Peter Bazeli, MRICS
Senior Vice President

Email: pbazeli@weitzmanusa.com
VCard

Peter Bazeli is a Senior Vice President of The Weitzman Group, Inc. He joined the firm in 2004, and has since managed consulting assignments for real estate assets valued at well over $30 billion. He manages assignments comprising all property types, but specializes in market-based development planning and project management for residential and mixed-use developments, with particular focus on luxury, branded, and hotel-serviced housing. He has regularly consulted on new developments in Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, New York and throughout the northeastern United States. His consulting experience has included work nationwide on projects branded by Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, The Setai, Canyon Ranch, Miraval, Gansevoort, Trump, Philippe Starck and Robert A.M. Stern, Architects. During the last several years of economic distress, major developers and investors have added leverage to their work-out strategies by collaborating with Mr. Bazeli on the nuanced competitive positioning and market niches available for exploitation despite the challenging atmosphere.

Prior to joining The Weitzman Group, Mr. Bazeli was an Assistant Vice President and officer of Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, a privately-held real estate firm engaged in the acquisition, financing, development and management of commercial and residential property nationwide. Mr. Bazeli began his career with Draper and Kramer as a research analyst performing market analysis and underwriting services for the firm and its clients, including the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, State Farm, and JPMorgan. He then joined Draper and Kramer's Retail Services Group, where he was responsible for the leasing of a 500,000 square foot portfolio for Draper and Kramer and third-party clients including Simon Property Group.

Mr. Bazeli next joined the Acquisitions and Development group at Draper and Kramer to assist on a variety of new initiatives. He was instrumental in the acquisition, capitalization, and adaptive re-use development of the landmark Palmolive Building on North Michigan Avenue into condominiums. The Palmolive Building is one of Chicago's most sought-after residential addresses, continuing to achieve among the city's highest prices on the resale market, and is anchored at the ground level by Louis Vuitton and St. John Knits flagship boutiques. Mr. Bazeli either directed or was intimately involved with every aspect of the Palmolive Building's development, most notably having formulated and directed its game-changing marketing effort.

In 2010, Mr. Bazeli's services were engaged through The Weitzman Group to co-direct the operation of 10 Rittenhouse Square, a Robert A.M. Stern designed condominium property in Philadelphia's finest residential location. The fund that had acquired ownership of the project, and subsequently placed the development entity into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sought Mr. Bazeli's expertise with super-luxury condominium operations. Mr. Bazeli served as Associate Project Director to guide all aspects of the property's operation just prior to, and during, bankruptcy. He was instrumental in developing the reorganization plan, and the property's sales activity exceeded projections during his tenure despite a struggling housing market and the development entity's bankrupt status.

On the operational side, Mr. Bazeli has been involved with the development or conversion of more than 2,000 condominiums. His operations and consulting expertise has been gained through his work on over 350 assets nationwide, more than 250 of which have been residential or mixed-use projects. He continues to consult throughout the United States with major developers, private equity and pension funds, and lenders seeking independent advice and assistance mitigating investment risk. Mr. Bazeli is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS Designation) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has been a guest speaker to groups including the Chicago Real Estate Council, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, and the Furman University Executive Lecture Series.