REAL ESTATE & FACILITIES MANAGEMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

We provide University facilities and real estate departments with asset management, strategic planning, deal structuring, project leadership of special initiatives and contracting.

Principal Karen Zinn has been and is a trusted advisor and consultant to senior university and college executives for two decades. She specializes in working with Colleges, Universities and other non-profit institutions to improve their real estate and facilities operations through effective leadership of multi-discipline teams, financial and transaction management, analytics, strategic planning, and process improvement. 
 
With over 30 years’ experience in commercial real estate development and management, and 17 years working directly with University facilities and real estate departments, Karen brings a business based approach to implementing mission-driven real estate, special projects and other strategic initiatives.

KZB Advisors provides higher education institutions, commercial real estate owners, operators, and tenants strategic real estate solutions including the technical skills to implement them successfully. 
 
The institutions need for hands-on analysis and implementation of solutions is met by KZB’s expertise in:

  • Strategic real estate planning 
  • Due diligence, asset and portfolio management 
  • Financial analysis and modeling 
  • Deal structuring and contract negotiations 
  • Transaction management and lease administration 
  • Development team and consultant selection 
  • Organizational structure and process improvement

Our Expertise

Because Karen has excelled in both commercial real estate and in work for Higher Education organizations, her unique expertise is bridging the gap between the commercial world’s desire to maximize profits and the institution’s need to manage costs while delivering mission driven real estate needs. We exclusively work with educational organizations where real estate is not their core business, but is a significant part of their business operations and mission.

  • Strategic real estate planning
  • Due diligence to support property
  • Deal evaluation and mitigate risks
  • Lease auditing
  • Financial analysis & modeling
  • Deal structuring & contract negotiations
  • Transaction management
  • Development team & consultant selection
  • Process improvement
  • Organizational structuring
  • Portfolio and Asset Management
  • Establishing and implementing strategies for enhancing property value
  • Managing third party resources including brokers and property managers
  • Coordination of operating partners, lenders and investors
  • Preparation and oversight of financial reporting – budgets, cash flow forecasts and property valuations

Led By Karen Zinn, CRE

Our experience in working with higher education institutions, has shown that there are often special projects that will benefit the organization but internal expertise is either stretched or unavailable

Some recent and current examples of our work include:

  • Review and outsourcing of security IT infrastructure to vet and identify the most suitable provider, conduct contract preparation and final negotiation 
  • Review and implementation of outsourcing of physical security for the entire campus 
  • Providing critical leadership in a real estate and facilities department. 
  • Assessing existing real estate contracts with a view to improving their effectiveness for the benefit of the University
  • Providing leadership for the asset management of several underperforming buildings as part of the University’s portfolio

    • Karen Zinn CRE Profile

    Location

    Philadelphia

    E-mail

    kzinn@kzbadvisors.com

    Phone

    215-518-4916

    Testimonials

    "I can’t speak enough to the value of Zinn’s work with the organization, the level of trust and respect I have for her, and the quality of her character…”

    - Ellen Owens - Executive Director, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

    "KZB has played a key role in assessing the financial structure of my organization and has identified numerous opportunities to improve transparency, efficiency and effectiveness…”

    - David Singleton – VP Facilities & Auxiliary Services,
    University of Delaware

    Whether working individually, leading a team or acting as a key team member, Karen’s knowledge of real estate, technical expertise and recommendations were critical to the success of a variety of real estate projects and initiatives. My colleagues and I as well as other senior managers could count on Karen to give us unbiased feedback and advice even when it was unpopular to do so…”

    - Craig R. Carnaroli – EVP, University of Pennsylvania