Sunbelt Developers

Interviews with commercial real estate developers.

Sunbelt Developers is a business podcast hosted by Tim Wright, with 25 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Tim Wright hosts Sunbelt Developers, a business show with 25 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Sunbelt Developers

  #25 - Mike Plant - President & CEO of the Braves Development Company

  Aug 20, 20261h 2m

  Mike Plant has spent his career at the intersection of sports, business, and development. From competing as an Olympic speed skater to helping bring the 1996 Olympic Games to Atlanta, Plant eventually joined the Atlanta Braves and played a pivotal role in the team’s move to Cobb County and the creation of Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta. In this episode we cover: • Competing in the Olympics and building a career in the Olympic movement • Moving to Atlanta to work for Ted Turner and eventually joining the Atlanta Braves • Building Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta in just 30 months • Creating a mixed-use model that has attracted sports organizations from around the world Sunbelt Developers is in partnership with Northspyre. Northspyre's platform is built to modernize the development process, replacing outdated spreadsheets and error-prone processes with automation, analytics, and AI. Check them out at northspyre.com -- If you have any commercial real estate needs, please reach out. Tim Wright 770-990-6180 tim.j.wright@cushwake.com More info: https://linktr.ee/timwright.cre

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  Episode #1

  Season 3 Announcement

  Aug 6, 20262 minS3

  Thank you for following along with our journey! It doesn't feel real that this project has made it this far. These interviews have been a passion project of mine that continues to gain attention, and as long as people enjoy what we put out, we'll keep going. This season we'll be doing multiple hardhat tours, experimenting with live events, and taking things to new levels. We've partnered with Northspyre an incredible Real Estate Development Management Software - https://www.northspyre.com/ As shared in the video, if you'd like to join the Sunbelt Developers community, please reach out to alfred@durandmedia.com More info: https://linktr.ee/timwright.cre

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  Episode #24

  #24 - Chris Faussemagne on West Midtown’s Rise and Transformation

  Aug 4, 202651 minS2

  Why did an active freight rail corridor turn into Atlanta’s most sought-after urban district? Long before Howell Mill Road became a bustling hub for dining and luxury retail, Chris Faussemagne, Partner at Westbridge, was pioneering West Midtown’s industrial transformation. From converting historic meatpacking plants like White Provision and Stockyards into landmark adaptive reuse projects, to engineering the famous pedestrian bridge over active train tracks, Chris shares two decades of insight into scaling walkable urban districts. This episode breaks down the real estate strategies that shaped West Midtown—including the hard pivot away from office space at West Side Paper, preserving local institutions like Northside Tavern amid high-rise developments like Star Metals, and solving parking and restaurant friction. Chris also explores how upcoming BeltLine infrastructure and projects like "The Hill" at the Waterworks will impact future property values. For developers, investors, brokers, and urban planners, this conversation provides a practical masterclass in Sunbelt real estate development, asset pivots, and urban revitalization. If you have a commercial real estate need, please reach out. My team and I have incredible resources through Cushman & Wakefield to help with any need you have. More info: https://linktr.ee/timwright.cre

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  Episode #23

  #23 - Jason McCann on How Vari Built a $2 Billion Empire Starting from a Cardboard Box

  Jul 30, 202656 minS2

  What does it take to turn a cardboard prototype into a $2 billion business movement? In this episode of the Sunbelt Developers Podcast, hosts Tim Wright and Zach Bean, Executive Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, sit down with Jason McCann, Co-Founder and CEO of Vari. Famous for creating the sit-stand VariDesk movement and growing into a full-scale workspace innovation leader serving 98% of Fortune 500 companies, Vari is fundamentally reshaping commercial real estate. The conversation covers the evolution of workplace real estate: how flexible spaces, hospitality-first amenities, modular design, and AI-driven efficiency are redefining the modern office landscape. Jason breaks down his journey from consumer products like Big Mouth Billy Bass to scaling Vari into a multi-asset landlord. He reveals how VariSpace converted a 90% vacant 22-acre campus into an 80%+ occupied community hub, why 10- to 12-year office leases are making a comeback in DFW, and how AI visualization is helping tenants execute 45-day move-ins. Whether you are a commercial developer, broker, investor, or business owner navigating the future of work, this masterclass offers actionable insights into capital efficiency, space-as-a-service models, and resilient leadership. Key Highlights: • The cardboard box origin story and the flight that changed everything • How Vari scaled into a workspace solutions giant with 300+ products • The Space-as-a-Service model: turning distressed assets into vibrant communities • Why modern office tenants are locking in 7- to 12-year leases • How Vari uses Claude and AI tools to save time on financial modeling and sales test fits • The role of hospitality, biophilia, and energy in driving office occupancy • Leading through crisis, maintaining workplace culture, and giving back #CommercialRealEstate #OfficeDevelopment #Vari #PropTech #SunbeltDevelopers More info: https://linktr.ee/timwright.cre

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  Episode #22

  #22 - Colin Connolly - Why Atlanta May Not Get a New Office Tower Until After 2030

  Jul 21, 20261h 9mS2

  Colin Connolly has spent 15 years at Cousins Properties — 8 of them as CEO — steering one of the premier office REITs in the country through a merger, a pandemic, and what may be the most consequential reset in office real estate history. As the Sunbelt office market tightens and new supply seems frozen until at least 2030, Cousins is gearing up for offense. Inside the episode: • Leading Cousins through Covid — and why the first call was guaranteeing no layoffs before making any strategic decisions • Doubling down in the pandemic: selling $1.3B of lower-quality assets and reinvesting in trophy product at the bottom of the market • The Houston bet that went wrong — watching OPEC's Thanksgiving Day announcement blow up 40% of the company • Merging with Parkway Properties and spinning out the Houston portfolio into its own publicly traded company • Why there will be no new office supply of any size delivered in Atlanta until after 2030 — and what that means for rents • Dallas as the canary in the coal mine: net rents climbing from $50 to nearly $90 • Why companies relocating to the Sunbelt care far less about office rent than the cost of housing for their employees • Where Cousins sees opportunity today — and why the absence of competing capital has made trophy acquisitions unusually attractive Big thanks to our sponsors for supporting this series: • Songy Highroads – songyhighroads.com • Corporate Environments – corporateenvironments.com • USA Cabling – usacablingtech.com • Scott Contracting – scott-contracting.com • The Beck Group – beckgroup.com If you have a commercial real estate need, please reach out. My team and I have incredible resources through Cushman & Wakefield to help with any need you have. More info: https://linktr.ee/timwright.cre

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