Mott Smith, Principal

Mott Smith has built his career crafting real estate innovations from positions in private industry and the public sector. Prior to forming CEA, he was Acting Director of Planning for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he helped launch the District's $1.6 billion Phase II school construction program. Earlier his work focused on expanding the application of joint-ventures, mixed-use and public-private real estate development models. Notable efforts include: implementing Fannie Mae-recognized public/private housing and development partnerships; innovation in the use of private non-profit corporations to expedite public real estate acquisition; execution of the first mixed-use public school/affordable housing project in the City of Los Angeles; and serving as the founding Executive Director of New Schools-Better Neighborhoods, an L.A.-based nonprofit that develops creative, community-based solutions for school and housing development. Mr. Smith earlier developed affordable housing and served as the editor/business manager of two industry publications, The Planning Report and Metro Investment Report. He is President of the Westside Urban Forum, a member of the Urban Land Institute's L.A. Executive Council, and sits on the Board of the Transportation & Land Use Collaborative. Mr. Smith received a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Linguistics from UCLA.