This month on Getting Real with Rob, we welcome West Charlotte schoolmates Rodney Faulkner and William Haygood III, founders and partners with Boundary Street Advisors here in Charlotte. Established in 2018, this full-service commercial real estate firm is dedicated to some pretty big, bold ideas when it comes to commercial development. And because of that, Rodney, an alumnus of Appalachian State University and William, an alumnus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill helped us record an episode that inspires just as much as it informs.

Boundary Street Advisors is nothing if not committed to economic and cultural expansion. They love and celebrate everything about Charlotte. A powerhouse of financial acumen tempered by friendship and faith, their company is named after the street that used to mark the edges of the thriving Black business and residential community of Charlotte, Boundary Street, which is now tucked in and around the southwest loop of the I-277. But that’s just a tip of what inspires them.

Let’s start with the term, “Lean in.” Words Rodney and William believe are the key to the way we should approach every venture. They see our region as a landscape of people and businesses that are knitted together like a beautiful quilt. Even though those are simple terms, they take very seriously the idea of insisting that we define our city’s targets for the future, not just have them. Additionally, they believe you should “Lean in” to expansion, to the arts, to transportation, and especially to small businesses.

They also believe that it isn’t the organizations that move us forward, it's the people in those organizations. “Who’s being loud?” Was the question posed by Rodney when we asked him what REBIC can do to help. “What are each of your individual members doing to help?” And with that, we see why these gentlemen are conspicuously unique and refreshing.

Another fascinating response surfaced when we inquired about their strategy to bring more collaboration to the table between developers and policy makers. Wherein they suggested we need a commonsense committee to help us get to the right things; an overlay of friends and caring experts for each development on the table, who can help resolve burdensome and illogical regulations that are preventing something positive from happening.

They also boldly shared what they feel is missing in planning, zoning laws, and developer perception, stating their best advice is to simply ask a policy maker or staff member to lunch and get to know them. “Reach out your hand, Rob.” Rodney invited, and then they shook hands. “I just gave you a gift. We are now friends.” That kind of personal approach is what they feel is their ‘secret sauce.’

Listen to this interview now!

Michael Foess (pronounced Fess) is a highly accomplished executive leader with over 25 years of experience in engineering, development, and project management. He is serving as the REBIC Board President of 2025 and brings with him a packed agenda for progress. It is during this episode that he shares his deeper visions for REBIC and for members of the entire Real Estate community.

Within the context of regulatory and growth push-back as key elements bogging down housing affordability momentum, Michael sees the way forward by using human strategies as much as a logistic one. With an admission of the missteps taken by policy makers he places the pivotal responsibility for improvement on the shoulders of leaders in our industry. And encourages them to explore the effectiveness of creating a more open and cooperative atmosphere at all levels of negotiation and entitlement. Reinforcing the idea that neighbors, policy makers and elected officials are all fellow share holders in a new development, he parses through the rhetoric and brings the narrative straight back to us. The interview here is a fascinating dialog that leaves no room for confusion and makes progress tactile: Be better at communicating the why, communicating the process, and then really listen.

In addition to these human agendas, Michael takes a long look at the positive side of the sweeping changes AI will make in our world, especially its effects on our industry. And encourages us all to meet the moment so we can use this tool wisely and urgently as we envision a more efficient future for development.

By way of background, Michael has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC. He is a registered Professional Engineer and licensed general contractor in North Carolina and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Michael is currently on the Board of Directors for the Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte and the 2025 Chair for REBIC’s Board of Directors. He is also a subcommittee member for the National Home Builders Association’s Subcommittee on Land Use Policy and the past Chair, Land Development Council for the Home Builders Association of Greater Charlotte.

As the Founding Executive of Montrose LLC, a real estate development consulting firm providing tailored portfolio management, program management, and project management services to developers, builders, investors, and family offices. Montrose is currently managing the entitlement and development of 2,761 residential lots, 3 commercial projects, and a beach front resort community in Central America.

Mr. Foess’ achievements include successfully launching an in-house land development platform for a privately held, regional builder, entitling, developing, and delivering 6,645 single-family lots across in four years. Michael has also successfully delivered more than 16 commercial and industrial development projects, including a 152,000 ft² retail center and the most advanced automated mixed materials recovery facility on the east coast.

A little-known fact about the important role played by UNC Charlotte in helping the city to attract large industries and corporations is its status as an R1 University (according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education), meaning is a doctoral-granting institution with the highest level of research activity. It cannot be understated how important that status is to REBIC’s work and success. We rely heavily on their regional housing data to bolster our efforts to steer policy makers towards positive decisions that help ease the housing crisis.

That’s why we were thrilled to welcome Richard J. Buttimer Jr. as this episode’s powerhouse guest. He returned to Charlotte in July of 2024 to the Belk College of business as their dean, following four years as dean of the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. There he led the process for UNF's successful renewal of the AACSB accreditation and created a new master's in the business analytics program.

Raised in Georgia and as much at home in the classroom as he is in the leadership positions that have dominated his career, we are pleased to share that Richard was the John Crosland, Sr. Distinguished Professor of Real Estate and Development at UNC Charlotte and also served the Belk College as senior associate dean, associate dean for faculty and research, director of the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate and in other leadership roles. Earlier in his career, he was the Gould/Mayfield Scholar in Real Estate and director of the real estate master’s degree program at the University of Texas at Arlington. He also has served on the Board of Directors for the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Buttimer's academic research examines mortgage finance, real estate development and housing markets. He has been published in multiple scholarly journals such as Real Estate Economics, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and Regional Science and Urban Economics. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in real estate finance, real estate capital markets, financial management, corporate finance, financial derivatives, and fixed-income derivatives. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Buttimer has a bachelor's degree in finance and earned his Ph.D. in business administration with a focus on real estate from the University from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business and is a Phi Kappa Phi honor society member.

Our conversation with Richard helped inform our understanding about what UNC’s Belk College of business is doing behind the scenes to meet their goal of becoming one of the top 25 business schools in the country in the next decade.