Experience

Amy MacLaren is a seasoned professional in the Retail CRE industry, bringing over three decades of experience to her role as Senior Vice President at Foundry Commercial. Known for her deep market knowledge and strategic vision, MacLaren is spearheading Foundry’s Retail Brokerage, Project Leasing and Tenant Representation throughout Texas. She is also working closely with the Nashville Retail team led by Carrie Bob focusing on mixed-use development and redevelopment projects on a national scale.

Before joining Foundry, MacLaren held the position of First Vice President at CBRE, where she was focused on Project Leasing and Tenant Representation. She has finalized transactions with renowned brands such as Neiman Marcus, Richemont Brands, Kate Spade, Apple, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, REI, Sandbox VR, Trader Joe’s to name a few.

One of her current projects includes the retail curation at MidCity District in Huntsville, Alabama, a $2B, 140-acre mixed-use development.

MacLaren’s arrival at Foundry comes at a pivotal time as the retail sector shows robust recovery and growth, driven by new consumer behaviors and technological advancements. Her leadership and expertise are expected to play a crucial role in the company’s continued success in the retail space.

Education

Licensed as a real estate sales person in both Texas and Alabama, MacLaren is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), where she holds the Senior Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS, CRX) designation. She is also involved with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), serving on the ULI Retail Silver Committee.

Experience

Liz Craig is a Vice President with Foundry Commercial and brings more than two decades of experience in retail brokerage.  Her career has spanned across multiple service lines with expertise in brokerage business, corporate services, project management, and asset management, providing her with a well-rounded perspective and deep understanding of the industry.

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Education and Affiliations

Community Involvement

Experience

Julie Augustyn is a recognized innovator and leader in the retail sector of commercial real estate throughout the Southeastern United States. Bringing her deep understanding of key retail markets, she focuses on retail tenant and landlord representation. She advises national and local tenants including Starbucks with over 50 new NC stores in development. For landlord representation, she has implemented a successful merchandise strategy and leasing plan execution.

Prior to joining Foundry Commercial, Julie was the Senior Director of Real Estate for Office Depot, where she was responsible for managing the retail portfolio for Office Depot and OfficeMax brands for the Eastern United States. This included managing her team with a portfolio of over 700 stores in 20 states. Julie prior worked at Woolbright Development, Inc., a South Florida based real estate investment company where she was Development Manager and responsible for planning and obtaining approvals for 850K sf of retail and lifestyle center development.

Upon completion of her degree, Julie worked as a Civil Engineer in Florida and Texas for Kimley-Horn and Associates. She transitioned to the role of site selection and store development while at RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc.

Awards & Recognitions

Education

Community Involvement

Experience

Carrie is a placemaker for mixed-use developments where she curates a sense of place and drives value vertically for an asset through retail leasing and merchandising. During her 20+ year career in commercial real estate, Carrie has negotiated over $2 billion in transactions.

Prior to joining Foundry, Carrie was the founder of Carrie Bobb & Co. and co-founder of hellojenny. Carrie Bobb & Co specialized in mixed-use developments and evoking emotion through retail leasing. Hellojenny develops digital strategies for commercial real estate by aligning the social media strategy of an asset with the leasing strategy.

Prior to starting her own companies, Carrie had been with CBRE in San Diego for 15 years where she worked on projects out of the ground such as One Paseo, The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch, Pacific Gate, Flower Hill Promenade (re-development), Encinitas Village (re-development) and several others.

Carrie has completed transactions with retailers such as Sephora, Blue Bottle Coffee, lululemon, Cinepolis, SoulCycle, Fox Restaurant Concepts, Salt & Straw, drybar and several others. She has represented landlords including Kilroy Realty, IQHQ, Bosa Development, Asana Partners, Protea Properties, Heitman, Regency Centers, as well as many others.

Education & Accreditations

Community Involvement

Experience

Nicole serves as Senior Associate on the Charlotte Retail Brokerage team. Nicole provides quality transaction services for both Landlords and Tenants. Her focus is project leasing, specialty Tenant representation and new development.  Nicole works throughout the Carolinas on grocery-anchored, mixed-use, and specialty retail assets as well as outparcel and land transactions.  Her clients include institutional owners such as ARA, Prudential, Pennybacker Capital as well as many family office and individual clients.
Originally from New Jersey, Nicole moved to Charlotte in 2016 having received her BA in Real Estate from the University of South Carolina.  Nicole was previously with Legacy Real Estate Advisors and MPV in Charlotte. Nicole is a member of ICSC and CRCBR and a longtime volunteer at the Mecklenburg Animal Shelter.

