PERSPECTIVES
Originally posted on the Boston Real Estate Times, February 20, 2023
WALTHAM, MA—Boston Real Estate Times, the region’s largest print, online and video real estate magazine, today announced its list of Outstanding Women of Commercial Real Estate 2023. All the winners will be honored on March 10, 2023 during a breakfast award ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Waltham, MA.
“They are being recognized for their outstanding contribution to the commercial real estate industry in New England,” said Upendra Mishra, publisher of the Boston Real Estate Times and its sister publication Life Sciences Times. “We’re also very thankful to our readers who took their time and nominated these pioneering women. We’re looking forward to honoring them on behalf of our readers and the commercial real estate community on March 10, 2023.)
Boston Real Estate Times will also publish a special glossy print edition that will highlight the contribution and achievements of this group.
The breakfast award ceremony will be held on March 10, 2023 from 7:00 am to 10:30 am at Westin Hotel in Waltham, MA.
To purchase a ticket, please click here. For sponsorship opportunities, please email events@MishraGroup.com .
Jessica Haley, Principal & Director of Interior Design, RODE Architects
Jessica is RODE Architects Principal and Director of Interior Design. Jessica heads the firm’s interiors team, which is responsible for many of Greater Boston’s most loved spaces, including Bar Volpe, Cambria Hotel South Boston, The Lexington and James Beard nominated SRV. In addition to hospitality, Jessica has worked within a variety of other sectors including multi-family, corporate and institutional, with her work featured in NBC’s Restaurants Reinvented, Restaurant Development + Design Magazine and other national publications.
Jessica has cultivated a rigorous design approach within the firm that defines a foundational concept for every project, then crafts a cohesive and inspired space around it. This has led to the creation of memorable, unique designs that combine tried and true design with an innovative approach. Since joining RODE, which is proud to be 53% female in an often male-dominated industry, Jessica has worked on more than three dozen projects in the region – which showcases her impact on design in the city. Boston provides a richly layered historic context for designers, and Jessica has exhibited an adept skill and deep experience in making contemporary spaces that complement that existing fabric, while imbuing projects with humanistic vitality.
Jessica has been pivotal in growing the interiors team at RODE, which now accounts for 15% of the total employees. Jessica has been instrumental as a mentor to many at the firm as they progress their careers in the industry. Jessica also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Boston Architectural College (BAC), where she was recently awarded the 2022 Distinguished Alumni in Interior Architecture Award for her exemplary accomplishments, service and commitment to the field of interior design.
Developing the future means figuring out our relationship with industrial real estate. Creating a modern city takes imagination - like imagining how to coexist with a little more density or considering more equitable ways to move through our streets and sidewalks. But to balance these priorities with economic growth, we need to imagine combining building use types we probably never thought would be together.
The Urban Industrial Market
Over the past three years, supply chain interruptions have become major obstacles to our economy’s health, impacting all major distribution channels in some manner. More than ever, our cities depend on industrial buildings – modernized warehouses, logistics hubs, and local manufacturing facilities – to maintain the flow of goods and services that fuel our economy.
Principal & co-founder Kevin Deabler will be discussing the future of urban industrial next week at BISNOW’s “Innovating and Developing Boston’s Industrial Market” panel (February 8). Here’s a sneak peek of the issues we’ll be tackling!
- What is the current market demand for development and how are supply vs. demand dynamics impacting the market?
- From a design standpoint, how are you building in flexibility to your spaces to keep up with the changing demand?
- How are development and design needs changing based on the type of tenant: mom and pop store vs. bigger box companies?
We hope to see you there; if you’re not already registered, do so at this link (psst, coupon code I20PfFwTKs will get you 20% off).
RODE is proud to announce the promotion of Amanda Sanders to Associate. With 18 years of industry experience focusing on historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and institutional projects within the higher education field, Sanders has been instrumental to the firm’s success with her contributions to design excellence, and also as a mentor in the studio.
By elevating Sanders to an Associate, the firm is recognizing her exhibited leadership in the studio and on project work. She will continue to lead the Sustainability Committee, ensuring that all of the firm’s projects and internal operations meet established goals. Sustainability has always been core tenant of the firm, and Sanders recently led the firmwide initiative of signing on to the AIA 2030 Commitment.
