Director of Real Estate & TOD

City of Charlotte•Charlotte, NC

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Real Estate and Transit-Oriented Development serves as the executive leader responsible for directing CATS’ real estate, transit-oriented development, acquisition, appraisal, portfolio management, land use coordination, and related property strategy functions. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, this position leads a growing multidisciplinary division responsible for advancing capital project delivery, protecting and optimizing agency property interests, supporting transit-oriented development and joint development opportunities, and building the policies, systems, and organizational capabilities needed for long-term real estate stewardship in a regional transit authority environment. This role provides strategic and executive oversight across acquisitions, appraisals, leasing, property and corridor preservation, land surveying, real estate systems, portfolio management, transit-oriented development, and related economic development coordination. The position is responsible for implementing a policy-driven, scalable, and accountable program with clear standards, governance, workflows, and performance expectations. Work includes directing senior managers and functional leaders; aligning real estate decisions with capital program, operational, legal, financial, and community development priorities; and representing CATS in complex negotiations and intergovernmental relationships. The Director ensures real estate and TOD decisions support agency service needs, capital expansion and renewal, long-term public value, equitable community outcomes, and integration of transit investments with land use and development patterns across the region. The role serves as CATS’ senior representative with public agencies, developers, property owners, legal and appraisal professionals, elected leadership, community stakeholders, and federal partners, including the Federal Transit Administration.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in real estate, urban planning, public administration, business administration, finance, law, engineering, transportation, economic development, or a related field and eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in public-sector real estate, real estate development, property management, acquisitions, appraisals, transit-oriented development, capital project support, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience leading complex real estate, development, portfolio, or property strategy functions in a public, quasi-public, transit, transportation, infrastructure, municipal, or similarly regulated environment.
Experience supervising managers, professional staff, or multidisciplinary teams and leading organizational or program development.
Experience negotiating or overseeing significant property transactions, development agreements, leases, joint development arrangements, or other complex real estate matters.
Experience working with legal, regulatory, financial, planning, and stakeholder issues affecting public real estate and development activities.
Advanced real estate portfolio management, public-sector acquisitions, appraisal workflows, leasing structures, and property governance practices.
FTA requirements, URA-related requirements, appraisal standards, public documentation expectations, and related compliance frameworks affecting agency property activities.
Public-private development structures, TOD and joint development practices, land use regulation, zoning and entitlement processes, and affordable housing or equitable development considerations.
Financial analysis, value creation concepts, lease and development economics, and strategic planning as applied to public real estate.
Organizational design, governance systems, and performance management approaches needed to build and scale a professional real estate function.
Executive-level negotiation, stakeholder diplomacy, intergovernmental coordination, and strategic issue management.
Designing scalable systems, governance frameworks, and operating structures for complex programs.
Leading senior staff, managing cross-functional initiatives, and aligning multiple technical disciplines around shared goals.
Interpreting legal, financial, land use, and transactional information and applying it to public decision-making.
Preparing and delivering high-level briefings, recommendations, and presentations to executive and governing audiences.
Transition a maturing program from practitioner-driven execution to sustainable institutional structure.
Lead a complex real estate and TOD division in a way that is strategic, compliant, and operationally grounded.
Explain complex legal, financial, and real estate concepts clearly to executives, elected officials, boards, and community stakeholders.
Balance competing interests involving service needs, capital delivery, development opportunities, public accountability, and community outcomes.
Build trust and influence across internal departments and external stakeholder groups.
Lead a diverse technical workforce and build a culture of accountability, transparency, and public service.
Works primarily in office, meeting, and public-facing environments with regular interaction with executive leadership, staff, consultants, developers, public agencies, elected officials, and community stakeholders.
Requires regular use of computers, spreadsheets, presentation tools, records systems, and other standard office and communication equipment.
May attend agency facilities, project sites, public meetings, development meetings, negotiations, board sessions, community events, and other on-site activities as required.
Requires frequent sitting, standing, walking, reaching, and handling of documents and related materials.
May occasionally be required to work outside standard business hours to support negotiations, board meetings, community engagement, public processes, or special project needs.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in urban planning, public administration, business administration, real estate, finance, transportation, law, or a related field.
Experience in public transit, transportation, local government, redevelopment, housing, or another asset- and land-intensive public-sector environment.
Experience with FTA requirements, URA-related processes, public acquisition and appraisal standards, joint development, or public-private real estate partnerships.
Experience with affordable housing policy, equitable development strategy, land use entitlement, zoning coordination, or value capture approaches.
Professional licensure, certification, or credential relevant to real estate, appraisal, planning, development, or public administration.

