Let's get to know each other. We want to give you a window into how we think, how we conduct business and how we succeed. 

First and foremost, we focus on the needs of our investors.  From institutions to individuals, we strive to deliver the best possible results, tailored to our partners' needs.

We are streamlined and efficient, which enables us to obtain measurable results throughout the development and management of our projects. We are hands-on and support our collective team without micromanaging the process. Our communication style is approachable and idea-driven, while maintaining high expectations and an emphasis on speed. 

We understand Millennials and the future of multifamily housing based on lifestyle expectations. Millennials continue to be the driving influence in the multifamily industry. We understand what they want, including technology trends and socially-driven community amenities. As a result, we continue to remain ahead of the curve on design and lifestyle amenities that appeal to today's rental population. 

We pride ourselves on setting trends in the multi-family industry by offering environmentally sound and technologically advanced amenities that residents readily enjoy and actively desire -- from our groundbreaking work at Enso where we became the first LEED certified apartment community in Georgia, to our recent work at The Menlo, where technology and luxury are placed in perfect balance. 

We have strong financial support from capital partners who share our vision of providing top-flight amenities and services in today's multifamily space. 

Finally, we're nimble and versatile. We roll up our sleeves and get down to business, whether the project involves a complete renovation of a distressed community or a Class-AA+ development that we design from the ground-up. Our track record speaks for itself and while we're proud of what we've accomplished, we are strongest when we have amazing partners with the best minds working together.  Let's get started!

ROB MEYER
Partner

robm@catalystdp.com
678.666.1237

At Catalyst, Rob focuses his energy on finding and capitalizing new projects, along with managing the day-to-day business of our company. Rob has a diverse skill set focused on multifamily project execution and capital structuring. Over the course of his career he has directed 75+ transactions, capitalized at over $2 Billion, including 3,500 units of new and condominium conversion, and 20,000 units of apartment acquisition, renovation and development.

Prior to founding Catalyst Development Partners, Rob spent the first eighteen years of his career at Julian LeCraw & Company, Inc. (JLC), an Atlanta based multifamily developer and operator. While at JLC, Rob held a variety of positions including Property Manager, Real Estate Analyst, Vice President of Acquisitions and Development, Executive Vice President of For Sale Housing, and finally as Regional Partner, where he was responsible for all multifamily acquisition, development and capital structuring activities for Georgia and Tennessee.

Rob lives near Emory University in Atlanta, with his wife Kim and their two sons. The family is very involved in their local school district where Rob has held a position on the Local School Council and Kim has served as PTA president and Chairman/Board Member of the Mary Lin Elementary, DT Howard Middle and Midtown High School Educational Foundations.

MARK MECHLOWITZ
Partner

markm@catalystdp.com
678.666.1282

Mark harnesses his industry expertise to lead and supervise our Development Team throughout all facets of planning and building our projects. Mark is involved at every touchpoint in the process to ensure turnkey development of projects starting with due diligence, land acquisition, construction management and the ultimate delivery and disposition of the product.  

Mark entered the development arena in 1996, and worked twelve years with two of the most prominent multifamily real estate companies in the Southeast, Lane Company and Julian LeCraw & Company, Inc. (JLC). At JLC, Mark developed $48M in new projects, including 400 units of multifamily apartments and town homes, a 350 boat slip marina and 20,000+ square feet of retail. With Lane Company, Mark developed over $85M in multi-family, condominiums, adaptive reuse and mixed-use projects. Mark formed his own company in 2003, developing over $90M of new condominium, townhome and apartment projects ranging in scope from an 18-unit luxury townhome to a 333 unit, high density, LEED Gold Certified apartment building.

Mark lives in Atlanta with his wife, Paulina, and is a devoted dad to his incredible children. His energetic approach to life extends to his love for running, hiking, biking and rounds of tennis.

JORGE SARDINAS
Partner

jorges@catalystdp.com
678.666.1292

Jorge's primary focus is to generate and capitalize new business opportunities for our company. With a passion for developing in growth markets, Jorge is also deeply involved in initial architectural planning and brand identity for each project to ensure Catalyst delivers ahead-of-trend and highly-amenitized communities desired by prospective residents. Since 1990, Jorge has acquired and developed over 20,000 multifamily units throughout the Southeast.

Now entering his third decade in the development industry, Jorge began his career as a Construction and Project Manager for Crescent Heights Investments. He then joined the Real Estate Investment Division of Florida Crystals Corporation, as Senior Vice President, to oversee their sizable multifamily real estate portfolio while also responsible for new property acquisitions and timely disposition of assets. Jorge later joined Julian LeCraw & Company, Inc. (JLC) and rose in position to Regional Partner, responsible for all multifamily acquisition, development and capital structuring activities in Florida and the Carolinas. While at JLC, Jorge acquired 8,000 apartment units, sourced several multifamily development opportunities, obtained entitlements and was responsible for development of over 1,000 new construction units and more than 100,000 square feet of retail. 

