The UD+P Team
Since its founding in 2006, Urban Development + Partners has raised the bar for green building practices, community-focused investing and service.
UD+P’s development experience includes 1.6 million square feet of projects delivered and currently in development. Our expertise extends to a range of property and product types including adaptive reuse, mixed use, residential office, retail and hospitality. As a vertically integrated company, we guide each project through every aspect of the development process: finance, design, construction and management.
We are based in Portland, Oregon, home to our corporate office.
AVI BEN-ZAKEN
Principal
Avi approaches real estate development and property management with an entrepreneurial mindset. Whether it is designing buildings or responding to tenants, he is always searching for a better way to do things. With a proven track record as a successful business owner and entrepreneur, Avi has an extensive background in real estate acquisition, construction management, structural engineering, property management, and investment fund management.
Avi manages all of our properties, conducts due diligence on prospective acquisitions and loans, and oversees the design and construction phases of our new projects. Before moving to Portland, Avi spent 16 years building Quality Bay Construction (QBC) into the California Bay Area’s premier seismic retrofit contractor. Avi and his QBC partners eventually focused on the real estate acquisition, forming Pacific Bay Investments to manage the buildings they were buying and renovating.
AVI BEN-ZAKEN
Principal
ABBIE MURRAY
Senior General Manager
As Senior General Manager of UD+P’s Residential and Commercial Portfolio, Abbie is instrumental in streamlining and improving processes, enhancing productivity, and building strong customer relationships resulting in company profitability.
Prior to joining UD+P, Abbie oversaw the strategy-driven branding, planning, and execution of marketing-related action items for six boutique lease-up communities. Most recently, she managed the physical and fiscal aspects of two notable development projects where she established financial and operational performance targets that increased revenue and NOI, stabilized occupancy and availability, and minimized vacancy loss. In 2020, Abbie led her team to be one of two properties in her company’s nationwide portfolio that received the J Turner ORO Power Ranking Award.
Abbie holds a BS in Community Development and Sustainable Urban Development from Portland State University and an MA in Historic Preservation from the Savannah College of Art of Design. Her interest in historic preservation goes beyond the physical aspects and resonates more with the larger role this field of study can play in community revitalization, its political process, and issues that affect it. She is a strong advocate for the ways in which historic buildings can be reused as a means of sustainability and economic development.
ABBIE MURRAY
SENIOR GENERAL Manager
DANNY MILMAN
Development Manager
Danny enjoys the development and construction process and honed her skills at all sides of the table, working as an owner’s representative, superintendent, and project manager. Her projects span a diverse portfolio including cohousing and podium deck condominiums, apartments, grocery stores, restaurants, office lobby remodels, tenant improvements, capital upgrades and maintenance, retail centers and, most recently, the renovation of the historic Curry Village food court in Yosemite National Park.
Her obsession with cohousing started with The Cohousing book in 1992. Her Master’s thesis was a design and planning case study for a cohousing community in Austin TX. After graduation, she worked for several years at The CoHousing Company as part of the development and construction team and lived in the Berkeley Cohousing community.
These days Danny manages UD+P’s California projects from the Sierra Foothills in Nevada City, CA.
DANNY MILMAN
DEVELOPMENT Manager
JOY WILSON
Joy Officer
As the "Joy Officer" heading up Human Resources and serving the entire UDP team, Joy keeps the day to day office running smoothly, while maintaining a healthy, productive, and joyful company environment. She is steadfast in her commitment to keep everyone's work aligned with UDP's core values and purpose.
Joy graduated from college with an Art degree and K-12 teaching certification. After a short stint of teaching, she traded the classroom for the stage and spent over seven years as a professional singer/songwriter/guitarist. She then spent 15 years within high level, global creative agencies, each with varying specialties in design, advertising, and architecture, before finding her happy place at UDP in 2018. She is inspired by UDP’s commitment to community and sustainability.
Joy loves running marathons, albeit at a snail’s pace. She spends her free time advocating for racial and gender equity with Basic Rights Oregon, and serving on a national council for Human Rights Campaign.
