DAVID L. SMITH

Smith was asked to reimagine the business models for several subsidiary units as a part of a newly reactivated public company. He was also asked to consider managing a number of those units.

 

David L Smith was asked on behalf of an International Trust to plan an innovative development and financial approach for an initial stage of $950 million for a Florida coastal port. It was designed to integrate state-of-art shipping and tourism capability while introducing unique multistory residential and commercial hospitality and lifestyle solutions. Also included were environmental solutions that showcased the community’s “green” benefits throughout the experience.

 

Smith was asked to reimagine the business models for several subsidiary units as a part of a newly reactivated public company. He was also asked to consider managing a number of those units.

 

Smith was founder of Equity Services Group and managing member of Southshore Real Estate Development. Southshore Real Estate Development worked as the developer of record for the Village of Lake Zurich, IL. Smith’s team worked over a five-year period to create the Lake Zurich Master Redevelopment Plan with the village. This team effort also led to the design under form-based code for the village downtown core. This established the specific standards for design, architecture, building quality, integration of the streetscape and characteristics for each street to meet the master plan. Upon its adoption it became the largest integrated form-based code within the United States.

 

Prior to his work with the Village of Lake Zurich, Smith served as founder, and for six years, as the managing partner of Barrington Venture LLC, under which he acted as developer of The Garlands of Barrington. “The Garlands” is a $300+ million-dollar innovative resort-style continuing care retirement community located in the northwest Chicago suburbs. This community includes five restaurants, a performing arts center, shops, banking, spa, fitness center and a world-class health facility. All of this was directed and managed by Smith and his teams under the business model that he authored. This project won the prestigious American Institute of Architects (AIA) national award for a senior community and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Pillars of Industry Award for Best For-Sale Multifamily Community. “The Garlands” has been studied by developers worldwide.

 

While active at “The Garlands”, Smith was asked to advise the Board of Advocate Health Care on the application of his approaches he used that could be architecturally and financially applied and adapted for Advocate Health Systems. Their goal was to develop a major tract for building a senior housing and lifestyle community owned by Advocate Health Care. These board meetings were held at “The Garlands” in order to aid and visualize Smith’s strategy and quality of services for senior healthcare solutions available within the residential community.

 

Smith ceased his managing partner role after successfully completing the intense rezoning work on behalf of Barrington Venture in Briarcliff Manor, New York for its second senior community. He directed and completed the financial and business modeling for this project to be built under New York Article 46 Regulations. The Barrington Venture board members then elected to sell the Briarcliff site to Hyatt rather than proceed with the project. Smith remains one of two owners of “The Garlands of Barrington”.

 

Prior to Barrington Venture, Smith served as the president and founder of a boutique pension fund advisor firm specializing in real estate mortgage bond products specifically designed for large public pension funds. He then took that same product focus to JMB Institutional Realty in Chicago, where he worked until the merger with Heitman Institutional Realty.

 

Smith’s background includes consulting for two technology focused companies. In both instances he managed the operations on behalf of ownership; both of which were publicly traded companies.

 

Over his career Smith designed the financial/business approach for procuring more than $500 million dollars in project real estate finance in addition to “The Garlands”. Smith and his teams designed private bond placement specifically for “The Garlands” that supported the business model and generated millions of dollars each year in interest reduction and garnered higher levels of flexibility to enhance the business models. Additionally, Smith led a team that created a patented insurance policy that effectively removed classic stabilization risks for public pension funds. 

 

Smith’s initial efforts with real estate first began in the early 80’s, developing over a twenty-year period, primarily high-end residential and mixed-use projects on the west coast of Florida and in Bethesda, Maryland. In Florida, in addition to housing units, Smith developed several restaurants and commercial projects.