Education and Accreditation

Community Involvement

Experience

Nolan Mills serves as a Senior Associate for Foundry Commercial’s Retail Services team. Nolan is focused on both landlord and tenant representation with Foundry Commercial’s “serve others” fundamentals in mind. His experience in leasing representation expands from grocery anchored centers, big box power centers to outparcel developments. Representing landlord clients such as RAM Realty, Kimco and New Market Properties. Nolan also works locally and across the state for his tenants and their expansions. His work with clients such as Dairy Queen, Super Cuts, and Wells Fargo make him well rounded and knowledgeable in any situation for his clients. Nolan is a graduate of North Carolina State University where he studied Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and was a four-year starter for the NC State golf team. Both of Nolan’s parents are in real estate in the Charlotte area where he grew up.

Clients Served

Professional Affiliations & Community Service

Education

Experience

Rhett Batanides serves as Vice President in Foundry’s Charlotte, North Carolina office. He specializes in national tenant expansion, helping multiple concepts expand across the United States & Canada serving as their Master Broker. Rhett was mentioned multiple times in Robert Powells’ (Undercover Boss) recently published book, for his work helping expand Mr. Powell’s company nationwide. He has overseen and completed a multitude of new locations across the continent in each company’s expansion, assisting in both corporate and franchised locations.

Prior to working in Commercial Real Estate, Mr. Batanides was a pilot in the United States Air Force. As an aircraft commander, he flew missions across the world, accomplishing various advanced directives of the United States DoD, to include numerous combat missions in Afghanistan.

Education & Accreditations

Community Involvement

Experience

Ross Diachenko joined Foundry Commercial in 2018 and works on the Retail Services team where he specializes in landlord and tenant representation. His vast project leasing experience includes a wide array of grocery-anchored shopping centers, big-box power centers, mixed-use lifestyle centers, multi-tenant outparcel developments, and Downtown urban mixed-use properties for local investors and large institutional clients such as Invesco, Northwestern Mutual, RAM Realty, Stiles, New Market Properties, and The Carlyle Group. Ross’ leasing portfolio currently consists of over 1.8M SF with several other projects in the pre-construction phase.

Additionally, Ross is actively involved in site selection for restaurant and retail tenant rep clients not only in the Triangle, but throughout North Carolina as well. He works with several national, local, and regional operators such as City Barbecue, Driven Brands, WakeMed, Tin Roof, barre3, and Clean Eatz.

Prior to joining Foundry Commercial, Ross worked at Trademark Properties for four years where he quickly became a top performer in the company and significantly grew their retail platform. Ross is a graduate of North Carolina State University. Prior to transferring to NC State, Ross played basketball at Methodist University. Ross is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and serves on the CCIM Programs Committee.

Clients Served

Professional Affiliations & Community Service

Education

Experience

Upon receiving a B.S. in History from the University of Virginia, Keely Hines began her real estate career as a commercial appraiser with Fitzhugh Stout & Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina. Keely joined Core Properties, Inc. in 2000 to pursue her interest in general retail brokerage, including third party shopping center leasing, tenant representation, outparcel sales, and disposition of surplus properties.

In November 2009, Keely joined The Carolina Group Partners, LLC, which later became MPV Properties. She then joined Foundry Commercial in 2018. She is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and holds real estate brokerage licenses in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

For the past decade, Keely has focused primarily on landlord leasing with a current and former client list that includes Ferncroft Capital, Crosland Southeast, Ascentris, Childress Klein Properties, Armada Hoffler, New York Life, Clarion Partners, LMC, Portman Holdings, 1st Carolina Properties, Rabina Properties, Pappas Properties, Hart Realty, Cousins Properties, Simpson Commercial Real Estate, Marsh Properties, Stonemar Properties, ARA, Trinity Capital Advisors, Vision Ventures, Colonial Properties Trust, Continental Real Estate Companies, Pearson Properties, Stonegate Developers, SFRE Inc., Collett & Associates, and Beacon Partners.

Transaction Experience

Keely focuses on project leasing of grocery anchored neighborhood centers, free-standing multi tenant retail, mixed and multi-use assets, vacant financial and restaurant buildings and re-adaptive projects. In addition, Keely has leased high-profile development projects in the Charlotte region including RedStone, Riverbend Village, Dimensional Place, Ballantyne Village, Strawberry Hill redevelopment and 300 South Brevard. Additional notable projects include Stonecrest at Piper Glen, Metropolitan at Midtown, Dilworth Gardens, Providence Plaza, Toringdon, Winslow Bay Commons, Carmel Village and Ally Center.

Education & Accreditations

Community Involvement

Experience

James Mattox is a Principal with Foundry Commercial and leads the retail leasing and brokerage team for the Carolinas. He has been active in the leasing, brokerage, and development sourcing of retail properties for over 25 years. He specializes in outparcel and land sales, site selection for local, regional, and national retailers, restaurants, and developers and has been involved with numerous developments and redevelopments of single tenant assets, grocery anchored assets, and power centers that have a mixed-use component. James is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.

Clients Served

Professional Affiliations & Community Service

Education