James (Jim) Jacoby is chairman and chief executive of The Jacoby Group, a synergistic group of operating companies founded by Mr. Jacoby. These companies, whose common goals revolve around sustaining the environment while giving back to the community, span the spectrum from sustainable real estate development, renewable energy, education, health and the environment.
The Atlanta-based company began operations over 30 years ago as Jacoby Development, Inc. (JDI), a retail shopping center developer. During the next decade, Mr. Jacoby, a native of South Florida who has always been sensitive to environmental issues, recognized that there was a better way to approach real estate development. He began pursuing non-traditional development opportunities, involving the redevelopment of environmentally sensitive or impaired sites into valuable multi-use properties with retail, office, hotel, resort and housing components as well as socially beneficial features. The award-winning Atlantic Station development in Atlanta is an example of his forward thinking in this area. The Atlantic Station development, a strategic relationship with the EPA in its “Project XL” exemplifies his eco-friendly, investor-builder approach to site remediation and reuse. Jacoby has also converted former quarries in Whitemarsh and Timonium, Maryland into live, work and play communities. His understanding that the nation’s environment and economy are inextricably linked, has earned him a reputation as “the business-savvy developer with a social conscience” and renown as an innovative leader in the industry.
Jacoby has redeveloped two former Ford Motors Assembly Plants: the first adjacent to Atlanta’s Hartsfield- Jackson International airport into Aerotropolis-Atlanta, the second, at Norfolk, has been transformed into the Renaissance Energy Park.
Jacoby has donated land for the extension of the both the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge in Florida and the Jug Bay Wildlife Preserve in Maryland. Jacoby also redeveloped Marineland, near Saint Augustine, Florida and has plans for a research-training- entertainment, and health and wellness at this sustainable community.
A natural outgrowth of JDI’s strong focus on sustainability with minimal environmental impact was the formation of Jacoby Energy Development, Inc., focused on addressing renewable energy needs, such as the Live Oak Landfill, Atlanta's largest landfill. A public-private partnership of Jacoby Energy, Waste Management, DeKalb County and Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) is recovering and cleaning the methane gas produced within the landfill to serve local energy needs in a way that has never been done in Georgia until now.
Jacoby is a co-founder of LearningSoft and Next 3-D, computer-based education and media companies, aswell as Marine Studios to film ocean-based environmental issues.
In the field of health care investments and research, The Jacoby Group portfolio of assets includes BioQuantix, whose core mission is to bring computational intelligence, to predictive and learning control technologies.
Also a part of The Jacoby Group, is Intellimedix, which is presently involved in researching an approach for accelerated drug and therapy discovery.
The Jacoby Group is committed to making a difference in the communities where it does business not only today, but tomorrow as well. Mr. Jacoby believes that the key to doing this is investment in research and education programs that explore today’s problems and seek solutions for tomorrow’s generations. Jacoby was awarded the Lindbergh Award for sustainability.
Mr. Jacoby is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute. Mr. Jacoby is a Founding Board Member of the Georgia Aquarium and served for 10 years on the Board of the University of Florida’s Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience. He currently serves on the Board of Guy Harvey’s Marine Science Center, the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the Hawaii Health Foundation. Mr. Jacoby is also involved in several other community and civic organizations.
Scott W. Condra is President of Jacoby Development, Inc. He joined JDI in 2005
following his position as Vice President/Area Manager for a large international civil
and environmental engineering consulting firm. At JDI, Mr. Condra is responsible for
all phases of design, construction and implementation for developments throughout the
United States.
Mr. Condra has more than 25 years of experience with project and business management
including an extensive background in environmental remediation, civil engineering
design, construction management and federal and state permitting requirements.
Mr. Condra has managed the remediation of several former military facilities for transfer
to civilian uses as well as multiple commercial brownfield developments including
Atlantic Station, one of the largest mixed-use brownfield redevelopment projects in the
United States.
Mr. Condra’s recent executive management experience includes the redevelopment of the
former Ford Motor Company manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Georgia and Norfolk,
Virginia; a 10 Megawatt solar project in Washington County, Georgia; a master planned
community development on the Big Island of Hawaii; and, a proposed stadium mixed-use
project in Augusta, GA.
In Atlanta, Mr. Condra is managing the transformation of the 130 acre property adjacant
to Hartsfield Jackson International Airport into a mixed-use commercial development
known as Aerotropolis-Atlanta. Mr. Condra has overseen the project since inception
managing the acquisition, remediation, and marketing of the property. Mr. Condra has
successfully negotiated the relocation of Porsche Cars North America’s headquarters to
Aerotropolis-Atlanta, an over $100 Million investment. He also negotiated an agreement
with the City of Atlanta on the purchase of a 60 acre tract at Aerotropolis-Atlanta.
