Us and Our Teammates
The Team
Ty Lee
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Ty Lee has served as the Managing Member of Common Ground Capital, LLC since its inception in March of 2021. From 2004 to 2014, Mr. Lee practiced architecture with some of the most prestigious global architecture firms in the Country. Starting in 2014, Mr. Lee began the transition to the development side of the industry. While at CBRE, the world’s largest real estate company, he managed over $100mm of asset value and worked closely with the principals and executives.
Mr. Lee’s development experience includes commercial and residential asset classes totaling over $500mm. To date, Mr. Lee’s average returns exceed 20% IRR and 1.75x equity multiples. In order to achieve these returns for investors, he is hyper focused on creating real estate products in the marketplace that is differentiated through design, exceptional service and institutional precision of execution.
Zach Draper
FINANCIAL ANALYST
Zach recently graduated from SMU’s Cox School of Business with a Real Estate Finance Degree. He was a Distinguished Scholar, Pre-Law Scholar, and made the Dean’s list in 2020. He was also active in the SMU Real Estate Club and BBA Mentorship Alliance Program.
Prior to graduation, Zach participated in CBRE’s internship program as a part of the Multifamily Investment Sales Team. His responsibilities included financial modeling, data analysis and research, and touched over $750 million in deals. He worked with design and development teams as part of project execution.
Zach hails from Omaha, Nebraska, has a twin brother and two sisters, and enjoys a good competitive tennis match, pickleball, and basketball.
We are super excited that Zach chose to join the Common Ground team. His work ethic, energy and passion for real estate are a perfect fit for our culture and processes.
Lauren Lee
DESIGNER
Lauren Lee brings both strong design and analytical skills to Common Ground. After graduating from Rice University and UT Austin’s School of Architecture, Lauren worked in residential design with Jan Showers, managing retail product development and production as well as fulfilling clients’ wishes to create deeply personal spaces. Lauren then moved to solving more technical problems in healthcare interior design with Perkins+Will, finding satisfaction in making spaces like labor and delivery, NICUs, or mental health spaces more functional for hospital staff and more comfortable for patients and families
With over 15 years of residential and commercial design experience Lauren will be working with Ty to elevate the properties in Common Ground’s portfolio, bringing out individual property’s strengths and creating valuable homes for the community members.
Lauren will also leverage her recent book-keeping experience and previous project and construction management experience to support Common Ground administration.
And as a 40 year resident of Dallas, now with kids, she hopes to lend her expertise to finding and sharing special places and events in the metroplex.
Rivka Parr
COMMUNITY MANAGER
With over 20 years of real estate experience, Rivka brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Common Ground team. In prior roles, she successfully managed a portfolio of 346 single-family homes with 22 different owners. Managing teams, financials, lease-up, and property maintenance were among Rivka’s many duties.
Rivka is a license real estate agent in the state of Texas and is originally from the nearby city of Irving. When she’s not helping Common Ground grow and expand, she’s active with her church and enjoys spending time with her three sons.
Chris Kotula
INTERN
Chris, is a talented and accomplished professional who has spent the past 8 years excelling in the technology industry. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 2016 and has since gained extensive experience working in various roles, ranging from consulting to solution engineering. With his expertise in working with startups and his most recent position at Microsoft, Chris brings a wealth of knowledge to any team he works with.
Currently pursuing his MBA at The University of Texas, Chris is eager to transition his skills and expertise to the exciting world of real estate.
Based in Dallas, Texas, Chris is an avid golfer and passionate football fan, which fuels his competitive spirit and helps him stay focused on achieving his goals. With his experience, drive, and passion, we are excited for Chris to be joining the Common Ground Team.
Strategic Partners
Cobalt
FUND ADMINISTRATION
We have partnered with the Cobalt Fund Services Team to provide our outsourced accounting and administration needs. Their team is an extension of our team to support the investors with various deliverables and accounting needed throughout the year.
Cobalt Fund Services exists to ethically serve the alternative investments industry as a first-in-class administrative partner through expert industry insight, utilizing advanced technology and team strengths
Harp & Sling
MARKETING
Harp & Sling cuts through the noise of mediocrity to tell stories that matter. They are an agile, creative team of professionals dedicated to telling stories in a clear and compelling way across all platforms, eliminating confusion in messaging, and helping companies thrive. They believe in ethical marketing that impacts the world for good and strives to serve their clients and community in all that they do. Their team is passionate about partnering with businesses and leaders with a clear vision to grow their company, build their culture, and tell a compelling story. Check out their website: www.harpandsling.com
WKPZ
LEGAL
Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber, PC, is an AV-rated full service business law firm founded in 1976 and currently composed of 26 attorneys practicing in over 10 distinct practice areas, including real estate, business litigation, lending, construction, employment, estate planning and administration, tax, non-profit, mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, and intellectual property. In addition, WKPZ’s collaborative work style allows each attorney to gain and sustain knowledge across practice areas. Representative clients are landlords, tenants, developers, general contractors, real estate brokers, property and asset management companies, title companies, high net worth individuals and families, retailers, restaurants, storage facilities, charitable companies, houses of worship, and manufacturers. For more information visit our website at www.wkpz.com.
