About us
What We Do
Ziff Properties is an entrepreneurial real estate firm with a focus on the southeastern United States. We are engaged in the acquisition, ownership and operation of shopping centers and other select multi-tenant commercial real estate opportunities. For further investment criteria, please see Acquisitions.
Ziff Properties-related entities are the majority investors in all properties along with select outside partners. The properties are strategically located in markets in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. We maintain excellent relationships with brokers, owners, tenants and vendors by closing transactions quickly and at market terms, by paying commissions promptly, and by paying close attention to quality management of the properties.
Charleston Regional Business Journal - Profiles In Business 2012
Mission Statement
Our mission is to create and optimize value for our owners through acquiring, managing, and when appropriate, selling commercial properties in the Southeastern United States.
Core Values
- To earn a superior risk adjusted return for our investors
- To make decisions in an honest, ethical, moral and legal manner
- To pursue excellence in everything we do
- To stretch beyond our perceived abilities to attain success
Corporate Culture
- To make investment decisions in a clear, disciplined and transparent fashion that encourages replicable consistent results
- To improve, motivate and fairly compensate our staff by providing development and training while encouraging the pursuit of excellence
- To be an equal opportunity employer with a diverse work force
- To challenge all staff members to think and act like an owner
- To pursue a firm commitment to a "green” policy
- To provide quality rental space at reasonable costs to our tenants
- To work within the communities where our properties are located in order to make them better places
Our business is driven by this approach. It is interwoven in the way we do business. It sets the standard for the business model that we execute.
Corporate Giving and Community Investing
Ziff Properties invests in communities through its Historic Restoration Tax Credit Investment Program partnering with for profit, non-profit, faith-based and government organizations.
Ziff Properties and its partners proudly support the following non-profit/501(c)(3) organizations.
In 2014, Ziff Properties implemented a charitable contributions matching plan for its entire staff.
About Us
Executives:
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Tim Walter
Chief Executive Officer
Executive Bio
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Tim Walter
Chief Executive Officer
As CEO, Tim is responsible for all operations of Ziff Properties. With the Firm as a Principal since the beginning, Tim has been intimately involved with every aspect of the commercial real estate business and served as CFO prior to becoming CEO in 2006.
Tim relocated from New York to Charleston in 1992 and has an extensive background in finance, management and real estate. After building a solid analytical foundation at Touche Ross, he joined forces with Stephen Ziff to own and manage Lower East Redevelopment, Inc. in New York City.
Tim received his bachelor's degree in Finance and Accounting from Indiana University in 1983 and a master's in Architecture and Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 1987. He is a certified financial planner, a South Carolina real property broker, and has served on the board of several non-profit corporations.
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Dee Herman, CPA, CPM
Chief Financial Officer
Executive Bio
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Dee Herman, CPA, CPM
Chief Financial Officer
Dee is responsible for the accounting, analysis and financial control functions for Ziff Properties and also manages our relationships with leading financial institutions.
She began her career at Arthur Young as a consultant to the management services group with a focus on construction.
Dee has worked as an Asset Manager for several portfolios, handling the acquisition and development, leasing, financing, managing and disposition of mixed-use commercial and retail projects.
Receiving a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980, Dee is a Certified Public Accountant in Virginia, and a Certified Property Manager. She is a faculty member with the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and serves as a member of the IREM Ethics and Discipline Committee.
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Christian Chamblee, CCIM
Chief Operating Officer & Director of Acquisitions
Executive Bio
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Christian Chamblee, CCIM
Chief Operating Officer & Director of Acquisitions
Christian acts as Chief Operating Officer and also directs all of ZPI's acquisition and disposition activity. Christian graduated from the College of Charleston with a BA in 2002 and with a Master of Science in 2005. His experience with large real estate transactions began in 2002 in South Carolina and surrounding states. Since then, Christian has been involved in the acquisition and disposition of over $500,000,000 worth of multi-tenant retail, office, and self storage properties. He has also sourced and negotiated both small-shop and anchor leases and spearheaded the development of multiple low income housing tax credit projects. In 2015, Christian was named one of Charleston Regional Business Journal's Forty Under 40. Christian is a member of International Council of Shopping Centers, attends all major ICSC conferences, and achieved the CCIM designation in 2017.
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Kevin Beringer
Director of Leasing & Property Management
Executive Bio
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Kevin Beringer
Director of Leasing & Property Management
As the Director of Leasing & Property Management, Kevin oversees both the leasing and property management departments. Kevin leads the negotiation and execution of all leasing deals for the Ziff Properties portfolio while also maintaining the high level of property management service Ziff Properties' tenants deserve.
Kevin has served in key roles at well-respected real estate groups around the southeast such as RCG Ventures.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science from the College of Charleston, is a member of the National Association of Realtors, and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
Nielle Lott
Assistant Director of Leasing & Property Management
Executive Bio
Nielle Lott
Assistant Director of Leasing & Property Management
Nielle is responsible for negotiation of office leases, lease review and reporting, tenant relations and tenant allowances. She is also involved in Ziff’s acquisition and disposition process and works closely with the Director of Leasing, all Property Managers and Leasing Agents. Her background is in multifamily construction and management, site contracting and finance. She began working with Ziff Properties in 2006 as an Executive Assistant and was soon promoted to Tenant Relations Coordinator. She was named Assistant Director of Leasing and Property Management in 2011. Nielle is a licensed real estate agent, a charter member of CREW Charleston and a member of ICSC.
