I’m joined by Ron Schinik, the CEO of New Blueprint Partners, a New York-based company focused on redeveloping manufacturing facilities into mixed-use assets. Ron has a solid foundation in auditing and grew into the role of CFO at three companies centered around operational efficiency. We discuss why he decided to take the leap from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, and how his background in finance complements his current role as CEO.
We get into the details of the Vancouver Innovation Center in Washington State, which is what Ron calls the antithesis of the 1950s and 1960s suburbia movement. Previously owned by Hewlett-Packard, the 180-acre site features 700,000 square feet of ‘Frankensteined’ industrial and office space. Ron describes how the team is reimagining the property as a 20-minute neighborhood, which includes apartments, industrial and mixed-use buildings, retail space, and a downtown area.
Ron lays out major milestones on the project and gives an overview of the ambitious timeline. He highlights the importance of getting buy-in from the local community by having open, transparent conversations with people on the ground level. Ron also shares what kind of opportunities and challenges industrial manufacturing might face in the near future.
About the Guest:
Ron Schinik is the CEO of New Blueprint Partners, a New York-based company focused on redeveloping manufacturing facilities into mixed-use assets. Previously he was the Chief Financial Officer at Reich Brothers, Crown Capital, and Quick International Courier. He began his career in audit at EisnerAmper. He is a Certified Public Accountant by training and a graduate of NYU Stern and Queens College.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Topics Covered:
- How the core ability to make a profit is very different than the ability to make revenue
- The vision for what the Vancouver, WA will look like in a few years
- The roles that Rabina and Google Sidewalk Labs play in the Vancouver Innovation Center project
- Ron’s perspective on how to overcome zoning and community buy-in challenges
- Trending away from Amazon-like distribution centers and investment in manufacturing sites
About Your Host
“Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of REDIST, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.”
Resources and Links
- Ron Schinik’s LinkedIn
- Learn more about The Vancouver Innovation Center
- New Blueprint Partners LinkedIn
- New Blueprint Partners
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