Stephen Opp
Founding Principal
Acquisitions and Project Development
Mr. Opp has worked in the real estate development and construction industry for 25 years specializing in project sourcing for real estate developments , investments , architecture, design, engineering, and construction consulting. Mr. Opp has worked on projects ranging from single-family custom to multi-family residential, hospitality, commercial and industrial projects ranging from $2MM – $600MM. Mr. Opp worked in conjunction with KRD to source projects and local expertise in the hospitality, multi-family and adaptive re-use markets in the Southwestern United States. He acted as team lead and performed feasibility studies and sourced over $3 billion in real estate investments for a co-sponsored KRD/Austin development project. Prior to moving to Los Angeles Mr. Opp owned and managed his own construction and development firm and maintains a general contractor’s license in multiple states on the east coast.
Benjamin Cien, AIA, LEED® AP
Founding Principal
Development – Design & Construction
Benjamin Cien is the principal in charge of design and construction with the Beta 3 Group, providing executive project management, development consultation and owner representation for environmentally responsible development and redevelopment. He specializes in mix-use properties involving branded hotels and multi-family residential, providing expertise in future-proof planning and strategic design integration. Benjamin is a California licensed Architect with over 28 years of professional experience including Project Management; Site and Program Feasibility; Entitlements; Client and Brand Management; Budgeting, Scheduling, Contract Management; Design Team assembly, coordination, and facilitation; and Robotic/automated parking solutions. Benjamin holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from the Lawrence Tech. University and a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan.
Penn Collins
Founding Principal
Finance and Legal
Penn Collins is a principal of the Beta3 Group, managing the underwriting, financial, and legal processes, as well as overseeing the hotel brand and third-party operator development efforts. Penn has worked on the development team of the W Hollywood Hotel and Residences, W Dallas Hotel and Residences, and overseen conceptual, pre-development, and underwriting efforts on multiple projects throughout the United States. Prior to his work at Beta3 Group, Penn served as a vice president of development at Gatehouse Capital, a national hotel development firm. Prior to his time at Gatehouse, he was an estimator for Webcor Builders, setting budgets for hospitality-focused mixed-use projects in the southern California marketplace. He received an undergraduate degree in Finance from Southern Methodist University before earning a Masters Degree from the Hotel School at Cornell University with concentrations in Real Estate Finance and Restaurant Development.
Laurie Miskuski
Associate Principal
Strategy & Executive Project Management
Ms. Miskuski is an accomplished real estate executive and business strategist with extensive experience in real estate development, project management, operations, global sales and marketing, and new business development. Specializing in luxury residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects, and single family master planned communities, Ms. Miskuski’s multi-disciplinary skills and cross-cultural business acumen has advanced clients’ visions while achieving their financial and business objectives. Ms. Miskuski has built and managed high performance project teams for many leading real estate
developers throughout multiple markets and has created and implemented integrated international sales strategies and marketing programs in North America, Asia, Europe, and the UAE.
Fred Shaffer
Associate Principal
Entitlements, Capital Sourcing & Project Management
Mr. Shaffer has over 25 years of experience in real estate and finance. Fred has been involved in all
aspects of investment and Real Estate development activities. Fred has broad experience in real estate investment and development, including acquisition, debt and equity financing, design, entitlement construction, property management and marketing property for sale or rent. Fred is currently spearheading the development of 5 mixed use projects in the Los Angeles area comprising approximately 800 residential units and 25,000 SF of retail space. Prior to Beta3 Group Mr. Shaffer was a Partner with Ellington Capital Management, a bond trading hedge fund based in Greenwich, CT and was a Managing Director with Kidder, Peabody & Co., Inc. in New York, specializing in real estate finance and mortgage-backed securities trading. Four of Mr. Shaffer’s ten years with Kidder were spent in Tokyo, Japan where he was head of Fixed Income Trading.