As Vice President and General Counsel, Mr. Borden brings his leadership and expertise to The Jacoby
Group’s broad range of businesses, including, real estate, energy, technology and health care.
Mr. Borden serves on the development team for Jacoby Development’s various real estate projects,
including the acquisition and redevelopment of two former Ford Motor Company automobile assembly
plants, the re-development of the Marineland Dolphin Park in Marineland, Florida, and the development
of a new headquarters for Porsche Cars North America in Atlanta.
In addition, Mr. Borden co-founded Jacoby Energy Development, Inc. with Mr. Jacoby in 2007 to focus
on the development of alternative energy projects. Within Jacoby Energy, Mr. Borden is responsible for
project development, financing, structuring and executing transactions to grow Jacoby Energy’s business.
Experience highlights include the development of the Live Oak High-BTU landfill gas project in Atlanta,
Georgia which was acquired by Air Liquide in February 2012, Project Azalea - a 10MW solar project in
Washington County, Georgia, and a 25MW waste-to-energy project in St. Lucie County, Florida.
Mr. Borden also serves as an advisor to the various The Jacoby Group portfolio companies, including
Next3D Inc. and Intellimedix, LLC.
Mr. Borden received his B.A. degree in Economics from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and his
Juris Doctor (cum laude) from The University of Georgia School of Law where he graduated in the top
10% of his class, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and served as Managing Editor of The Journal of
Intellectual Property Law.
Mr. Borden is active in a number of civic and charitable pursuits. He lives in Buckhead with his wife,
Lisa, and their two children.
Brian Leary is a Managing Director with Jacoby Development – an Atlanta-based and national developer of corporate, mixed-use and retail projects. From 2009 to 2012, Brian was President & CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. ‐ the organization planning and executing the implementation of the BeltLine, one of the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment projects currently underway in the United States. The Atlanta BeltLine is a $3+ billion project that will shape the way Atlanta grows over the next 25 years and beyond. When complete, it will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails, transit, public art and thousands of units of affordable housing along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown Atlanta, connecting 45 neighborhoods directly to each other.
Prior to leading the BeltLine team, Brian oversaw the design and development of Atlantic Station – the largest urban brownfield redevelopment in the nation at the time and its 13.5M square foot master plan for Jacoby Development and AIG Global Real Estate. In 1998, he began developing the master plan into a National model for Smart Growth and new urbanism and successfully negotiated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Atlantic Station, and the new multi-modal 17th Street bridge, to become the first project of its kind in the United States and led a national coalition to create a $2 billion alternative energy and energy efficiency program with the U.S. Treasury and EPA.
Prior to Atlantic Station, Brian worked for Atlanta’s downtown development organization, Central Atlanta Progress (CAP). With CAP and COPA, Inc. (the non‐profit development arm for the Centennial Olympic Park area) Brian helped implement the first tax‐increment‐financing district in the State of Georgia.
Brian is a graduate of Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture with an undergraduate degree in architecture with minor concentrations in land development and real estate, and holds a master’s degree in City Planning from Georgia Tech as well. While focusing on transportation and land development in graduate school, he finished a redevelopment plan for the Atlantic Steel property that would provide the basis for Atlantic Station.
Over the years, Brian has spoken to groups across the United States on Smart Growth, mixed‐use real estate development and leadership. He has presented on Capitol Hill, to NAIOP, the National Partners for Smart Growth, the Real Estate Roundtable, the Urban Land Institute and previously served on AIG’s international Sustainability Committee. He has been published nationally and has taught at Georgia Tech where he currently serves on the College of Architecture’s Executive Council.
Among many non‐work commitments, Brian serves on the Board of Trustees and Executive Committees of Leadership Atlanta and the Livable Communities Coalition, the Woodruff Arts Center Roundtable, the Governing Board of Atlanta Medical Center and previously on Emory University’s Board of Visitors. He is active on the Board of the Northwest Community Alliance – representing over 20 neighborhoods in Atlanta, the Atlanta CEO Soccer Cabinet and is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), CEOs for Cities, Atlanta’s Downtown Rotary club. With his wife, Whitney, he chaired the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Annual Gala and graduated in the inaugural class of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership. He is also an alumni of the Atlanta Regional Leadership Institute, served on the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council’s Academe, Policy & Research Committee, the Mayor’s Institute for City Design, the Board of Directors for Georgians for Passenger Rail, and at the request of the Mayor, previously served as Chairman of the City’s Public Art Advisory Committee.
