PROFESSIONAL BIO
He kicked things off working at New Homes Guide and the Apartment Shoppers Guide, the trailblazers who were the first of their kind to go online. As their Director of New Business Development, Alon launched New Homes Search, an MLS with a magazine that hoarded data, photos, and floor plans from every new home builder in the Philadelphia Metro Area, while also peddling ads in the publication. Since most Realtors were clueless about tech, the company installed computer systems with proprietary software in real estate offices and trained agents to use them. A basic search query would spit out a detailed report for prospective home shoppers in minutes, which was cutting edge at the time. When the internet finally caught up, this system was the first to go online and eventually got bought out, turning into the widely known Realtor.com. This wasn’t just any startup - it was a groundbreaking homebuilder advertising and MLS service that pretty much reinvented the real estate internet game.
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TOLL BROTHERS
After dabbling in the sexy emerging dot-com industry with cutting-edge marketing and technology, he switched gears to work for the publicly traded Toll Brothers, Inc., a Fortune 500 behemoth. In their Washington D.C. Division, based in Northern Virginia, he traded his slick office for a hard hat, a construction trailer, and pissing in a port-a-john as the Project Manager for Dulles Greene. Alon navigated the gritty world of construction management, created their property management operations from scratch, and dove into urban planning and zoning entitlement for South Riding and Princeton Junction. Soon enough, he was on the due diligence team acquiring The Silverman Company in Detroit, Michigan, which kick-started their multifamily REIT.
THE KLEIN COMPANY
Alon then spent years working his way up and snagged the position of Vice President of Acquisition and Development, becoming a partner at the Klein Company, a supposedly boutique real estate development firm known for its moderate-level garden apartment communities in suburban Philadelphia. Not content with just playing in the garden, Alon trail-blazed a career developing luxury Class A mid-rise multifamily apartments across the East Coast, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey to Orlando, Florida. Because if you're going to do it, why not do it in style?
SIDE PROJECTS
After spending over a decade doing the grunt work for other real estate big shots, Alon finally decided it was time to get his own hands dirty and put his money where his mouth is. He took on some side gigs, transforming a carriage house and a few brownstone walk-up apartments buildings in Rittenhouse Square. For an extra challenge, he also turned a decrepit warehouse into chic office spaces for techies and architects.
After spending over a decade doing the grunt work and high-level stuff as an executive and partner for other real estate big shots, I finally decided it was time to get my own hands dirty and put my money where my mouth is. I took on some side gigs, transforming a carriage house and a few brownstone walk-up apartments in Rittenhouse Square. For an extra challenge, he also turned a decrepit warehouse into chic office spaces for techies and architects.
Naturally, Alon decided it was time to go big and start his own full-time company. Some of the initial concepts were quite unique. Picture "Steve Rides", an Uber-like service just for guys named Steve. Then there was the "Peek-A-Boo Drive Thru", a strip club catering to those seeking entertainment on the go. And "Last Dance DJ", offering DJ services with the catchy slogan, “We put the FUN in funeral!”
Thankfully, he came up with something far better. Urban Conversions is now an established company with the lofty goal of saving historic buildings and transforming them into modern marvels. Want to know more? Take a look at the Urban Conversions tab.