Berkley is an independent, Atlanta-based real estate investment and advisory firm founded on the career and business philosophies of founder, Mike Cohn.
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ABOUT BERKLEY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
North Macon Plaza on Target for Early
MACON, Ga. – (July 18, 2019) – Construction of Macon’s newest shopping center North Macon Plaza is almost complete with tenant openings beginning as early as September. North Macon Plaza is a 166,465 SF shopping center, well positioned at I-75 and Bass Road, a 5-8-minute drive from Downtown Macon.
The center will offer a complementary mix of services and restaurants designed for convenience for the Middle Georgia market, including: Marshall’s/Homegoods, Michaels, Beall’s Outlet, Old Navy, Five Below, and Famous Footwear. Other tenants include Shane’s Rib Shack, America’s Best Contact Lenses & Eyewear, Southern Grace Creations, David’s Bridal, Luxury Nails and the latest to join the lineup is Your Pie, a fast-casual pizza concept. Spaces are still available and additional tenants will be announced in the coming months.
North Macon Plaza is being developed by joint venture partners, St. Petersburg, Fla.-based The Sembler Company and Atlanta, Ga.-based Berkley Development.
“Along with our partner Berkley Development, we are excited to offer an inviting and well-equipped shopping experience for the nearby residents and surrounding communities,” said Sembler’s Senior Vice President of Development Josh Beyer.
Berkley Development President Mike Cohn who has been working on this project for many years commented, “We’ve envisioned this type of retail offering in Middle Georgia for some time and are very pleased it’s almost over the finish line.”
About Sembler:
The Sembler Company is celebrating more than 50 years of creating retail real estate value. Sembler provides a full array of retail real estate services, including development and redevelopment, acquisition, property and asset management, leasing and other related services throughout the Southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. Sembler has developed more than 325 projects totaling 27 million square feet and currently leases and manages nearly 10 million square feet. For more information, please visit www.sembler.com.
About Berkley Development:
Founded in 2016, Berkley Development is an investment and advisory firm specializing in the capitalization and development/redevelopment of commercial and mixed-use projects throughout the Sun Belt. For more information, please visit www.berkleydevelopment.us.
Grounded in our personalized partnership approach, ready expertise, and steady financials (anchored by a robust joint venture relationship), we strategically develop and redevelop commercial and mixed-used projects within the Sunbelt.
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Investing in property is really about investing in people—partners, providers, communities, cities. It’s about building relationships, balancing perspectives and changing horizons.
That’s why we provide you with the personal attention of a trusted advisor, the agility and entrepreneurial energy of an independent business, and the solid financial foundation of an industry leader. It’s a model that lets us fully invest ourselves in what we do and who we serve, while allowing us the freedom to flex our creative muscles.
The founder of Berkley Development (which he named after his daughter in 2016), Mike Cohn personally works on every project we undertake. He’s a hands-on, heads-up leader whose characteristically “active sense of calm” has become a hallmark of how we do business—high-energy, high-capacity, high-confidence, but never high-strung or high-pressure.
A co-founder of Lennar Commercial (a Miami, FL-based subsidiary of Lennar Corporation, which sold to a private equity firm in 2015), former Executive VP at Cousins Properties in Atlanta, and Senior Managing Director at Faison & Associates, Mike’s career has spanned more than 15 million square feet of projects—including nationwide platforms of retail, office and mixed-use properties stretching from California to Florida and Maine, and valued well in excess of $2B.
He holds a BBA with high distinction in Accounting and Finance from Emory University as well as a Juris Doctor degree with honors from the University of Florida College of Law.
When he’s not collaborating with our partners, he serves as a member of several non-profit boards—including the University of Florida Real Estate Advisory Board, ULI Commercial and Retail Development Product Council (Gold), and the ICSC and GA Bar members. He’s also a regular guest lecturer at the Goizuetta School of Business (Emory), the Warrington College of Business (University of Florida) and the Kenan-Flagler School of Business (University of North Carolina).
Not surprisingly, he’s also a big fan of college sports.
Get to Know Mike
Q: What the best piece of investment advice you've been given?
A: “Expend your emotional capital on the things that really matter, not your financial investments. Don't lose your objectivity.”
Q: What is your favorite structure in the world?
A: “The Golden Gate Bridge—the ultimate example of where great form and function intersect with ‘location, location, location.’ It’s a timeless beauty that never takes a bad photo."
Q: What is your greatest professional habit? And what's a not-so-great one?
A: “I’d say my greatest is treating everyone equally, from the cleaning crew to the CEO. Not-so-great? Procrastination. (Like the length of time it took me to answer this question.)"
Q: How do we keep brick-and-mortar retail relevant in an ever more digital and technology-driven world?
A: “Ah, the ultimate question… Technology evolves in real time, and brick-and-mortar evolves in decades. Bringing them together in ways that solve for and anticipate stakeholders’ and communities’ demands will require the traditional landlord-tenant paradigm to shift into a much more collaborative relationship. We’ll all have to work more closely and mutually together to continue to push real estate forward into the future—not only quickly, but wisely and with agility.”
Q: What do you consider your biggest professional achievement?
A: “When I chose to stop practicing law, I told a recruiter that I never wanted to write another resume. And I haven’t.”