Brian, his wife and their infant daughter Emerson reside in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood.
Mitchell (Mitch) Jacoby joined Jacoby Development (JDI) in 1983, and was appointed
as a senior vice president in 1985, with responsibility for day-to-day center operations,
leasing and management, as well as construction oversight.
After spending six years in the US Navy, Mitch served as Recreation Director for the
Dade County (Florida) Parks and Recreation Department. His work with children in
this position prompted him to earn a degree in Education. Immediately prior to joining
the firm, Mitch taught for 10 years at Miami Jackson High School in Miami, Florida,
where he also chaired the social studies department. This experience prepared him for
his corporate role of managing both diverse properties and tenant personalities.
In addition to his management position with JDI, Mitch has successfully developed a
number of retail projects on his own. These projects, located from middle Georgia, to the
metro Atlanta area, have attracted a variety of tenants, including national names such as
Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Washington Mutual Bank, Radio Shack, and Hollywood Video,
and many other quality local and regional retailers.
In his private life, Mitch has a deep appreciation for the environment and wildlife,
developed during his formative years in his native south Florida. He maintains
memberships in the Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, Zoo Atlanta, and the
Sierra Club, and sits on the Board of the Ossabaw Island Foundation. He currently serves
as the Advisory Board Chairman of the International Rescue Committee/Atlanta. He
lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia with his wife of 48 years, Noëll. His hobbies include
raising and maintaining his school of Koi (Japanese carp), numerous water gardens, and
being the proud grandfather of ten year old Connor.
Armand A. Vari, Jr. was raised in Miami, Florida. After graduating from Florida State
University, Mr. Vari moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to begin a career in the convention
and hospitality industry. During his employment in that field, Mr. Vari served as
Sales Manager for the Georgia World Congress Center, and later as Director of Sales
for The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Realizing the abundance of opportunity for a responsible developer in the
metropolitan Atlanta area Mr. Vari entered the commercial real estate sector in
1987. Using the interpersonal and negotiation skills hones in his previous career,
Mr. Vari has skillfully balanced development negotiations among neighborhoods,
planning and zoning boards, task forces, attorneys and governmental bodies, to
assure the best outcome for all parties in difficult developmental and approval
processes.
He joined Jacoby Development, Inc. in 1991, where he has been directly
instrumental in the development of more than twenty Super Wal*Marts and
shadow-anchored centers in both metropolitan Atlanta and the state of Georgia. In
addition, he has developed centers anchored by Kroger, Publix, Ingles, Food Lion,
Sam’s Club, Lowe’s and Kohl’s. He was a key member of the team that acquired,
remediated, and redeveloped Jacoby’s nationally acclaimed Atlantic Station, a
former steel mill.
Mr. Vari’s most recent project is located in South Metro Atlanta. Mr. Vari has been
instrumental in the development of a plan that culminated in Jacoby’s acquisition of
the shuttered Ford Assembly plant adjacent to the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta’s
Hartsfield-Jackson International. Redevelopment of the site into a mixed-use
“Aerotropolis” has commenced, with ground broken on November 27, 2012 for the
Porsche North American Headquarters and Driving Experience track.
Mr. Vari is active in a number of organizations, which include the International
Council of Shopping Centers, the Florida State University Alumni Association, Sigma
Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Almuni Association, The University Yacht Club, the Atlanta
Seminole Boosters, and is a member of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2013. He serves
as Vice Chair of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, and is a Trustee of the
Atlanta Rugby Foundation, Inc.
Mr. Hampp started his development career in project management with Tuttle Construction in 1985 at the redevelopment and expansion of Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada, Florida. After a number of other project in his career Carl Hampp joined the Jacoby Group in 2001 to Managed the redevelopment of Marineland of Florida the Worlds First Oceanarium listed on the National Registerer of Historic Places. Carl also managed the redevelopment of Marineland Marina, and the Jacoby interest in the Master Plan for Marineland a mixed use development and acquired the Jacoby entitlements for the Master Plan. The development of the Georgia Aquarium Field Station in Marineland, Florida. Mr. Hampp reviewed and performed a number of analysis on other opportunities in Florida for the Jacoby Group. Mr. Hampp developed "Cottages at the Lake" in Okeechobee, Florida a Single Family Condominium development separate from Jacoby Group. Mr. Hampp presently heads up the special project division for the Jacoby Group which includes international marine science research expeditions, a new marine laboratory in the Florida Keys, and manages a number of other unusual projects for the Jacoby Group.
