Brent A. Makaus – Principal

Vanderbilt University, B.A. 1994

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, M.B.A. 1999

Born and raised in central Phoenix and having attended All Saints' Episcopal Day School and Brophy College Preparatory, he has always thought of Phoenix as home.  Brent graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1994 receiving a B.A. in Political Science and from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1999 with concentrations in finance and accounting.

As a Phoenix native, Brent grew up learning real estate from his father.  He began his own real estate career in the late 1990s working for the family business and with a local homebuilder/developer before moving to Chicago to attend graduate school.  After graduating, Brent returned to the real estate industry and moved to New York and then to Los Angeles.  Prior to establishing BRAMA Asset Management, Mr. Makaus was a Vice President at Rockpoint Group/Rockpoint Land, where he was responsible for acquisitions, land development and asset management.  He also served as Senior Associate at Forum Partners, where he was involved in all aspects of its domestic and international real estate investment fund business.  Mr. Makaus also held positions at Crescent Heights, Inc. and Sterling Equities Inc., where he had responsibilities for the acquisition, disposition, finance, and asset management of residential and commercial properties in major markets across the country.

With over 20 years of principal and private equity real estate experience within private and publicly-traded companies and having acquired or developed over $925 million in property value, Mr. Makaus founded BRAMA in 2006 to use his extensive background and expertise to consult and advise clients in financing and funding projects, structuring transaction and joint ventures, sourcing acquisitions and development opportunities, executing off-market investment sales, and consulting on capital markets and investment strategies.  Past clients include Madison Harbor Capital, Sterling American Properties, CNL Real Estate Advisors, Eastern Consolidated, Silver Pacific Advisors, Hilco Real Estate, Babcock & Brown, and Draper and Kramer, Inc.

Assignments & Engagements

Some of BRAMA’s projects, assignments, and engagements have included:

• Sourcing and raised over $250.0 million in joint venture equity for commercial, industrial and multi-family acquisitions on behalf of third-party accounts, private equity real estate groups, and institutional funds.
• Structuring and funding over $450.0 million of acquisitions, development, and joint venture projects.
• Arranging the off-market investment sale of a 955,500 square feet flex/industrial portfolio located in Chicago, IL representing $60.0 million in value.
• Acquiring and structuring a $84.0 million joint venture for a 742-unit multi-family property located in Chicago, IL.
• Sourcing and funding $15.0 million of financing for an operator accumulating a small portfolio of industrial properties across the country.
• Raising project financing for an 190,000 square feet industrial spec project in Phoenix, AZ representing $14.0 million in construction costs.
• Arranging the off-market asset sale of three multi-family properties located in Chicago, IL and St. Louis, MO.