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Michael Pigg, MBA
Chief Investment Officer & Controller
Executive Bio
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Michael Pigg, MBA
Chief Investment Officer & Controller
As Chief Investment Officer for Ziff Properties, Michael has an integral role in the management of the firm’s capital transactions and financial initiatives. He also serves as the Controller, overseeing the financial reporting and analysis functions of the company portfolio. Michael originally joined Ziff Properties in 2012 as the Acquisitions Associate and Analyst before moving into the Controller position in 2013. Prior to joining ZPI, Michael worked in various aspects of commercial real estate for 5 years with The Beach Company. He is a 2006 graduate of the University of South Carolina Honors College with a BS in Business Management and Real Estate, and he received his MBA from The Citadel Graduate College in 2012. Michael is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
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Mike Mansson
Director of Development
Executive Bio
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Mike Mansson
Director of Development
Michael is responsible for the budgeting, design, permitting and contract negotiations for all Ziff Properties construction and development projects. He has been involved in the development and construction of over $275 million of retail, office, multifamily and self-storage properties throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic region. A graduate from Plymouth State University with a BA, Michael is a LEED AP and a recipient of two 40 Under 40 recognitions through the national publication Building Design + Construction as well as through the Charleston Regional Business Journal. Michael currently sits on the Board of Directors and the Housing Loan Committee for the South Carolina Community Loan Fund.
Curt Schade
Chairman-Investment Committee
Executive Bio
Curt Schade
Chairman-Investment Committee
Curt has been a co-investor and advisor to Ziff Properties for more than a decade. He is a Chairman of the Investment Committee and is involved in discussions and decisions related to acquisitions and dispositions as well as financing, market research and overall strategy.
Curt brings extensive finance and real estate experience to Ziff Properties including partner-level positions at Bear Stearns and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He also co-founded and was President and COO for Pretium Partners, a private equity investment manager with $2.5 billion AUM. Pretium controls Progress Residential, an owner operator of over 20,000 single-family rental homes as well as Pretium Mortgage Credit, a manager of non-performing real estate loans.
Curt is a graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and currently serves on the school’s Foundation Board; he is also the Chairman of the Thomas Moran Trust in East Hampton, NY.
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Gustavo Daza
Director of Self-Storage Operations
Executive Bio
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Gustavo Daza
Director of Self-Storage Operations
As Director of Self-Storage Operations, Gustavo oversees day-to-day operations for Ziff Properties’ rapidly growing self-storage portfolio. Gustavo comes from a long list of operations experience, stemming from hospitality to self-storage. After studying Hotel Management and Business Administration at Middlesex College, Gustavo started his career in hospitality and worked in the industry for 12 years while living in New York & New Jersey. Gustavo earned storage and real estate industry experience with Edison Properties, first as a general manager of Manhattan Mini Storage and then as a Regional Vice President of Parking Operations for Edison Parkfast. After relocating to Charleston, Gustavo managed 17 CubeSmart self-storage locations in the South Carolina Market. Gustavo currently sits on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Self Storage Association.
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Gordon Valentine, CCIM
Assistant Director of Acquisitions
Executive Bio
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Gordon Valentine, CCIM
Assistant Director of Acquisitions
As Assistant Director of Acquisitions, Gordon focuses on sourcing, screening and underwriting acquisition prospects. Gordon also manages the ZPI internal due diligence process and leads many value-add initiatives throughout the portfolio. Gordon started with ZPI as an Analyst then Acquisition Associate. Over the last 4 years, he has underwritten and ZPI has successfully closed on the acquisition of 30 multi-tenant and self-storage assets totaling over $150,000,000 in value. Prior to joining ZPI, Gordon was a commercial broker with both NAI Avant and Birchin Lane Advisors in Charleston, SC. Gordon graduated from the University of Virginia in 2010 with a Bachelors Degree in History and a focus on Urban Planning, Real Estate Finance and Development. Gordon began his real estate career as an undergraduate research intern for CB Richard Ellis in Charlottesville, VA. Gordon is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute and was recently awarded his CCIM designation in 2017.
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Stephen Ziff
Founder and Chairman
Executive Bio
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Stephen Ziff
Founder and Chairman
Stephen oversees acquisitions and divestitures as well as development projects and new business initiatives.
A Charleston resident since 1991, Stephen Ziff has a long association with corporate leadership and real estate development.
He was formerly general partner in Ziff-Button properties in Dallas, TX, and was managing partner in Lower East Redevelopment, Inc. in New York, N.Y. He served as chairman and CEO of Dual Lite, Inc. of Newtown, Conn., a publicly owned business, and was a founder and director of Tokyo Electron Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan.
Stephen is a 1962 graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and received a Master of Arts in Art History from Columbia University in 1989.
He has been very active in Charleston, having organized and chaired a task force to modernize city government and with Beth Elohim, Charleston's Reform Jewish Congregation, as well as with the American College of the Building Arts. Most recently, Stephen is Founder & Chairman of the Charleston World Heritage Coalition, a newly formed non-profit whose mission is to have Charleston's Historic City Center designated as the first urban World Heritage Site in the United States
