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Managing Directors

Kenneth P. Riggs, Jr.

CEO & President

Kenneth Riggs (download resume) has served as chief executive officer of Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC) since 1991. He is active in bringing sophisticated and solid research to the real estate industry. He serves as the publisher of the RERC Real Estate Report, a widely quoted real estate quarterly, and the RERC/CCIM Investment Trends Quarterly. He also produced Emerging Trends in Real Estate and the RERC Industry Outlook, and serves as co-publisher of Expectations & Market Realities in Real Estate, one of the nation's leading annual forecast reports.

In addition to his research activities, Mr. Riggs oversees the firm's valuation, consulting, independent fiduciary services, and management information services. He has served as a featured speaker for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), The Counselors of Real Estate, the CCIM Institute, the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), and many other respected national organizations. He has had numerous articles published and has been quoted in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal, CNNmoney, Bloomberg News, Barron's, Mortgage Banking, Real Estate Forum, Real Estate Issues, and Real Estate Portfolio, among others.

Mr. Riggs earned his master's of business administration degree from the University of Chicago, concentrating on finance/statistics, and his bachelor's of business administration in real estate and finance from Kent State University. In 2006, he was named by NAR as one of Real Estate's 25 Most Influential Thought Leaders. E-mail him at riggs@rerc.com.


Jules H. Marling, III

Managing Director

Jules Marling (download resume) serves as a managing director with Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC). Along with Ken Riggs, he directs the firm's consulting and development activities. Mr. Marling has supervised or personally completed more than 7,000 real estate consulting assignments, encompassing all major property types in most areas of the U.S. and in several other countries.

Mr. Marling also directs the firm's investment activities, recently involving the repositioning of multifamily apartments and condominium conversions. In 2008, he was instrumental in developing RERC Real Estate Solutions LLC, an affiliate of RERC, formed to assist in helping to evaluate, make decisions about, and develop and implement plans for the disposal, management, or enhancement of distressed assets.

He initially formed The Marling Group with his brother John Marling in 1973, and he later acquired Sudler and Company, which was renamed Sudler Marling, Inc. in 1985. He served as chairman of the company, which managed about 10,000 multifamily units and had about $150 million per year in residential sales. In 1992 he left that organization to form Property Counselors, which merged with RERC in 1999. E-mail Mr. Marling at jmarling@rerc.com.


Del H. Kendall

Managing Director

Del Kendall download resume serves as a managing director with Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC), and works with Ken Riggs to direct the firm's consulting and valuation activities. He has been active in the real estate business for more than 20 years, and several years ago worked with Greg Kendall to develop RERC Hospitality Services.

Mr. Kendall previously served as director with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Past work experience includes serving as expert witness in one of the largest real estate bankruptcies in FDIC history, leading acquisition due diligence teams for two portfolios that exceeded $500 million each, and feasibility and valuation for the expansion of a regional mall, which became the second largest in the United States.

Mr. Kendall heads operations in RERC's Houston office. He is involved with many organizations, including the National Council of Real Estate Independent Fiduciaries (NCREIF), where he serves as chair of the NCREIF Valuation Committee for 2010 and 2011, the Appraisal Institute, and The Counselors of Real Estate. He is a certified real estate appraiser in numerous states. E-mail him at dkendall@rerc.com.


Donald A. Burns

Managing Director

Donald Burns upload resume has more than 35 years experience providing real estate valuation and counseling services to institutions, corporations, government agencies, investors, developers and legal firms. He serves as a managing director for Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC) in the Atlanta office.

He has been a key advisor in matters dealing with portfolio asset allocations, financing, loan workouts and debt restructuring. In addition, Mr. Burns has been responsible for the origination and implementation of counseling assignments involving asset valuations, strategic positioning studies, transaction due diligence, ad valorem tax reviews, portfolio analysis, highest- and best-use studies, investment analysis and appraisal reviews. He has been a key advisor in matters ealing with portfolio asset allocation, financing, loan workouts, debt restructuring, and independent fiduciary services/fairness opinions.

Mr. Burns' notable valuation assignments include: a 150-property shopping center portfolio; The Dallas Market Center, Dallas, Texas; Inforum, Atlanta, Ga.; Peachtree Center, Atlanta, Ga.; Phipps Plaza, Atlanta, Ga.; Dadeland Mall, Miami, Fla.; Texas Commerce Tower, Dallas, Texas; Williams Square, Los Colinas, Texas; and Fashion Valley Mall, San Diego, Calif. He also specializes in unique asset types, including marts, hotels, residential and mixed-use developments, partial interests and participating debt instruments. E-mail Mr. Burns at dburns@rerc.com.


Gregory P. Kendall

Managing Director

Greg Kendall download resume joined Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC) in 2004, and serves as managing director for RERC's Gulf Coast office and co-director of RERC Hospitality. He previously served as director with Landauer Associates.

