REIA). Additionally, she has been an author and public speaker sharing her ideas and insights at many events and conferences on topics such as "Chicago Power Women: Honoring Women in Commercial Real Estate," Bisnow in Chicago (December 4, 2018); and, "Chicago Real Estate - What's Hot and What's Ahead," Northern Trust Real Estate Symposium (October 26, 2017).

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Julianna Connolly

EVP, Environmental Remediation

Julianna Connolly joined HRP in July 2021 and is responsible for managing environmental assessment, remediation, and environmental due diligence activities throughout HRP’s platform. Julianna has been working with HRP as an environmental consultant since 2015. She joins HRP with 18 years of environmental consulting experience focused on risk-based closure of contaminated properties, human health risk assessment, vapor intrusion assessment and mitigation, and environmental due diligence. Julianna is a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) in Massachusetts.

Prior to joining HRP, Julianna founded Green Ladder Environmental in 2018. At Green Ladder, Julianna provided LSP, human health risk assessment, and environmental consulting services, helping her clients navigate contaminated properties toward regulatory closure under state and federal site cleanup programs. Julianna’s experience in developing and implementing regulatory closure strategies informs her evaluation of potential environmental liabilities during real estate transactions.

Before founding Green Ladder, Julianna was a Senior Principal at Geosyntec Consultants, a 1200-person specialized consulting and engineering firm that works with private and public sector clients. At Geosyntec, she was responsible for managing the firm’s New England operations and led the firm’s Massachusetts Contingency Plan practice. Julianna was active in Geosyntec’s Diversity Initiative and increased the representation of women in senior leadership at the firm. Prior to Geosyntec, Julianna was a Project Manager at GZA GeoEnvironmental, where she focused on human health risk assessment and navigating sites through the Massachusetts Contingency Plan.

Julianna received a BA in Chemistry and Environmental Studies from Williams College, and she earned a MEng in Environmental Engineering from MIT.

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Stephanie Eggert

SVP, Operations

Stephanie Eggert joined HRP in August 2020 as Senior Vice President – Operations in the Philadelphia office. In this role, Stephanie focuses on transforming the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery site into an environmentally friendly, state-of-the art, multi-modal logistics campus that serves as a hub in Philadelphia creating thousands of jobs.

Stephanie worked for PES for over seven years, most recently serving as Vice President of Business Planning prior to HRP’s acquisition of the South Philadelphia industrial site, where she was responsible for maximizing profitability and raw material cost efficiencies. Her experience provides HRP with a unique understanding and degree of expertise that will help the organization effectively manage business operations, synthesize workflows, and coordinate planning initiatives.

Prior to PES, Stephanie held various positions of increasing responsibility with Sunoco Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, also serves as Vice President of the Women’s Leadership Forum of Greater Philadelphia and is the former lead recruiter for the Engineering College Recruiting Program.

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Justin A. Dunn

SVP, Development

Justin Dunn joined HRP in October 2020 as Senior Vice President of Development focused on overseeing the redevelopment activities for the 1,300-acre former oil refinery located in Philadelphia, PA.

Mr. Dunn has over 20 years of land development experience including Hilco Redevelopment Partner’s flagship project, Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore, Maryland where he successfully completed transactions and the delivery of more than 6.5 million square feet of industrial buildings, each with complex material handling equipment and automation, for several top tier companies.

Mr. Dunn is a LEED Accredited Professional who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Stevenson University with Summa Cum Laude honors and is a member of the Sigma Beta Delta honor society for Business, Management, and Administration.

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Melissa Schrock

EVP, Mixed-Use Development

Melissa joined HRP's executive team in 2020 to lead the firm’s expansion into the urban mixed-use development space. In this role, she has responsibility for the management of several projects currently underway, including L Street Station in Boston, Massachusetts, the former PRGS site in Alexandria, Virginia, and Campus Bay in San Francisco, California, among other significant projects throughout the country. In leading HRP’s urban mixed-use development platform, Melissa’s responsibilities encompass all facets of development, from due diligence and acquisition to entitlement and vertical development.