Advisory Committee
Scott Arnoldy
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Scott Arnoldy founded Triten Real Estate Partners in 2012 to pursue flexible investment strategies that involve a high level of repositioning, or play into broad secular real estate themes. As Founding Partner, Scott drives the strategic goals of the company with a focus on investment thesis identification as well as execution oversight. Since its founding, TREP has acquired, developed or has under construction over $900 million of properties across a variety of product types.
Prior to Triten, Scott worked for Goldman Sachs (REPIA) in Dallas before joining Stockbridge where he later led the firms Investments for Texas and Colorado.
Scott graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelors in Finance & Entrepreneurship and a minor in Accounting. He is an avid outdoorsman, serves on the board of Lone Star BBBS and is a member of YPO Houston. He is married to Katie, has two daughters and loves spending time with his family.
Randy Fleisher
HAMILTON REALTY FINANCE
Until September 2016, when he founded Hamilton Realty Finance, Randy was Managing Director of the Jones Lang LaSalle (“JLL”) Dallas Debt & Equity platform. Prior to joining JLL Randy was the founder of Quadrant Realty Finance (“QRF”), a boutique Real Estate Investment Banking firm located in Dallas, Texas, which JLL acquired in June, 2013. Since its formation in 2010, QRF placed over $1.5 billion in debt and equity financings. Prior to joining QRF, he was a Managing Director at CBRE.
Prior to his employment with CBRE, Randy was an attorney with the law firm of Monk Goodwin in Winnipeg, Canada, practicing real estate and commercial law. Randy holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Manitoba, a Master of Science in Real Estate & Finance from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Investment, and Banking from the University of Wisconsin.
Dave Purser
PURSER ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
In 2013, Dave founded a boutique architectural services firm located in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides its clients with a process to realize their design vision and project goals. Dave has guided and assisted business owners, contractors, home builders, not-for-profit organizations, churches, and families with a wide range of project types including single-family residential additions, multifamily developments, amenity centers, office buildings, and churches.
Dave is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, and he is a registered professional architect in Tennessee and Georgia. Dave holds a certificate from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
Dave enjoys spending time with his wife and son. He enjoys outdoor activities including backpacking, hunting, and chasing a small white ball through meticulously manicured lawns.
Richard Paek
ALLIED LUBE
As the Founder and CEO of Allied Lube, Richard Paek is responsible for the strategic direction, vision, and growth of the third largest Jiffy Lube franchisee.
From opening his first location in 1992 to now running over 125 stores in 4 states, Richard has built a multi-unit system using sales, customer service, and employee performance stats to rank, reward, and motivate his team. He believes that empowering team members is the most effective way to build and grow his business. With a solid track record of implementing operational excellence, his method has led to enhanced customer experience, a stronger company culture and improved employee retention.
Richard started a printing company out of college that he sold three years later to fund his first Jiffy Lube franchise. He selected the brand after a year of researching brands and industries he believed had greater potential for multiple units.
In 2017, Richard was named Franchisee of the Year by Jiffy Lube International, and is considered a leader amongst other franchisees.
Originally from South Korea, Richard relocated to California at ten years old, and later studied Business Administration at USC. He is committed to community outreach on behalf of ALS research with Augie’s Quest, who presented him with a Founders Award in recognition of his work.
In his leisure time, Richard enjoys spending time with his family, including his four children ages 20-29. He is an avid traveler and is passionate about health and fitness.
Suraj Jagannathan
STRATEGIC PARTNER AT TRINITY PRIVATE EQUITY GROUP
As a Strategic Partner with Trinity Investors, Suraj is integral in all Investment Committee duties for $7B in AUM. He is a 13-year veteran of Wall Street, trading institutional Mortgage-Backed Securities. He spent 8 years as a Vice President at Southwest/Hilltop Securities, then another 5 years as Managing Director at MARV Capital. Suraj focused on Non-Agency MBS and derivatives, trading in excess of 10B in securities.
Suraj has also successfully acquired hospitality assets in excess of 75MM and is an entrepreneur/franchisee of the fastest growing family entertainment concept, Urban Air Adventure Park. He was elected to the franchisors inaugural Franchise Advisory Council to represent over 300 franchisees. His career has consisted of operations, trading, loan level analytics, entrepreneurship and sports management.
Suraj has a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
