About JOSS

Mr. Botel founded JOSS Realty Partners in 2005. Since its inception, JOSS has acquired 26 real estate assets totaling over 3.4 million square feet with a value in excess of $1.2 billion. Prior to JOSS, Mr. Botel was a partner and Chief Operating Officer at Broadway Partners, where he oversaw all operations, staffing, asset management and underwriting activities. Mr. Botel directed Broadway from a sole proprietorship with limited operating capability to a full service real estate investment company owning 3.6 million square feet of commercial office space valued at over $850 million.

From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Botel was a Vice President and Head of Real Estate at Fortress Investment Group / UBS Global Principal Group / BlackRock Capital Finance. There he oversaw all commercial real estate asset management and underwriting activities for multiple portfolios of debt and equity assets.

Mr. Botel managed a team of five professionals in three opportunistic real estate investment funds totaling $3 billion in equity and over 30 transactions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He underwrote, negotiated, and closed over $1 billion in property and mortgage loan acquisitions, over $500 million in distressed mortgage loan resolutions, and over $1 billion in portfolio financings/securitizations. Mr. Botel also managed equity and loan portfolios comprising over 4 million square feet and 5,000 apartment units.

Mr. Botel held previous positions at Mutual of New York Real Estate and Prudential Realty Group.

Mr. Botel received a B.S.B.A. from Georgetown University and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business. He is an Executive in Residence at Georgetown University.

Jeffrey Hornstein joined JOSS Realty Partners as Chief Investment Officer in 2018. Prior to joining JOSS, Mr. Hornstein was Head of Mergers & Acquisitions and Real Estate Investments at Peter J. Solomon Company (PJSC), where he spent 25 years as a trusted advisor to companies, boards, family offices and investors on a wide range of strategic and corporate governance matters. Mr. Hornstein has advised on more than 80 transactions totaling over $65 billion. He has significant experience on all forms of M&A, financing and restructuring transactions including acquisitions, divestitures, mergers of equals, recapitalizations, spin-offs, leveraged financings, equity and debt issuances, PIPEs, hostile defense, special committees, fairness opinions and debtor and creditor advisory.

Mr. Hornstein initiated PJSC’s principal investment activities in the real estate industry in 2006 through a joint venture with JOSS in the formation of a closed-end private equity fund, PJSC-JOSS Real Estate Partners I, LLC. The fund invested in six commercial office properties totaling over $300 million in value. He has been a member of the fund’s Investment Committee since its inception.

Mr. Hornstein received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1991 and B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University in 1986. Mr. Hornstein is the Director of the Yale Alumni Schools Committee in New York City and has been Treasurer of the Yale Class of 1986, Chairman of the Class’ 15th Reunion and a member of the Reunion Gift Committee. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Makor Center of the 92nd Street Y and of Global Kids.

Michele Balfour joined JOSS in 2014 as a Principal. She has been involved in approximately $290 million of property acquisitions and is active in managing the current portfolio of assets.

Ms. Balfour worked in international law and development. She worked as a corporate attorney for Rogers & Wells (now Clifford Chance), focusing on cross border finance, M&A, and structured finance. Immediately following law school, she managed an international technical assistance program for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition with the former Soviet Bloc as well as Central and South America. Additionally, she served as a World Bank Consultant for the Russian Antimonopoly Office.

Ms. Balfour co authored, “A Privatization Test: The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland,” published in 17 Fordham Intl L J 84 (1993).

Prior to joining JOSS, Ms. Balfour volunteered as the New York Liaison for Refugees International before the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. She was also involved in fundraising for the Annual Committees at her children’s schools.

Ms. Balfour earned a BSFS from Georgetown University and a JD from Fordham Law School. She continues to be an associate of the Inter American Dialogue (Washington, DC) and is President of the Washington Club in Washington, CT. Michele chaired fundraising for her Class of ’88 reunion at Georgetown and remains actively involved with the Reunion Committee.

A real estate professional with more than 30 years of experience in the Washington area, Larry McCulley oversaw property management and construction management services for BMS Realty Services, which was recently acquired by Avison Young. Mr. McCulley is highly regarded in the region for his expertise in overseeing commercial properties with a focus on the owner’s perspective – streamlining operations, attracting and retaining tenants and enhancing long-term property value. Mr. McCulley manages multiple property management teams, including staff focused on operations, maintenance, accounting, and financial reporting.

His leadership resulted in BMS Realty’s distinctive track record in serving building owners such as the National Football League Players Association for many years, as well as managing properties such as the landmark Washington Harbour long-term through multiple owners.

Prior to establishing BMS Realty Services in 1999, Mr. McCulley worked with Jones Lang LaSalle, where he served as director of property management and managed more than 2.5 million square feet of space. Today, Mr. McCulley provides active, hands-on oversight of several commercial properties, providing day-to-day management, operations planning, long-term capital planning, implementation of sustainable practices and construction management/owner representation for tenant build-outs and renovations.