Founded in 2000, Appian Capital was formed to meet the demand of real estate operators seeking a reliable investment partner for their projects.
Combining operational experience with structured finance expertise, the partners and professionals of Appian Capital approach each investment with creativity, enthusiasm and integrity. With hands-on experience in real estate investment, management, development and finance, the team brings a wealth of experience across a broad spectrum of disciplines.
As managing partner and founder of Appian Capital, Mr. Lotter is primarily responsible for developing relationships with operating partners, overseeing the management of our investment strategies and expanding the company's capital base. With over 20 years of investment and real estate transaction experience, Mr. Lotter has directed the investment in over $850 million of real estate comprising 2.3 million square feet of commercial property and 3,000+ residential units. Mr. Lotter began his career in institutional capital management at Franklin Templeton and Barclays Global Investors (now BlackRock) before founding Appian Capital in January 2000. Mr. Lotter earned his B. A. degree from the University of California, Berkeley and lives with his wife and 3 children in Marin County, California.
As a partner of Appian Capital, Mr. Hedrick sits on the Investment Committee and is responsible for developing and supporting the relationships with operating partners, expanding the company's capital base and overseeing the company's asset management team.
Mr. Hedrick has over 25 years of real estate investment experience including extensive knowledge in distressed asset portfolio acquisition and management, capital structuring, joint-venture equity placement and private fund oversight. Prior to joining Appian Capital, Mr. Hedrick was President of Midtown Niki Capital Partners. For over ten years, Mr. Hedrick directed all aspects of joint venture investment in over $950 million of real estate development projects nationwide for this closely held investment fund. The joint venture transactions included neighborhood and regional shopping centers, multifamily projects, industrial construction and hotel developments. In 1994 Mr. Hedrick cofounded and served as managing director of Hanover Property Company, the real estate investment arm of Marcus & Millichap which provided joint venture capital to real estate developers nationwide. Prior to forming Hanover, Mr. Hedrick was Vice President at Essex Property Trust where he led the division of this now publicly traded REIT to purchase pools of distressed assets from both public auctions and negotiated acquisitions with private lending institutions. Prior to Hanover, Mr. Hedrick worked at Colony Capital, the foremost investment fund to purchase RTC/FDIC pools of non-performing loans. Mr. Hedrick earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business at the University of Southern California.
In addition to being a partner in Appian Capital, Mr. Estes has been practicing real estate law for 20 years in San Francisco, focusing primarily on ownership representation in the purchase, sale, financing and construction and leasing of office and industrial buildings, both in San Francisco and throughout the United States. He has frequently lectured on these topics for both the Practicing Law Institute as well as for the Continuing Education of the Bar programs. While in private practice, he practiced at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison and at O?Melveny and Myers, where he was a partner. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles and Summa Cum Laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Steve Baron has over 30 years of experience in various aspects of real estate development and construction management. In 1984 Mr. Baron founded Baron Construction and Development, a full service general contracting and development firm based in Marin County, California. Baron Construction and Development completed over $200 million of projects ranging from concrete construction, tenant improvements, and construction management throughout Northern California.
In 1991, Mr. Baron formed The Baron Company which, through a joint venture with a regional engineering contractor, provided construction services for mid-size commercial real estate projects throughout Northern California. The Baron Company acts as a construction manager for commercial development projects as well as consults on construction defects issues in California, Washington and Oregon. Additionally, since 2006, Mr. Baron has served as asset manager for an investment portfolio of assets located in the Pacific Northwest.
Ms. Campbell has over 15 years of public and private sector land use planning experience in project management, federal and state environmental compliance, agency administration and procedures, and resource management. She has worked as a contract planner for several municipal jurisdictions in Central and Southern California, Wyoming and Idaho. Past projects have included management of large Development Plan/Master Plan projects, comprehensive plans, conditional use permits, feasibility studies and client/jurisdiction liaison. Primary responsibilities as a Senior Planner include project management of large and small-scale planning projects, including the preparation of planning due diligence and feasibility studies, environmental constraints analysis (CEQA and NEPA administration), development plan project applications, permit processing through local and regional agencies, tract map applications, planned residential developments, and commercial developments. Ms. Campbell has also been involved in community workshop facilitation, all aspects of environmental review, condition compliance and environmental mitigation monitoring projects. Ms. Campbell received a BA in Environmental Studies and a Certificate in Land Use and Environmental Planning from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a MA from Pepperdine University.