Jorge lives in Ponte Vedra Florida, with his wife Carmen and four children.

DAVID HARRY
Chief Financial Officer

davidh@catalystdp.com
678.666.1220

David oversees all Catalyst financing activities including financial planning, accounting, capital management and risk management functions. He also focuses on generating new business within the Greater Atlanta market and expanding Catalyst’s footprint of ground-up projects across the Southeast.

David brings nearly three decades of real estate experience to the Catalyst team and has played an integral role in the acquisition, development, and capitalization of over $3B in assets across 17,000 residential units and 1.5 million sf of commercial properties. David began his career at Wachovia Bank in real estate lending and later joined Julian LeCraw & Company (predecessor to TriBridge Residential) where he managed a $1B real estate portfolio overseeing the investment strategy and capitalization of over 12,500 multifamily units. David founded Oak Street Properties, developing townhomes, and led the mezzanine loan investment platform at Preferred Apartment Communities where he launched their preferred equity program and led the company’s inaugural in-house development.

David holds a BA in Finance from the University of Georgia and an MBA in Real Estate from Georgia State University. He currently serves on the board of the Decatur Development Authorities in Decatur, GA, where he lives with his wife and two children.

JEFF MAXWELL
Executive Vice President

jeffm@catalystdp.com
678.666.1344

As Executive Vice President, Jeff is the senior member of the Development Team and leads all Catalyst construction and design projects. He is responsible for sourcing and selecting all construction materials, design, management of the construction team, quality assurance and project finances. Jeff is deeply involved on-the-ground and throughout the process, whether Catalyst is engaged in ground-up development of Class-A communities, or renovations and construction management at existing projects. In addition to his wealth of construction process and design knowledge, Jeff shares a passion with the team to bring innovation to our multifamily projects. Leading-edge interiors, amenities, social spaces and technological advances are touch points for today's population of Millennials and Jeff focuses on bringing these new and exciting elements to each of our projects.

Jeff joined Catalyst in May 2012, bringing with him 20 years of real estate development, construction and design expertise from his prior work at several highly regarded firms in the industry, including Etude Sol, JLC Southeast, WCI Communities, Boran Craig Barber & Engel and Haskell Construction.

Jeff holds a business degree in Construction Management from University of North Florida (Magna Cum Laude), as well as a Finance degree from Florida State University, College of Business. Jeff lives in Jacksonville Beach, Florida with his wife Grace and three children. He is an avid surfer and rock climber.

PATRICIA OGLESBY
Senior Development Manager

patriciao@catalystdp.com
678.666.2159

As Senior Development Manager, Patricia is responsible for coordinating production and managing all project contractors and designers, while also mitigating construction risk and maintaining financial vitality of each development through final delivery. She works closely with the Development Team to contribute to overall selection of interior unit finishes, exterior design, functionality of floor plans, and evaluates market trends to develop relevant and unique resident amenities. Also, critical to her role is ongoing review of financial statements and reporting financial results to investors. 

Patricia joined Catalyst in 2011 as an Asset Manager, with the primary goal of ensuring leasing momentum was maintained and rent potential was optimized by building a strong performance-based staff. Her operational oversight involved directing property management personnel; managing the marketing process; customizing solutions to support risk management; focusing on property performance; reviewing weekly operations reports; and addressing any physical plant needs with cost-effective solutions. Prior to joining Catalyst, Patricia spent the first decade of her career in onsite management with Post Properties, Deutsche Bank/RREEF Property Trust, and JPI. Exposure to Property Operations from the inside-out, has given Patricia a deep understanding of the art of balancing ownership goals with effective management techniques.

Patricia attended Auburn University, where she obtained a finance degree and was a member of business fraternity: Alpha Kappa Psi. She lives near Perimeter Center in Atlanta and is both an accomplished actor and musician.

ALEXIS PAPA
Director of Operations

alexisp@catalystdp.com
678.666.3537

Alexis spearheads all operations efforts for projects in development through key phases of market stabilization. This involves supervising the Property Management group, maintaining market penetration, motivating the onsite team, while troubleshooting development and marketing initiatives that deliver on the CDP promise to provide residents with an exceptional living experience at our communities. Alexis officially joined Catalyst in April 2017 as Director of Operations, and previously worked with the firm's principals - supporting multi-family and condominium developments, dating back to the early 2000s, notably impacting Catalyst's early portfolio with 626 Dekalb and 870 Inman. 