Since joining RODE in 2021, Sanders has worked on notable projects at RODE Architects, including 1515 Commonwealth Avenue, RODE’s largest project to date; two adaptive reuse mill projects in New Hampshire; and projects for Harvard University and the Harvard Arboretum.
“We’re excited to announce the promotion of Amanda Sanders, who has quickly made an impact at RODE, exhibiting what great leadership is by sharing her passion for sustainability and creating strategic goals for our team,” said Kevin Deabler, AIA, LEED AP, Principal & Co-Founder of RODE Architects. “We are excited to continue our growth and Amanda will help us tackle complex projects in our city and beyond.”
Originally from Iowa, Sanders studied at Iowa State University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Architecture degree. Prior to joining RODE, she was a Senior Associate at Goody Clancy, where she worked as part of the preservation practice group and served on the sustainability committee. Sanders is a member of the Boston Preservation Alliance, where she is an active participant on the Advocacy Committee and Awards Committee, and the Association of Preservation Technology Northeast Chapter. She has worked on several significant historic restoration projects including Boston Symphony Hall, University of Virginia’s Academical Village (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and Jose Lluis Sert’s New House on MIT’s
RODE is thrilled to announce that our proposal for 157 West Springfield Street was approved by the South End Landmark District Commission after more than a year of development and discussions with the City of Boston and the South End community.
The design team met with the Landmarks Commission for two advisory hearings over the course of a year before the formal hearing took place on August 2nd. RODE engaged in a productive conversation with the Commissioners that led to the more refined details for the renovation and an improved material palette for the addition. The Commissioners “found our responsiveness refreshing” and really appreciated RODE’s approach to the restoration of this historic building.
The Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded by a group of former slaves from Virginia who began worshipping in a member’s kitchen in 1847 before moving into the church at 157 West Springfield Street in 1887. The congregation left in 2020 for a larger space better suited to the needs of their changing membership.
The renovation and two-story addition to the Ebenezer Baptist Church is an exciting opportunity to restore a historic building and create nine new residential units on site. The project will restore the existing brickwork while creating a new architectural intervention that will be respectful of the existing structure. On the front façade, the stone stoops will be repaired, the gardens revitalized, and the front doors restored to reflect their historic appearance. SEDLC commissioners loved the fact that RODE “put renovation first” and appreciate the designs clarity between renovated existing building and the contemporary addition.
The addition is formed by pulling up the four corners of the existing roof to create large dormers, allowing light and air into the new units. Following the structural rhythm of the original roofline, the ridge line of the existing roof is referenced in the forms of the new addition. The glossy materials under the new roof reflect the context back into the neighborhood, suggesting the new roof is floating over its historic base.
"Mike is positive and passionate, and that attitude motivates his students in a big way. I find that Mike also motivates me with his excitement for design. He can really run a class, too by keeping his students interacting all the way through the evenings. The work students accomplish under his teaching is usually extraordinary as he shepherds the breakthroughs in Arc1 Studio. As a whole, Mike is an all-around exemplar of a practicing instructor that the BAC embraces.”
- Lee Peters, Director of Foundation Studios, Boston Architectural College
We are proud to announce that RODE Associate Michael DelleFave, AIA is this year’s recipient of the Boston Society of Architecture Award for Excellence in Teaching! The Boston Society of Architects (BSA), a chapter of the American Institute of Architects, awards this merit to faculty members in Architecture or Liberal Studies for their commitment to excellence in architectural education and contributions to the profession and to future professionals.
Mike was nominated by Lee Peters, Director of Foundation Studios at Boston Architectural College for the practice awareness he brings to the studio and his deep understanding of precedent and current design examples. A faculty member for 12 years, Mike infuses his industry experience into his classes, often sharing real projects he is working on at RODE, to help students understand the process and challenges of design.
Many of our team members, both current and prior, are architects and designers by trade but also dedicate themselves to to being educators in their field. Rashmi Ramaswamy, AIA LEED AP, who has an advisory role within our firm, was last year's recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award. Infusing our studio with teaching DNA is a key part of our studio culture. We are honored to have team members who inspire us to pass our knowledge and expertise on to future generations of talented architects and designers.
Congrats, Mike!
