About Us

Background

Robert Simons & Associates, Inc. (RS&A) is a professional consulting practice serving the real estate industry. RS&A was founded in 1987, when Robert Simons was pursuing his Ph.D. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and has been built upon his academic and practitioner careers in urban planning, real estate and environmental economics.

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The type of research RS&A conducts is often dependent upon publishable research recently completed by Dr. Robert Simons, when this research has market value in the private sector. In addition to general real estate predevelopment and housing policy, recent areas of expertise include assessment of environmental property damages, brownfield redevelopment, and environmental finance.

RS&A services generally include performing original real estate research, and writing confidential reports pertaining to findings. Oftentimes, these reports contain conclusions based on statistical analysis, such as multiple regression analysis. Expert witness testimony and other litigation support services are available, if desired by the client.

Robert Simons & Associates, Inc. also advises developers and communities on brownfields redevelopment, and completes market studies for real estate development. Many engagements have later become published as peer review articles in top academic real estate, appraisal, and planning journals.

To date, RS&A has engaged in more than 40 expert witness cases, published more than 40 articles and book chapters, and have written 2 books.

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Dr. Robert Simons, principal of Robert Simons & Associates, Inc., is a professor in the College of Urban Affairs at a major public university in Cleveland, Ohio.  Professor Simons teaches courses in real estate development, market analysis and finance, public economics and environmental finance. Additionally, he is also the faculty advisor for the Certificate Program in Real Estate Development and Finance, offered in conjunction with the College of Business.

Dr. Simons has published over 35 articles and book chapters on real estate, urban redevelopment, environmental damages, housing policy, and brownfield redevelopment. He previously authored a book entitled, "Turning Brownfields into Greenbacks," which was published by Urban Land Institute. His second book, "When Bad Things Happen to Good Property," is currently in press and has been published by the Environmental Law Institute. During Fall 2005, Simons served as a Fulbright Scholar at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Robert Simons received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in City and Regional Planning, with an emphasis in real estate. He also holds a Master of Regional Planning and a Master of Science in Economics, both from UNC. His undergraduate degree in anthropology was earned at Colorado State University.

Simons has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1983. He also serves on several real estate and not-for-profit boards.

Please click here to view Robert Simons' Curriculum Vitae.

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Associates

Robert Simons & Associates, Inc. is comprised of talented, knowledgeable, experienced professionals.

Pitt C. Curtiss serves as an associate with RS&A, providing research assistance and data analysis support on real estate-related professional consulting engagements.  Pitt's project experience includes the modeling of economic development and transportation impacts of alternative sites for large-scale governmental office consolidation and analyzing property sales and survey data to model effect of environmental contamination on residential property value. His engagements with RS&A have involved VOC contamination from an automotive parts manufacturer in Mississippi, creosote spills from wood treatment facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana, TCE/PCE contamination from a rail car spill in Louisiana, PCB releases from a transformer manufacturer in Mississippi, benzene and MtBE contamination from a storage tank leak in Washington, DC, and lead contamination from a landfill in Florida.

Curtiss holds a Master of Urban Planning, Design, and Development with a concentration in economic development from the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science focusing on civil engineering from Cornell University.

Please click here for a downloadable copy of Pitt Curtiss' resume.

Donna Meister-Simons manages the accounting books including billing and reviews consulting products for content and readability for RS&A. She also provides QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) review.

Donna holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Case Western Reserve University and a BS in Chemistry Honors with a concentration in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University.

Please click here for a downloadable copy of Donna Meister-Simons' resume.

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