JOY WILSON
Joy Officer - HR MANAGER, SHRM-SCP
KENDALL MCDANIEL
PROPERTY MANAGEr
SERGEY YUFEREV
ASSISTANT BUILDING ENGINNER
SYDNE WATSON
Property Accountant
Sydne recently joined UD+P as a property accountant. She brings experience working in taxation to the table.
Having spent most of her early professional years as an interior designer, Sydne decided to return to the University of Idaho and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Accounting in 2014. She started her accounting career working for a tax consulting firm in Colorado. After relocating to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to raise her two nephews, Sydne spent five years as a tax reviewer for a local CPA firm before joining the UD+P team.
Sydne is also a native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She loves spending time with her family visiting Priest Lake, Idaho, traveling, and enjoys all outdoor activities!
SYDNE WATSON
PROPERTY ACCOUNTANT
ERIC CRESS
Principal
An engineer and designer by training, Eric is drawn to innovative new ideas that make our communities better places to live. At UD+P, Eric concentrates on acquisition, development, and finance. He oversees budgets and the acquisition-to-construction phase of new projects.
Before UD+P, Eric was a project manager at Pacific Bay Investments in Berkeley, California. Prior to that, Eric managed engineering projects for Cypress Semiconductor, Maple Optical Systems, Leapfrog Toys, and the National Science Foundation. Eric holds eight patents and has published several papers related to this work. He earned an MBA with a focus in real estate finance from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, as well as BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University.
ERIC CRESS
Principal
JULIA ALBANO
Vice President, Asset Management
As Vice President of Asset Management, Julia is responsible for the overall strategy of UDP’s portfolio, with the primary goal of maximizing the operational performance and financial returns of all real estate projects and businesses. Julia’s experience includes a wide variety of assets ranging from multi-family, mixed-use, retail, commercial and hospitality. She’s also been involved in every life cycle of a project from development through disposition.
Prior to joining UD+P, Julia spent 12 years at The Green Cities Company, formerly Gerding Edlen. Initially overseeing the firm’s operations in the Portland area, then leading the division to expand nationally. Julia’s portfolio consisted of Class A multi-family, commercial and mixed-use assets, including responsibility for 40+ employees and the oversight of income & expense assumptions during underwriting, due diligence, and the implementation of each assets strategic business plan from acquisition through disposition. Prior to this, Julia served as a Portfolio Manager overseeing market rate and affordable residential portfolios in the Southern United States.
A Portland State graduate, Julia started her career at a mixed-use building in Portland’s Brewery Blocks. A Hawaii native, Julia enjoys anything on or near the water and quality time chasing around her son and many rescue animals.
Julia Albano
VICE PRESIDENT, ASSET MANAGEMENT
ERIK GRANUM
Development Manager
Through experiences at home, abroad, and in the military, Erik developed an appreciation for community that underpins his passion for real estate development. He contributes his efforts wherever needed but concentrates his attention on UD+P's various cohousing projects. Whether organizing communities, guiding design, securing permits, or overseeing construction, Erik works diligently to ensure that cohousing clients achieve their highest expectations for value and satisfaction.
Prior to joining UD+P, Erik served for 11 years as a helicopter pilot in the US Navy. He holds Master's degrees in business administration (UNC) and real estate development (UC Berkeley) and a Bachelor's degree in English (UVA). Erik values environmental sustainability, social equity, and architectural excellence. He's an Oregon native, a die-hard fan of the Portland Timbers, and always eager to enjoy the outdoors.
ErIK GRANUM
DEVELOPMENT Manager
LINCOLN WALKER
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Lincoln develops long standing relationships with investors through his understanding of the private real estate investment space. He has a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Irvine and dual BAs from the University of California, San Diego in Urban Studies and Planning and Political Science-International Relations. He has held investor relations leadership roles at multifamily and office real estate operating companies, a prominent real estate crowdfunding marketplace as well as with a middle market real estate investment management firm.
