Harold J. DeBlanc, III
Founder & Managing Director
HDB Advisors, LLC
Through his company HDB Advisors, Harold DeBlanc leads and manages the most critical and challenging work associated with large mixed-use development located in or adjacent to dense urban communities. That work is the work of Pre-Development, what must be identified, overcome, created and approved before a shovel is put into the ground.
At The First Boston Corporation, a top tier investment bank in New York City, Mr. DeBlanc enjoyed an intensive introduction to real estate development. He acquired competencies through the work he alone was responsible to peform, as well as by contributing to and observing the efforts of teams of experienced finance professionals. More significantly, he earned opportunities to work directly with the senior executives and staff of First Boston’s developer clients.
Mr. DeBlanc moved from the capital sector of real estate to a full-service national development company when a developer client of First Boston spotted his work, team play and talent. He was the first hire of the executive who would consolidate and head a new regional office for LCOR Incorporated by consolidating its New York City and Northern New Jersy offices. LCOR Incorporated was formerly the northeast region of The Lincoln Property Company.
From the outset, Mr. DeBlanc was charged with managing and leading the comprehensive teams that perform the vast work necessary to create and kick-off large, mixed-use, multi-phase urban developments. Those developments typically include 3-5 million square feet – and billions of dollars – of residential, office and retail space, as well as carefully programmed open spaces and the infrastructure that supports all of it. Most are located on waterfronts and in or adjacent to existing urban commercial districts and residential communities. The majority are brownfield sites where different industrial operations were conducted for decades or centuries. These developments are typically one-of-a-kind and present enormous opportunity for all. They attract much scrutiny. They are transformative.
From then and now, Mr. DeBlanc’s work requires:
- Identifying market opportunities, including demand drivers, threats and potential change
- Winning, negotiating and documenting exclusive rights to and development agreements for property located in or adjacent to established urban commercial districts and residential communities
- Engendering positive engagement by working with municipalities, state and federal authorities, local stakeholders, special interest groups and affected communities, paying attention to their aspirations, concerns and constraints
- Creating master plans that are responsive to excellence in urban planning, timeless design, program, engineering, and problem-solving; challenging site conditions and limitations that require creative solutions; regulatory and political hurdles; partners including sponsoring municipalities and states; land use, zoning and local/state/federal regulatory constraints; infrastructure and open space requirements; and what is possible, feasible and deliverable by a sophisticated, capable developer working in partnership with many, all the while accountable to the market, investment capital, and earned trust and its integrity
- Securing entitlements, including changes to city plans, land use, zoning, and occasionally local building code
- Assembling and managing the teams necessary to envision, create and accomplish the above, including but not limited to trusted strategic advisors possessing decades of unique experiences and acquired expertise, with the capacity to offer uncommon perspective, insight and guidance; planning, design and engineering firms; specialty consultants; contractors; investment banks and commercial lenders; public finance and related analysts; marketing/public relations firms; brokerage companies; and attorneys