Mr. Kendall has been active in real estate consulting for more than 20 years, and his engagements have included a wide variety of property types in more than 35 states. He has extensive experience with various property types, including regional and super-regional malls, shopping centers, office buildings, industrial development, apartment projects, hotels, golf courses, resorts, residential and commercial subdivisions, and special-use developments such as restaurants, automobile dealerships, marinas, and ski resorts. Mr. Kendall has conducted studies and valuations on hundreds of commercial real estate assets in most major U.S. markets including Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New York (Manhattan), Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Tampa, Tucson, and Washington, D.C.

In addition, he has provided litigation support for his clients, inclduing serving as an expert witness in Federal Bankruptcy Court. E-mail Mr. Kendall at gkendall@rerc.com.


Kent D. Steele

Managing Director

Kent Steele (download resume) has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate valuation, market analysis, counseling, and expert testimony. He serves as managing director of RERC's suburban Chicago and Florida offices, and has been affiliated with RERC since 1999.

Mr. Steele has completed valuation assignments throughout the U.S., with in-depth experience in the West, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Assignments have included the appraisal of investment-grade office, apartment, industrial, hotel, self-storage, retail, and special-purpose properties for a variety of clients, including commercial and investment banks, pension funds, conduits, attorneys, investors, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Special assignments have included client counseling activities, market segmentation and feasibility analyses, highest and best use analysis, litigation support, and expert testimony. Additionally, Mr. Steele has published an article on highest and best use analysis in The Appraisal Journal and an article on the self-storage industry in the RERC Real Estate Report, and has given presentations at numerous professional seminars on a variety of topics.

Interesting projects completed include a proposed NASCAR track site in Baltimore County, Md.; the Eagle Ridge golf resort in Galena, Ill.; railroad corridors in northern Illinois; residential condo conversions of numerous properties throughout the country; adaptive reuse assignments for a variety of properties throughout the U.S.; and historically-significant office buildings in downtown Washington, D.C. and Detroit. E-mail Mr. Steele at ksteele@rerc.com.


William L. Corbin

Managing Director

William Corbin (download resume) serves as managing director of Real Estate Research Corporation's (RERC's) West Coast office, and has nearly 30 years experience in commercial real estate analysis, finance, and valuation. His previous experience in commercial real estate finance gives him particular insight to the capital and investment markets and their impact on institutional real estate activity and values.

Mr. Corbin has conducted numerous current value narrative appraisals for national and regional institutional lenders and investors on office buildings, warehouse distribution buildings, industrial and business parks, shopping centers, and apartments.

Prior to his association with RERC in 2009, Mr. Corbin served with First American Appraisal and Consulting Services, LLC (formerly KTR Real Estate Services), where he was responsible for managing the Los Angeles regional office, developing and managing institutional accounts, and performing direct valuation work for those clients. While with First American, he also headed the firm's national pension fund valuation practice, and served as their designated representative to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF). Prior to his work with First American, he was an appraiser for Landauer Associates from 1992 to 1995. E-mail Mr. Corbin at wcorbin@rerc.com.


Steven W. Thompson

Managing Director

Steven Thompson download resume rejoined Real Estate Research Corporation (RERC) in 2010, and serves as a co-managing director of RERC Hospitality. In addition to bringing his more than two decades of valuation expertise to RERC, much of his attention with RERC's hospitality specialty group is dedicated to growing the firm's consulting practice.

Mr. Thompson has been active in real estate consulting for more than 20 years, with the majority of those years dedicated to the hospitality industry. He originally worked with RERC from 1993 to 1997, focusing on appraising all commercial property types nationwide, including a variety of hotel assets. He then spent 8 years with Pinnacle Advisory Group, where he focused on appraising and consulting for hospitality-related properties. In 2005, Mr. Thompson joined Cushman & Wakefield's Hospitality and Gaming Group, where he directed valuation and consulting engagements, in addition to providing quality control oversight for the company's regional hospitality practice. Mr. Thompson's extensive experience includes appraisals and consulting engagements for more than 200 existing and proposed hotels, conference centers, and resorts across 35 states and in Washington, D.C.

Some of the more significant engagements Mr. Thompson has completed include: the 1,002-room JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa and the adjoining TPC San Antonio golf club; the Barton Creek Resort & Spa and the Barton Creek Country Club in Austin; the Seaview Golf Resort in Galloway, NJ; the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort in Scottsdale; the Marriott Laguna Cliffs Resort in Dana Point, CA; La Toretta Lake Resort & Spa (formerly the Del Lago Resort) north of Houston; the Westfields International Conference Center in Chantilly, VA; a consulting study for the restoration of the historic Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in Whitefield, NH; and many others. E-mail Mr. Thompson at sthompson@rerc.com.