Prior to joining HRP, Melissa was Vice President of Development at Boston Properties (NYSE: BxP), where she was responsible for managing many of the firm’s urban, mixed-use, redevelopment projects in Boston’s urban core, including The Hub on Causeway, a 1.8M SF mixed-use development at North Station adjacent to Boston’s TD Garden. The 3-phase vertical mixed-use project began opening in Fall 2019 and includes a 630,000 SF office tower primarily leased to Verizon, 180,000 SF of loft-style office space leased to Rapid 7, a 440-unit residential tower, a 272-key citizenM micro hotel, and 200,000 SF of retail, including a 60,000 SF Star market, an Arclight cinema, and a Big Night Entertainment live music venue.

Additionally, Melissa worked on entitling 800,000 SF of life science development in Kendall Square in Cambridge and she was responsible for entitling the Back Bay/South End Gateway project, a 1.6M SF air rights development over the Massachusetts turnpike and the adjacent MBTA station, consisting of a 600,000 SF office tower, 600 residential units in 2 towers, and a retail expansion of the existing Back Bay Station, in addition to a multi-million-dollar renovation of the Station concourse. Melissa oversaw the design of the office tower, taking it through 100% design development documentation.

While at BxP, Melissa also managed entitlements and design through 25% construction documents for 325 Main Street in Cambridge's Kendall Square. A 440,000 SF office and retail building for Google, the project is scheduled to deliver in Spring 2022.

Prior to joining BxP, Melissa was a Project Manager at Samuels & Associates, where she was responsible for the 340,000 SF Continuum project in North Allston and Pierce Boston, a 330,000 SF project in Fenway, together representing approximately $450M of development, 675 rental and condominium units, and 55,000 SF of retail space.

Melissa previously had a successful career as an architect in California and a small business owner in Paris, where she ran a real estate advisory and sales business before relocating to Boston.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University and a dual master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Real Estate Development and City Planning. She serves as a Director on the board of REFA, where she is a member of the Annual Events Committee, and she is an active member of NAIOP, CREW and ULI, where she serves on the UDMUC Silver National Product Council and Boston Urban Development Council.

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Jeremy J. Grey

EVP, Industrial Development

Mr. Grey joined HRP in May 2018 and is responsible for overseeing all real estate development activity. Jeremy will lead the North American team that is responsible for the development and redevelopment of HRP assets into warehouse distribution centers, e-commerce facilities, trucking terminals, rail related assets, energy related assets, mixed-use properties, and infrastructure assets.

Mr. Grey has 20 years of industry experience with infrastructure projects, vertical development, and large scale, complex industrial and intermodal park development. Prior to joining HRP, Jeremy worked at CenterPoint Properties where he served as Vice President of Development and was responsible for several aspects of development including acquisitions, dispositions, master planning, entitlements, permitting, local government interface, leasing, and overall development oversight. Mr. Grey has managed the development of approximately 4,300 acres of intermodal and business parks in Joliet and California, including approximately 7 Million square feet of state-of-the-art industrial distribution facilities and truck terminals, totaling over $1.6 Billion of infrastructure and vertical development.

Recently, Mr. Grey played a critical role on the 6400-acre CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Joliet/Elwood where he managed the sale and development of the Union Pacific’s 835-acre intermodal center and $180 Million of supporting infrastructure. Additionally, Grey served as the West Coast Development Manager for CenterPoint properties for three years.

Prior to joining CenterPoint in 2007, he was a Staff Engineer for CEMCON, Ltd. as well as an Associate Engineer for Parson’s Corporation. During this time his focus was on residential development, commercial development, infrastructure projects, and rail design.

Mr. Grey is a member of such organizations as NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Member of American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA), Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), and the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS). He is a board member of the Will County Center for Economic Development. Mr. Grey is a licensed professional engineer for the State of Illinois and received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2003.

What We Stand For

HRP is committed to the long-term redevelopment of the old PES facility. Just as we have done in other cities across America, we are here for the long haul and we look forward to serving as a good corporate citizen and an active Philadelphia community member.

Historical Stewardship

We have been entrusted with the stewardship of historic assets within the City of Philadelphia and we will work closely with the local community to ensure that the history of the site is preserved while the environment is remediated for future generations.

Accountability

We are accountable to our Customers, Community, Employees and Business Partners. We recognize that every member of the team must live up to our commitments and deliver on our promises.

Progress

We believe in continuous progress by having high expectations, an openness to change and constant reflection.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

We are entrepreneurs at heart who dream of the possibility at this site. We will act in order to turn dreams into reality.

Creativity

We are a platform for innovation and creativity to foster the transformation necessary to achieve our dreams and goals.