About Us

Mr. Franceschina, President of Metzler, has overall responsibility for the formulation and successful implementation of North American real estate investment strategies for the firm’s institutional and private clients. He brings nearly 30 years of progressive experience in finding creative solutions for redevelopment and repositioning of value add real estate. During his tenure, Mr. Franceschina has actively been involved in managing more than 20 million SF of commercial office space across all the major markets in the US. His success is attributed to his ability to plan and execute strategies finding value through the renovation and rebranding of assets.

Mr. Franceschina is active in several professional organizations including the Urban Land Institute, Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate and National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds professional designations of Certified Property Manager and Certified Commercial Investment Member.

Mr. Bradford, Metzler’s Chief Investment Officer, manages the firm’s overall investment activities. He excels at building and managing industry relationships and leveraging resources to achieve optimal return on investment. Since 2012, he has led his team in executing more than $6.3 billion in transactions across the major U.S. markets. Since the early 1990s, Mr. Bradford has successfully negotiated over $10 billion in a variety of transaction types, identifying creative methods to add value to client investment strategies.

Mr. Bradford is a regular speaker for organizations such as Private Equity Real Estate, the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, Expo Real, Urban Land Institute, and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Boston University.

As Chief Accounting Officer, Lola Fontana is responsible for the financial operations of Metzler, its related affiliates, and managed portfolios. During her 20-year tenure, she employed new technologies and successfully established the financial reporting platform utilized across geographic regions.  She also holds responsibility for human resource and benefits administration.

Ms. Fontana graduated summa cum laude from Seattle University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and worked in both public accounting and private industry for over ten years prior to joining Metzler. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Washington State and an active member of the Washington State Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Gordon manages Metzler’s Asset Management team and nationwide portfolio, as well as overseeing the 2.78 million SF West Coast and Chicago markets. With more than 13 years of real estate experience and as a LEED Green Associate, he has successfully executed over one million SF of leasing and many capital projects, including a $13 million tenant amenity project to maintain his largest building’s “trophy class” in Chicago. His strategic outlook on primary investment objectives, as well as his laser focus on details, creates value and positive results. He uses a proactive approach with leasing and strategic capital expenditures to position assets at the top of their competitive set, demonstrated by his portfolio’s successful lease and occupancy rates.

Mr. Gordon is active in the Urban Land Institute and has held several local and national leadership positions with National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. He holds a Master of Science in Real Estate and Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from the University of Washington. He also holds a LEED Green Associate designation from the United States Green Building Council.

Mr. August has been a leader in the real estate community for over 17 years, the last 11 years on Metzler’s Asset Management. His proven ability to use prudent judgement and understand long term objectives is displayed by the performance and occupancy of his $1.6 billion portfolio focused primarily on the East Coast. His track record includes successful negotiation of over 150 tenant agreements and underwriting over $1.4 billion assets in major markets. Most recently, Mr. August completed repositioning of a 426,000 SF Class A office building in midtown Atlanta, increasing rents more than 20 percent within the first three years of ownership. Currently, Mr. August is overseeing the $12 million plaza renovation project of a Class A high-rise in downtown Manhattan.

Mr. August is involved with the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and is an advocate of Seattle’s Youth Care program. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Systems and MBA from the University of Washington.

Ms. Wainhouse heads the technology and information systems for the Seattle and Atlanta offices.  Her role encompasses the network and telecommunication systems, mobile computing, video and audio conferencing and data security.  She brings more than 35 years of system and user support expertise.

Ms. Wainhouse holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington.

Mr. Blakeley is a senior member of the East Coast Acquisitions Team and excels in sourcing, analyzing and negotiating complex deals for value-add opportunities. With more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience, his success is attributed to his ability to embrace the inherent challenges and complexities of transactions to meet client investment objectives. In the last 10 years, Mr. Blakeley was involved in more than $4 billion in acquisitions across the U.S. His diversity and depth across property types and markets give him a unique ability to lead and execute highly competitive and multi-faceted real estate strategies.

Mr. Blakeley is involved with the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Davidson College and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Tennessee.

Mr. Paddock is a senior member of the Metzler Investment team on the West Coast, bringing to bear more than 30 years of asset management and investment expertise for our clients. Employing a fiduciary mindset, coupled with a deep understanding of US markets and submarkets, he excels at leveraging opportunities to maximize investor value. With his unique ability to develop creative strategies based on market conditions, as well as his negotiating acumen, he has successfully completed 50 acquisitions for more than $6.2 billion and 29 dispositions totaling $1.9 billion in the last 15 years.

Mr. Paddock is active in Urban Land Institute, Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, and National Association of Real Estate Investment Management. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Education in support of Seattle Public Schools. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University. He also holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member and Certified Property Manager professional real estate designations.

Ms. Morales oversees the financial accounting and reporting of the Metzler US Real Estate Funds and Affiliates.

Ms. Morales graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accountancy. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Washington.

Mr. Olmeim manages capital projects and physical due diligence as Metzler’s Senior Project Manager. His 13 years of diverse construction, development, and owner representative experience provides him with an exceptional understanding of the unique structure of buildings and the ability to anticipate unknowns. This insight has fueled the success of multiple repositioning projects, including a large tenant amenity center spanning multiple floors in Chicago and a complex acquisition project in Seattle. Mr. Olmeim’s thorough methodologies during due diligence provide realistic budget and planning assumptions, adding value to the acquisition and asset management processes.

Mr. Olmeim has a Bachelor’s degree from Western Washington University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Washington.