Lincoln enjoys digging into the details of prospective investments including their structure and the potential returns compared to the market as well as having in-depth discussions about portfolio performance and national, regional and local trends in the real estate industry. He enjoys collaborating closely with individual investors, their families, and with their advisors including wealth managers, attorneys, and accountants. Lincoln loves to go for jogs with the family dog in the many parks in his neighborhood as well as plan family adventures with his wife, son and daughter.
LINCOLN WALKER
SENIOR DIRECTOR, INVESTOR RELATIONS
Kylynn DELFEL
ASSISTANT PROPERTY MANAGER
JORDAN AFFOLTER
Property manager
SARAH ZAHN
Chief Operating Officer
A 2019 addition to the UDP team, Sarah is an experienced real estate development professional with a passion for projects that strengthen communities and improve the urban environment in which we live. Over her 15+ year career in real estate, Sarah’s project track record includes mixed use infill, multifamily, office, higher education, civic uses and affordable housing. At UDP, Sarah focuses on new business and acquisition, as well as management of predevelopment of activities and finance.
Prior to joining UDP Sarah spent a decade working in real estate development in Portland, first for a nonprofit affordable housing developer where she oversaw development and management of a 700+ unit portfolio of affordable family housing, and then at Gerding Edlen where spent 5 years working on the firm’s public-private portfolio of projects. Most recently, she worked at ZRZ Realty, which was focused on redeveloping a 33-acre former industrial site on the Willamette River into a vibrant, mixed-use community. Sarah started her career in real estate development in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sarah served on the Portland Housing Advisory Commission from 2011-2018 and currently is co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Institute, an initiative of the Urban Land Institute, of which is also a member. She also sits on the board of the Portland Streetcar and Oregon Smart Growth. In her spare time, Sarah enjoy.s practicing yoga, skiing with her son, playing with her labradoodle and traveling with her family.
SARAH ZAHN
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
ANN JAWORSKI
Controller
Ann joined us as Controller in 2019 after numerous years as UD+P’s part-time contract accountant. She has accumulated a wealth of experience in real estate accounting by specializing in the field since 2002.
After graduating from the University of Montana in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance with emphasis in Accounting, Ann furthered her education at the University of Montana and received her Master of Accountancy degree in 1993. Ann started her career as an auditor for Coopers & Lybrand, a Big 6 accounting firm in Spokane, Washington.
Ann is a native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She loves to take advantage of all the outdoor opportunities that North Idaho has to offer - she golfs, hikes and boats each summer, and she skies all winter. Ann’s favorite pastime, however, is cheering on each of her three teenage children in their various sporting activities.
ANN JAWORSKI
CONTROLLER
Kurtis is an experienced real estate professional with a passion for executing projects that have a positive impact on communities, equity, and the environment. Kurtis maintains over 15 years of commercial real estate experience including project sourcing, underwriting, financing, planning, development management, leasing, and property operations.
Kurtis joined UD+P in 2021. Previously, he spent nine years at The Green Cities Company (formerly known as Gerding Edlen) where he oversaw the firm’s acquisitions efforts in the Northwest and helped execute development and renovation projects. Prior to Gerding Edlen, Kurtis worked in underwriting at a leading low income tax credit syndicator, asset management and underwriting at a private commercial lending firm, and property management at Harvard University’s Real Estate Services group.
Kurtis holds a BA in Economics Management from Ohio Wesleyan University and a MS in Real Estate Development from MIT. He is a LEED Green Associate and is active in ULI. In his free time, Kurtis enjoys hiking the great trails in the Pacific Northwest with his family.
KURTIS FUSARO
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
TINA MCNERTHNEY
Investor Communications Manager
Tina works with UD+P investors through every step of the investment process—ensuring that our members are informed about the latest fund and project activities and responding to inquiries from members and prospective investors. Tina holds a BA from the University of Michigan and a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University. She also has paralegal certification and LEED AP accreditation.
Originally from Massachusetts, Tina has lived in Oregon since 2000. Before joining UD+P, she was a planner and consultant in the urban development field for ten years, and also worked as a paralegal. Tina is excited to bring her unique professional background and experience to UD+P to help keep investors engaged and up-to-date. An animal lover and fitness enthusiast, Tina enjoys hiking with her dog, biking and rock climbing.
