Senior Vice President, Design, Essence Development

Stephen is the Senior Vice President of Design at Essence Development, bringing over 15 years of experience across real estate development, investments and architecture. His background gives him a comprehensive understanding of real estate, from evaluating investment opportunities to shaping projects through design and execution. He brings a clear understanding of how financial, physical, and operational decisions influence a project’s success.

Prior to joining Essence, Stephen was Vice President of Development at Twining Properties, where his work spanned over $690 million in development across New York and Connecticut. His responsibilities encompassed the full development lifecycle across a range of asset classes, as well as asset management of multifamily properties in Brooklyn and New Haven. He previously worked in investments at SL Green Realty Corp., supporting the evaluation and underwriting of commercial property acquisitions in Manhattan.

Stephen spent more than a decade at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, directing teams on major mixed-use, residential, hospitality, and office projects internationally. His work included Hudson Yards in New York, the Grand Hyatt Hotel & Residences at Spring City 66 in Kunming, and WF Central & The Mandarin Oriental in Beijing. He began his career at Rafael Viñoly Architects in New York.

Stephen holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, a Master of Architecture from Cornell University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Macalester College. Outside of work, he enjoys basketball, cooking, traveling and spending time with his family.