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City from Below

TEAM

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Derek Lawton

Principal & Co-Founder

Derek is a principal & co-founder of North Street Properties, where he oversees the firm’s investment strategy, development function and all new business.  

 

Derek began his career as a commercial real estate broker specializing in office, retail & industrial leasing. He worked at Brady Sullivan Properties, one of the largest privately-owned operators of commercial real estate assets in New England with over 4.00 million square feet of commercial space and 5,000 apartments.  

 

Derek is highly involved in the New Hampshire community, an active member of the Real Estate Finance Association (REFA) & on the board of the Jack Trottier Foundation, providing quality life grants to individuals living with spinal cord injuries.  

He attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in business marketing.

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John Azar 

Advisor 

John is the founder and managing partner of Peak 15 Capital, a capital advisory and syndication firm servicing commercial real estate operators and sponsors in identifying, sourcing, & securing their capital stack. John is also a managing member of MACC Venture Partners, a Southeast focus owner/operator of multifamily assets.  In his leadership of Peak 15, he directs strategic development, investor and client growth, and new acquisitions and syndications. He also heads the investment committee, capital management and growth. John is also the head of the Peak 15 Coaching program for new syndicators and sponsors.

 

John is a podcaster and co-host of his own podcast called Breaking Resistance, as well as being a regular guest speaker in various commercial real estate conferences and podcasts. 

 

John serves on the boards of directors of several non-profit and for-profit organizations. He holds a BA from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and an MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Business.

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Sean Engel

Principal & Co-Founder

Sean is a principal & co-founder of North Street Properties and is responsible for sourcing & identifying new investment opportunities, strategic relationships, and capital raising efforts.

 

Prior to North Street Properties, Sean worked for The Steele Group, where he was the original lead for their downtown Boston tenant representation team. He represented commercial, manufacturing & life science companies in over 1.5 million square feet of lease transactions, from startups to publicly traded companies. 

 

Sean is an active member of the The Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP). He holds a BA in Business Marketing from Plymouth State University.

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