Our mission is to support our clients in maximizing the ROI for their Capital, Real Estate, and Human Resources investments.

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Michael R. Press

President

Professional Experience:

  • More than 25 years of experience in economic development and tax incentives, having served in both government and non-government consulting roles including:

  • Built and led the world's leading Business Incentives advisory practice while serving as Tax Partner at Ernst & Young.

  • Supervised incentives advisory engagements for Fortune 100 Companies in the aerospace, automotive, consumer products, financial services, telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage production and packaging industries.

  • Assistant Director of Tax Studies, Senate Finance Committee, New York State Senate (Majority);

  • Chief Economist and Commissioner (Acting) of the New York City Office of Business Development.

  • Chairman of the Enterprise Zone Administrative Boards of four Enterprise (EDZ's) in New York City.

Engagement highlights include:

  • Led the negotiating team that brought the Boeing Company's world headquarters from Seattle to Chicago (while considering Dallas and Denver).

  • Led the site selection and negotiating team in support of the largest industrial project of 2015 in Alabama.

  • Secured the benefits package sufficient to induce a 3,000-contingent Citigroup campus to relocate to New Jersey.

  • Secured first-of-its-kind incentive in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida and New York.

  • Created new and redesigned existing key economic development programs for New York City and New York State including; REAP (Relocation and Employee Assistance Program), ECSP (Energy Cost Savings Program), ICIP (Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program) and Tax Increment Financing.

  • Organized and hosted the first comprehensive private sector Business Incentives Symposium in the United States.

Education & Certifications:

  • M.S. - SUNY Albany, Economics

  • B.S. - SUNY Albany, Economics, Mathematics

Professional Associations & Affiliations:

  • Industrial Asset Management Council, Member

  • Journal of MultiState Taxation and Incentives, Editorial Board Member

 

Steve Weitzner

MANAGING DOIRECTOR

Steve Weitzner has more than 30 years of experience in economic impact analysis, international location analysis and site selection, and economic development consulting. Steve worked for Coopers & Lybrand and Ernst & Young, helping both companies to establish and grow international and domestic site selection and incentives advisory service lines. He was also the founder and president of Silverlode Consulting, Inc., which is now owned and operated by GBX Group LLC based in Cleveland, OH.

 

While President of Silverlode for nearly 20 years, Steve developed the methodology for completion of comprehensive economic impact analyses of complex organizations and major proposed real estate developments. He was responsible for completing impact studies for entities such as Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Baystate Health, Nemours, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), the Ohio Department of Transportation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and many others.  

 

Steve is one of the most experienced economic development and site selection consultants in the US and has completed nearly 1,000 projects and analyses over the last three decades. He has worked on projects in 42 US states and in more than 25 countries. Since selling Silverlode in 2018, Steve works independently on a select number of projects each year and is an Adjunct Faculty member and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Case Western Reserve University. He lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio with his wife and his dog, and is an avid squash player, skier, and French hornist.

 

Gregory C. Francis

Director

Professional Experience:10 years of experience in urban planning, real estate, and economic development for both private sector firms and public sector organizations. Direct site selection comparative location studies for major U.S. corporations

  • Delivered long-term asset solutions and strategic planning for the Southeastern US real estate portfolio for Bank of America covering 5 million square feet, 400 locations, and 18,000 associates by managing a cross-functional team of regional partners.

  • Improved real estate utilization rate from 71 to 80% and reduced fragmentation by executing aggressive market plans in the Southeastern portfolio.

  • Developed strategic market plans for Jacksonville, FL; Atlanta, GA; and Savannah, GA markets designed to drive space utilization rates to 94% and to reduce space by 1 million square feet by 2017.

  • Reduced Corporate Workplace’s annual occupancy expenses by $89 million by designing and implementing a control plan to optimize space utilization.

  • Analyzed occupancy-expense data and recommended strategies to reduce costs incurred by a global real estate portfolio containing 6 million square feet and 3,000 associates.

  • Delivered comprehensive regional planning services to client communities in the Charlotte, NC region for Centralina Council of Governments including policy analysis, land use ordinance amendments, and facilitation of municipal public meetings.

Education & Certifications:

  • M.B.A. - UNC Kenan-Flager Business School

  • M.R.P. - City & Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • B.S.– City & Regional Planning, Cornell University

Professional Associations & Affiliations:

  • Urban Land Institute, Member

  • American Planning Association, Member

  • US Green Building Council, Member

RESOURCES

  • Extended network of affiliated, strategically located professionals with detailed knowledge and extensive local contacts.

  • Online Incentives Calculator for estimating incentives value within the U.S.

  • Proprietary database of credits and incentives.

  • Economists and accredited models to estimate the economic and fiscal benefits to government.

  • Comprehensive compliance capabilities.