Responsibilities

Directs the agency’s overall real estate and TOD strategy, ensuring alignment with capital program priorities, operational needs, long-term property stewardship, and regional development objectives.
Establishes long-range goals, priorities, and strategic frameworks for acquisitions, appraisals, portfolio management, leasing, TOD, joint development, and related real estate functions.
Guides the continued evolution of the real estate function to a policy-based, scalable and accountable program.
Ensures real estate and development strategies support mobility, ridership, corridor protection, land use integration, and public value creation.
Establishes and governs frameworks, policies, standards, and procedures for real estate transactions, appraisals, leasing, easements, dispositions, corridor preservation, joint development, and related program activities.
Leads development of governance structures, business processes, workflows, and performance expectations that strengthen consistency, transparency, accountability, and audit readiness.
Oversees real estate systems, records practices, documentation standards, and related administrative infrastructure needed to support a modern real estate program and meets FTA requirements.
Ensures decision-making and program administration are supported by reliable data, defensible documentation, and clear organizational controls.
Leads and manages a growing organizational structure that may include the Assistant Director of Real Estate, Senior Manager of Real Estate, Land Survey Manager, acquisition and appraisal leaders, portfolio and leasing staff, TOD staff, systems support roles, and other assigned personnel.
Establishes organizational roles, reporting relationships, staffing models, and succession approaches appropriate for a maturing real estate and TOD division.
Provides strategic direction, coaching, and accountability to managers and senior staff while fostering a culture of professionalism, responsiveness, collaboration, and public service.
Supports workforce development and institutional capability-building so the division can sustain high-quality performance as responsibilities expand.
Provides executive oversight of acquisition, appraisal, relocation-related coordination, easement, disposition, and other property transaction activities supporting capital delivery, agency operations, and strategic property needs.
Ensures transactional real estate activities are aligned with project priorities, schedule needs, documentation standards, regulatory requirements, and agency governance expectations.
Reviews significant or sensitive transactions, policy questions, dispute issues, and major negotiation matters requiring executive attention.
Supports effective coordination among real estate staff, project teams, consultants, legal counsel, and agency leadership on complex transaction matters.
Directs strategy for property use, surplus designation, leasing, tenant agreements, corridor protection, access rights, and other portfolio management decisions affecting agency real property interests.
Balances revenue generation, mission support, future transit flexibility, public accountability, and long-term asset value in portfolio strategy decisions.
Oversees approaches to real estate portfolio planning that support both current agency needs and future expansion, redevelopment, or preservation opportunities.
Helps ensure the agency’s real property assets are managed intentionally and in a manner consistent with strategic, financial, and operational goals.
Directs agency strategy related to transit-oriented development, joint development, public-private partnerships, value capture opportunities, and other development initiatives on or adjacent to transit property.
Oversees negotiation and structuring of development pathways, developer relationships, development agreements, and related land use and implementation issues.
Supports integration of affordable housing, equitable development, multimodal access, community benefit, and place-making considerations into TOD strategy where appropriate.
Coordinates with planning, housing, economic development, and local jurisdiction partners to align transit property strategy with broader public policy and development objectives.
Ensures compliance with applicable regulatory frameworks, including FTA requirements, URA-related requirements, appraisal standards, state real estate rules, permitting requirements, documentation rules, and related oversight expectations.
Coordinates with legal counsel and internal partners to interpret and apply statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements affecting agency property interests and transactions.
Maintains expectations for complete, traceable, and defensible records and decision processes across the division.
Helps identify and manage legal, financial, reputational, operational, and community risks associated with real estate and development activities.
Serves as the agency’s senior representative in complex real estate negotiations, development discussions, intergovernmental coordination, public meetings, policy discussions, and governing body actions.
Builds and maintains effective relationships with developers, property owners, city and county leadership, MPOs, housing and planning agencies, legal and appraisal professionals, and other external stakeholders.
Represents CATS’ interests in zoning, entitlement, redevelopment, land use, and development-related forums affecting agency property and transit-supportive growth.
Provides executive briefings, recommendations, and strategic counsel to the Chief Development Officer, executive leadership, boards, and other governing or oversight bodies.
Oversees financial and business case considerations related to property transactions, lease structures, TOD opportunities, value capture concepts, and joint development feasibility.
Coordinates with finance, capital planning, project delivery, and other internal partners to align real estate actions with budgets, funding requirements, project schedules, and long-term investment strategies.
Supports evaluation of financial implications, public return, development risk, and strategic value related to major real estate decisions.
Ensures real estate and TOD activities are integrated appropriately into broader capital and organizational planning processes.
Researches industry trends, legal and policy developments, and leading practices in public-sector real estate, TOD, joint development, leasing, and portfolio management and recommends improvements as appropriate.
Performs related duties as assigned.