Key Personnel
J. Mark Lawson, Vice President of Development
MS, Real Estate, Georgia State University
BS, Urban Planning, Georgia State University
With more than 15 years of real estate consulting/development experience, J. Mark Lawson has worked on both the consulting side and the higher-education institution side.
Having earned a Bachelors in Urban Planning and Masters of Science in Real Estate from Georgia State University, Mark began his career with a regional real estate consulting firm, where he focused on the hospitality industry. After, he joined Deloitte & Touche’s real estate consulting group, working with a broad range of clients in the manufacturing, corporate, hospitality and government industries.
In 2001, Mark returned to his alma mater to assist Georgia State University with its real estate redevelopment activities. There, he was the primary advisor for all real estate concerns for Georgia State University and the Georgia State University Foundation. As a liaison between the University and the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia for all real estate issues, he was responsible for the coordination and negotiation of all real estate leases and acquisitions, dispositions and facility use (lease) contracts. Project highlights include the development of University Commons, a $165 million student housing development which consisted of 2,000 beds, 800 parking space garage and 20,000 square feet of retail adjacent to campus. He also negotiated and coordinated the acquisition of multiple office/parking complexes adjacent to campus, one totaling 800,000 square feet of office space in four buildings and an 1,800 parking space deck involving four acres of land and the other involving a 180,000 square foot office building with a 400-parking space deck.
During Mark’s time at Georgia State, he made presentations to community organizations, local business organizations, city and state government agencies and national associations. He also participated in community visioning groups, involving downtown development concerns, such as streetscaping, community visioning and local community economic development analysis and improvement.