Earlier in her career, while at Lane Company and Julian LeCraw & Company (JLC), Alexis worked in their condominium development groups to support the CDP principals. There she managed budgets, conducted analyses of market competition on existing projects and the feasibility for future projects, while also studying housing and advertising trends to lead development of marketing collateral and websites on these developments. Her core focus was managing the on-site sales team, operations, and reporting.

Alexis lives in East Cobb with her husband Nick and their two children. She is a proud graduate of Clemson University College of Business with a degree in Marketing. Alexis is active in the Atlanta community, volunteering at school and serving on several non-profit boards.

RACHAEL ABT
Director of Marketing

rachaela@catalystdp.com
678.666.1231

As Director of Marketing, Rachael leads strategic brand development for new ground-up developments and media planning for all active projects within the Catalyst portfolio. Rachael approaches each new project by cultivating a brand identity and oversees all campaign elements including: logo creation, rendering development, website and collateral design, media planning, public relations and post-marketing analysis to sharpen advertising performance. Rachael has partnered with Catalyst for over a decade, starting with Huff Heights, and has remained a constant in all portfolio developments since 2009.

Rachael's advertising training began at prestigious firms such as BBDO, WestWayne/22Squared, 360i and Manning Selvage & Lee, where she produced television commercials, radio broadcasts, national print campaigns, digital marketing and employee communications for corporate brands such as AT&T, Coca-Cola, SunTrust, and GE Power Systems. In 2004, she founded her own firm to support growing enterprises. With experience in multifamily marketing since 2001, Rachael has a keen sense of how to identify and market to key audiences to support the Catalyst brand.

Rachael lives in Sandy Springs with her husband, Jay, and their two children. Rachael graduated from University of Florida with a degree in Advertising and Business Administration. She passionately supports advancement of pediatric brain tumor research through Ian's Friends Foundation. 

LYDIA BISHOP
Director of Sales and Leasing 

lydiab@catalystdp.com
321.356.4481

As Director of Sales and Leasing, Lydia is focused on the leasing performance of the CDP portfolio. This involves working closing with the Property Management group to ensure leasing and occupancy goals are met and residents enjoy an exceptional living experience at our communities.

Lydia joined Catalyst in 2024 having previously worked with the firm’s principals in her role as Managing Director of Real Estate for Greystar, one of our management providers. Prior to Greystar, she held senior leadership roles with Riverstone Residential Group and Trammel Crow Residential Services.

 Lydia lives in Orlando with her husband, Larry. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Finance. Lydia also holds a Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor (CAPS) designation from the National Apartment Association and is a Florida Real Estate Broker.  

LAUREN GROOVER
Controller

laureng@catalystdp.com
678.515.5383

With a strong background in real estate accounting, Lauren will manage Catalyst corporate level finance and accounting initiatives, while also supporting finance and operations of active development and construction projects. Her proficiency in financial management extends to ensuring accuracy and integrity of financial data and industry compliance regulations, as well as preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, audit reports and consolidated reports. As a licensed CPA, Lauren will also play a key role in acquisition and disposition activities, including insurance, banking, funding, and closing processes.

Prior to joining Catalyst, Lauren developed strategic knowledge of real estate accounting at Brock Built Homes and Wood Partners. Additionally, Lauren gained targeted experience with Real Estate and Financial Services clients as Assurance Staff at Ernst & Young as well as experience with Wealth Management Tax Services while at PwC.

Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in Accounting. Lauren lives in Smyrna, GA with her husband and two daughters. In her free time, Lauren enjoys being active, traveling and spending time outdoors with her family.

DAVE GREENBERG
Vice President, Investments

daveg@catalystdp.com
678.666.4428

As Vice President of Investments, Dave is responsible for sourcing new developments as well as driving investment performance throughout the project lifecycle with data analysis and process standardization. At the front end, he leverages his experience as a real estate analyst to identify new growth markets and structure acquisitions and joint ventures. Through the inspection period and land closing, he oversees due diligence efforts including third-party consultant coordination, risk mitigation, and critical path adherence. After projects are handed off to Development Managers and Operations, Dave actively monitors performance trends and best practices to optimize growth. This wide spectrum view enables Dave to effectively manage relationships with our equity partners and lenders.

Prior to joining Catalyst, Dave graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2010. He then served as a Logistics Officer in the United States Marine Corps, spending time in Okinawa, Afghanistan, and Houston, Texas. Following his transition from active duty, Dave received his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School with a specialization in Real Estate Finance. His academic and former professional experience was further refined by internships in investment banking and hospitality lending.

Dave lives near the BeltLine in Intown Atlanta. His hobbies include paddle boarding, cycling, and trivia.

