Neil Freeman is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Aries Capital, LLC and Urban Development Fund, LLC (UDF) and a lifelong entrepreneur.Throughout his 45-year career in finance and commercial real estate, he and his companies have closed over $8.5 billion in debt, equity, mezzanine and tax credit financing for hotel, multifamily and commercial properties across theUnited States and in the Caribbean. Neil’s entities also hold equity interests in over $250 million of real estate, including apartments, hotels, shopping centers and land developments such as the 1000-acre Three Oaks mixed-use development in Ft. Myers, Florida; proposed one million-square-foot industrial development near the Space Coast in Central Florida; and the beachfront resort Tranquility Beach on Anguilla’s Meads Bay in the Caribbean.
As one of the most successful New Markets Tax CreditCommunity Development Entities with the United States Treasury, UDF has received over $620 million in federal and state New Markets Tax Credits allocations, translating to $1.1 billion in transactions. UDF focuses on the rehabilitation and new development of non-profit food banks and job training, educational and medical facilities, as well as targeted job-creating commercial developments in highly distressed census tracts nationwide.
Formerly a licensed CPA, Freeman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Florida, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University. He served as an adjunct professor and board member for DePaul University’s Real Estate Center and is on the Advisory Board for the University of Florida’s Kelley A. Bergstrom Real Estate Center and DL3 Realty. Freeman is a member the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the Self-Storage Association (SSA), the Lincoln ParkBuilders Club (LPBC) and a founding board member and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient of the Chicago Real Estate Investment Association (REIA).