Mr. Campbell recently joined the Jacoby Group with over twenty-five years of
experience in private and public sector design, development, and management. His
extensive experience includes all aspects of strategic planning, finance, real estate
development and management. This experience includes commercial, residential,
retail, athletic facilities and transportation projects.
As Vice President of Pope & Land Enterprises, Mr. Campbell was instrumental
in the development or redevelopment of over 2,000,000 SF of commercial office
properties, including City View, Cumberland Office Park, Barrett Portfolio, Glenlake,
and Atlantic Center Midtown
He served as Senior Director at Barry Real Estate Companies, assuming key
leadership roles in the Central Perimeter portfolio, which consisted of 18
commercial office properties and over 3,500,000 SF of office space. As Project
Coordinator for the Harrison Square Redevelopment in Fort Wayne, IN, he led a 12-
acre urban revitalization effort which included a minor league ball park.
As Project Executive for I-85 Express Lanes, he managed SRTA project staff and
the interface with GRTA and GDOT. Key initiatives included development of
the project budget format, negotiations of the MOU for enforcement with the
Department of Public Safety, SRTA’s I-85 Express Lanes 10-year operating budget,
and maintenance program for project network and electronics components.
A member of the 2001 Leadership Cobb class and Board Member of the Perimeter
CID in 2008, he has considerable knowledge in the workings of government and
technology.
Daniel is an executive and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in
developing new businesses and assisting companies in achieving sustainable
growth in a variety of industries including: healthcare and pharmaceuticals,
telecom, and retail.
Daniel has been a management consultant with several top-tier consultancies
including A.T. Kearney, Arthur D. Little and Zyman (with ex-Coca Cola CMO,
Sergio Zyman) where he led and performed in-depth business strategy
development, branding and marketing work for best-in-class clients including
Merck, Vodafone, EDS, Bellsouth, Dell, Alcoa, Chick-fil-A, Clorox, Ann Taylor &
LOFT, and Sundance.
In addition to being a consultant, Daniel was a senior executive at TLC Vision, a
company that owns and operates over 80 Lasik eye surgery centers in the US,
where he built and managed the Strategic Marketing & Analytics department.
Daniel has a proven track record as an entrepreneur. In 2000 he founded
and managed Comerxia, a company that provides US online retailers with a
platform for international cross-border ecommerce. The company’s largest single
shareholder is UPS. Comerxia was featured in TIME magazine as the leading
solution for international cross-border ecommerce.
Daniel graduated from The Wharton School’s Executive Education Program,
holds an MBA from IESA and a BSEE from Simon Bolivar University and the
University of Tel Aviv.
Richard Woodward has over 30 years of experience in a broad range of energy related
enterprises. He currently serves as a development partner for Atlanta based, Jacoby
Energy, a division of the Jacoby Group which he has been part of since 2008. In this
capacity he has led the evaluation and development of renewable energy projects
throughout the Southeast. These projects include landfill methane, solar, and CNG
refueling stations. Among these projects is the Live Oak Bio Gas project, a $25 Million
landfill methane to high btu gas facility located just South of Atlanta.
Prior to joining Jacoby he was a founding partner of Energy Advisory Service, the
nation’s leading broker/aggregator of energy for the multifamily housing industry. Mr.
Woodward sold his interest in Energy Advisory in 2008.
Mr. Woodward has also served as President and COO of Lumenor, Inc., a software
company providing billing and customer care products and services to the deregulating
energy industry. He led this high tech startup through the process of venture capital
funding, staffing, beta test and initial customer acquisition.
Mr. Woodward previously served as Senior Vice President, Public Policy and
Communications, for AGL Resources. AGL Resources is the holding company for
Atlanta Gas Light Company, one of the largest natural gas distribution companies in the
United States.
Mr. Woodward also served for five years as President of AGL’s unregulated subsidiary,
AGL Investments. There he managed AGL’s new business interests. Among the
businesses created or acquired were wholesale energy marketing, propane distribution,
energy management, retail gas sales, appliance warranty programs and energy billing
activities.
Mr. Woodward served in series of executive positions with Atlanta Gas Light
Company including Senior Vice President of Corporate Services and Vice President of
Governmental and Regulatory Affairs. He has appeared before the Georgia Legislature,
the Georgia Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Mr. Woodward holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and
a Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School. He has been active in community
affairs, serving as Director and Past President of Trees Atlanta, Trustee for the Georgia
Foundation for Independent Colleges and Past Division Chair for the Atlanta United Way
Campaign.