STEVE ROBINSON
Construction Manager

stever@catalystdp.com
678.528.0496

As Construction Manager, Steve is responsible for monitoring progress, quality control and protecting investor’s interests for all CDP ground-up projects. Steve regularly visits all active projects and attends all OAC meetings to supervise development progress, third party inspections, including water proofing, materials testing and manages third party subcontractors for quality assurance and optimal installation. Steve is heavily involved in timely completion of projects, with keen attention to the critical path from plan review, development, through the acceptance process, punch walks and disposition. Steve also reviews all CDP constructibility plans to mitigate construction risk or impending issues and aims to create efficiencies across the portfolio.

Prior to joining Catalyst, Steve was Director of Quality Control at JM Wilkerson where he implemented QA/QC best practices for all wood-frame projects in the portfolio. He also gained experience at Origin Investments as Owner's Representative, Construction Manager and Quality Assurance Manager to oversee both phases of 675 N Highland, a mixed-use community. Additionally, Steve spent nearly a decade at Abraham Properties as Owner’s Representative and Senior Construction Manager for the portfolio ranging from luxury custom homes, as well as multi-family and mixed-use apartment communities.

Steve lives in Atlanta with his wife, Sharon, and he has three children. On a local level, Steve sits on his neighborhood board to influence progress of cultivating usable greenspace with membership to Friends of Tucker PATH. His love for the outdoors extends to an affinity for spending time in the beautiful national parks of Southern Utah. He is bi-lingual, speaking fluent Spanish, is HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Certified and is passionate about high efficiency construction and design.

CLAYTON CHEEK
Development Manager

claytonc@catalystdp.com
678.515.5376

Clayton joined Catalyst in 2022 as a Development Manager where he oversees all stages of ground-up construction on respective new projects, from pre-development to unit finish selections, to managing third party consultants, and ensuring compliance with specified building codes and municipal zoning. Clayton is responsible for overseeing financial stability for each development by accurately forecasting costs, anticipating risk exposure, and managing the project schedule in order to maximize efficiency while maintaining quality.

Prior to joining Catalyst, Clayton worked with Mill Creek Residential as a Development Associate, where he assessed new development opportunities and managed the development process for two high-rise developments and a mixed-use community with combined assets of nearly 1,100 units and total capitalization of  nearly $500MM. While at Mill Creek, Clayton gained holistic and detail oriented experience to take each project from inception, through development of timely receipt of CO and ultimate closeout while achieving lease-up stabilization. Early in his career – and while still obtaining both his undergraduate and Master’s degree – Clayton held various development positions: including: Project Engineer at Holder Construction for four years and Development Intern at Portman Holdings.

Clayton graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Science & Management and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development. He is an active member of Urban Land Institute as well as Atlanta Young Multi-family Professionals and Association of Young Real Estate Professionals. Clayton lives in Midtown Atlanta and enjoys staying active in various sports including tennis, beach volleyball, snow skiing and SCUBA diving.

DARRYL OSWALD
Real Estate Analyst

darrylo@catalystdp.com
678.528.2012

As our Real Estate Analyst, Darryl conducts thorough analysis of prospective markets, new developments, and ongoing projects to support process flow, financial underwriting and analysis, and prepare investor and lender packages. Darryl is involved in all aspects of due diligence during land closing and pre-development to track status of pre-development timelines, deliverables, and expenses. After closing and throughout the project life cycle, Darryl collaborates with Development Managers to ensure accurate internal communication and generate strategic external reporting to instill best practices and financial success across the portfolio.

Prior to joining Catalyst, Darryl devoted his expertise to the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) as an Engineering Associate. At CTE, Darryl was responsible for modeling performance of battery-electric buses and heavy-duty trucks in cities across the US. He also worked with transit agencies to optimize performance and used data analysis to automate internal processes, saving both time and money.

Darryl graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Transportation. While at Georgia Tech, Darryl was notably a Stamps President’s Scholar, a prestigious merit scholarship awarded to the top 0.25% of applicants; he also served as President of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Honor Society.

Darryl lives in Inman Park, just off the bustling Atlanta BeltLine, and is from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, traveling and is a steadfast supporter of the Atlanta Hawks.

ROBERT FISHEL
Partner

Robert Fishel is a founding partner of CDP and has been an investor with the Principals of CDP since the early 1990's. Dr. Fishel has a wide variety of business interests: he is president and CEO of Florida Electrophysiology Associates, the Southeast’s largest group of physicians specializing in the surgical treatment of heart rhythm disorders; he is a managing partner of Renaissance Properties NY, a management and development company specializing in NY high-density multifamily and commercial office properties; he is the general partner of ALSAR Ltd Partnership, a privately held investment partnership specializing in real estate, public equity and risk arbitrage investing; he is an active venture capital investor specializing in biotechnology investing; he is a partner of Florida New World Angels, a leading Florida venture/angel capital investing group; and he is the senior managing partner of NewPace Medical, an Israeli based medical device company.