In the latest installment of Getting to Know Who’s NEXT, NEXT Americas is featuring Jamie Simchik and Rebecca Gandour. They are both members of the Leadership Steering Committee, serving as co-chair of the subcommittee and a member of the Initiatives subcommittee, respectively.
Jamie Simchik is the principal of Simchik Planning and Development in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Initially offering clients real estate development advisory services, Jamie now owns and operates 200,000 square feet of commercial real estate with his family through the 100 Market Group portfolio. Additionally, his family developed and owns The Hotel Concord, which is a 38-room, independent, boutique hotel in Concord, New Hampshire. And recently, Jamie has opened an 8,000-square-foot coworking space, HRKNSScowork, which is supporting small businesses and growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem through Launch NH. Prior to this current role, Jamie was a principal planner at Fort Hill Companies, an architectural, engineering, and urban planning firm with offices in Massachusetts and Florida. He was also a public engagement assistant with Regina Villa Associates undertaking public outreach for sewer separation and road reconstruction capital improvement projects in Massachusetts. Additionally, Jamie was a research planner with Connor Holmes, an urban planning consulting firm in South Australia, collaborating on a variety of projects for government and private clients.
Jamie graduated from Colgate University and has a master of urban planning, master of business administration, and graduate certificate in real estate development from the University of Michigan. Jamie serves on the board of directors for Intown Concord and Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce (both in New Hampshire) and is actively involved with the American Planning Association.
Jamie has had the great opportunity to be involved with a number of District Council and national programs for ULI. Currently, he is the co-chair of the Programs subcommittee of the NEXT Americas Leadership Steering Committee.
Rebecca (Becky) Gandour is the executive vice president for the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC), focusing on the redevelopment of the Northland Corridor, Downtown Development, and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park transformation. BUDC, in partnership with the state of New York’s Buffalo Billion initiative and Mayor Byron W. Brown, has launched the Northland Corridor Redevelopment Project, which transforms distressed land along the Northland Corridor on Buffalo’s East Side into a workforce development center and a neighboring shovel-ready urban business park. Current work includes phase 3 development of the corridor including the redevelopment of 541 East Delavan Avenue, 612 Northland ‘B’ Building, a community solar project, substation upgrades, and Corridor Parking. The redevelopment of the corridor will provide many residents with future employment opportunities within walking distance of their homes. In 2018, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation announced a $50 million commitment to the city of Buffalo to bring significant improvements and amenities to convert the former LaSalle Park into the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park. This initial commitment has helped to leverage significant additional funding to nearly $150,000,000 for this transformative world-class park project. Construction work commenced in 2022, with phase 1 expected to be completed in late 2025.
Becky completed her undergraduate studies at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C., and also obtained her MBA with a concentration in real estate and urban development from GWU. She is president of the Junior League of Buffalo and secretary of Invest Buffalo Niagara.
Becky was co-founder of the ULI Western New York Young Leader’s Group and has transitioned to Women’s Leadership Initiative (note Buffalo is part of the New York ULI District Council but as they are eight hours outside of NYC, they create their own programming through a WNY subgroup). Most recently, she organized the ULI WLI Fall headliner event featuring Ralph Wilson Park. Nationally, Becky is a member of the Urban Revitalization Council – Gold Flight and enjoys serving on the NEXT Americas Leadership Steering Committee as part of the Initiatives subcommittee.
In the following Q&A Simchik and Gandour explore their passion for the commercial real estate industry and their experiences with ULI.
Q1. ULI: So many of us in real estate fall into the industry and hence CRE professional organizations. How did you get involved with ULI?
Jamie Simchik (JS): I was introduced to the ULI through a volunteer in the career counseling office in college. She had worked for Hines when they were developing Aspen and got to ski during the work day; I was hoping I could also have the job! The better story is that I called ULI Boston/New England to ask what to wear to my first ULI event as I was a clueless student. Turns out that individual is now the executive director of that district council and I cannot live that story down!
Becky Gandour (BG): Before I joined ULI, I worked for ULI. While living in D.C., I had the pleasure to work in the Convening Department focusing on Fall and Spring Meeting. I saw firsthand the great content and networking ULI delivers. ULI also supported my pursuit of an MBA in real estate and urban development, which I eventually put to use in Buffalo.
Q2. ULI: What is the most interesting project you’ve worked on over your career in real estate?
JS: I lived in Adelaide, Australia, for three years. I got the opportunity to work on an urban planning project near Olympic Dam, the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Flying in, the mine dwarfed the runway my plane was landing on.
BG: 201 Ellicott. 201 Ellicott is a former surface park lot that was remediated and rebuilt with 201 affordable housing units, a fresh food market—Braymiller Market—and expanded mobility options for a previously under-resourced community. The residential component reaches a height of five stories along Ellicott Street and seven stories along Oak Street and includes 131 one-bedroom units and 70 two-bedroom units. The market totals approximately 20,000 square feet and is a mix of 7,000 square feet of retail space and 13,000 square feet of wholesale space. Stakeholders with a vested interest in the community surrounding 201 Ellicott informed and enhanced the project. It also won a ULI award!
Q3. ULI: What are you most excited about in regard to the future of the industry?
JS: I am very interested in proptech and how flex office is adopting technology to streamline management and user experience. The increasing amount of integrations with property management systems to printing to access to wi-fi is awesome.
BG: I get really excited on how the built environment can affect my local community. Quality housing, great public spaces, opportunities for businesses to grow. I love that ULI helps me bring national trends and best practices to my hometown.
Q4. ULI: What are you currently reading/watching?
JS: I am reading a lot of books about startups. I am very interested in trying new things, failing fast, and pivoting.
BG: I am currently reading Game of Thrones. I watched the series and House of Dragon. I figured it was finally time to actually read the book!
