Debbie M. Kern
Ms. Kern is a Senior Principal in Keyser Marston Associates’ San Francisco office. She has over 20 years of experience in real estate consulting and has analyzed a broad range of real estate issues.
Areas of Specialization
Market Rate and Affordable Housing
Ms. Kern manages housing related services for Keyser Marston clients in San Francisco and specializes in the area of mixed-income and affordable housing. Her broad experience combined with strong technical skills provide her with unique ability to advise on conceptual issues as well as structuring complex public/private transactions.
The development of affordable housing has taken ‘center stage’ in communities throughout California and Ms. Kern has been instrumental in assisting clients implement their housing production objectives, adopt inclusionary programs, structure public/private transactions that are financially feasible, and identify marketable products.
Ms. Kern has consulted on a broad range of housing developments, including mixed income residential development at former military bases, in-fill apartment and condominium projects and assisted living complexes.
Additional Areas of Specialization
Retail Analysis
Ms. Kern has assisted public sector clients in structuring public/private partnerships for new retail development and has helped identify strategies and land uses to revitalize downtown retail districts. She has also assessed the fiscal impacts of retail developments and the impacts of new development on existing merchants.
Conversion of Former Military Bases
Ms. Kern is a specialist in the area of converting former military bases into civilian uses. She has been instrumental in negotiating the transfer of military bases to municipalities, developing reuse plans that meet the communities’ objectives, assisting reuse authorities select private developer partners, and in successfully implementing new development. Major military base conversion assignments include Hamilton Air Force Base, Alameda Point, Fort Ord, Naval Medical Center at Oak Knoll, Oakland Army Base, and McClellan Air Force Base.
Professional Credentials
Ms. Kern has participated as a speaker at a number of seminars, including ‘Developing For-Sale Affordable Housing Programs,’ sponsored by the California Redevelopment Institute and ‘Economics and Planning,’ a University of California, Davis Extension course. Ms. Kern holds a master’s degree in economics from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.