Rick and his wife, Laura, have three grown children and live in Atlanta.
Joe Byrne is a Project Engineer and has been with Jacoby Development, Inc. since April 2012. He is
providing development management services for the Porsche Cars North America Headquarters project.
Joe earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003 and has worked in the
construction industry ever since. Joe has performed multitude of roles in the construction industry and
has worked on projects in the midatlantic, southeast and recently in Hawaii.
Joe began his career in Washington DC where he worked as an estimator, scheduler and in project
management for Johns Hopkins Cancer Research Building Two. He continued his project management
development on the Fort Stewart Modularity project in Savannah, GA before spending a year in
preconstruction services in Tampa, Florida concluding with preconstruction and value engineering
for the new clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass in St. Augustine, FL. From there he moved back into project
management on the Hunter AAF Modularity project in Savannah, GA followed by Signature Place mixed
use Condominium, Office and Retail in St Petersburg, FL. The next step in Joe's career brought him to
Hawaii providing financial and cost related services to the Army Hawaii Residential Community project
on Oahu before returning to the mainland US to work with JDI on the PCNA HQ project.
Joe enjoys running and hiking, and especially enjoyed living in Hawaii to take advantage of ideal weather
for both year round. He also enjoys scuba diving, a hobby which he began while in Hawaii. Joe enjoys
travelling and experiencing the culture and food in new places. He also likes to relax at home with a
book, play one of his guitars or watch a comedy with his girlfriend, Melody and their dog, Calypso.
Todd Addison is a Project Manager with Jacoby Development, Inc. He joined JDI in 2007 and assists in all phases of the development cycle for brownfield redevelopment and mixed-use projects located throughout the United States. Most recently Todd managed the due diligence activities and assisted with the negotiations that resulted in the development of Porsche Cars North America’s new headquarters facility at Aerotropolis-Atlanta, the site of the former Hapeville Ford Assembly Plant. In 2008, JDI and a group of investors purchased the former Ford plant and began its redevelopment where Todd managed the demolition, remediation, entitlement, property management, FAA light reconstruction and the due diligence related to disposition of the redeveloped areas.
Shortly after the purchase of the Hapeville Ford plant, Todd began the due diligence activities to support the acquisition of another Ford plant located in Norfolk, VA. JDI closed on the property in March 2011 and immediately sold a 30 acre portion of the property with a 650,000 sq. ft. building.
Along with traditional real estate development, Todd has strengthened JDI’s focus in sustainability with the addition of solar energy projects. Solar energy development has become a new skill set for Todd as he has managed the development of a 10 megawatt solar project, which will be the largest solar installation in Georgia upon its completion in 2013.
Prior to joining JDI, Todd spent six years as a product engineer and project manager in the consumer goods and automotive industries with Makita Corporation of America and Dura Automotive, respectively. While at Makita, he managed the domestic startup for 6 new power tools worth approximately $20 million in additional annual revenue. At Dura, he led component engineering for portions of the Cadillac SRX 2nd row seating system and was the project manager for the Buick Enclave 2nd row seating system. From these experiences, he developed in-depth knowledge of design and manufacturing processes as well as project management skills.
Todd has an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, with a focus in Real Estate Finance, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mercer University. He was a contributing member of Goizueta’s winning team in the 2007 National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) case competition, was a Goizueta Real Estate Alumni Group President and was a member of the Goizueta Real Estate Alumni board. In 2012, Todd graduated from the ULI Center for Leadership and also was a member of the team that received an award from PEDS Atlanta for their work on sidewalk maintenance and improvements in the City of Atlanta.
James Hickman serves with Jacoby Development as a Project Administrator working on the
development of Porsche Cars North America’s National Headquarters facility at Aerotropolis. James
started with Jacoby Development as part of the development team in July 2010. Prior to working on
Porsche’s North American Headquarters James assisted JDI’s development team with preparing Real
Estate and Renewable Energy related RFP responses and conducting due diligence for new development
opportunities.
Prior to joining Jacoby in 2010, James was an agent with Roberts Commercial Real Estate Services.
During his tenure at Roberts Commercial James managed retail leasing. James graduated from Georgia
State University with a degree in Real Estate and History. In 2011, James received certification by
the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners for achievements in the fundamentals of
photovoltaic and solar system application, design, installation, and operation. James is a member of the
Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors and holds a Georgia real estate license.