BOSTON—At Cathartes, Jackie Huber serves as Director of Asset Management and oversees the company’s multifamily and mixed-use portfolios. Her mission: “Smart Living” for the residents.
Ms. Huber introduced Cathartes’ Smart Living mission, which focuses on making life better for residents by emphasizing wellness, balance, sustainability, and community in their living spaces.
“I believe apartment residents long to feel connected with their community and we provide the tools to do so,” says Ms. Huber.
Ms. Huber will be honored as the Outstanding Women of Commercial Real Estate 2024 by the Boston Real Estate Times on Feb. 22, 2024 at its Annual Awards gala at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. To register for the gala, please click here.
With over 13 years at Cathartes, a private real estate firm with 1.5 billion in investments across the Northeast, Ms. Huber has been instrumental in establishing and growing the multifamily asset management division. Her expertise has led to the success of 600 residential units and 50,000 square feet of commercial space, solidifying Cathartes’ reputation in real estate.
She earned her bachelor’s degree at Florida State University and is an active member of industry organizations like the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). Her dedication to both her company and the industry showcases her as a driving force in multi-family asset management, committed to improving the living experience for residents.
Cathartes’ projects range from a five-acre, 400,000 square foot mixed-use development that includes hotels, restaurants, and residences, to a transformed industrial space converted to a hive of creative commerce where business, arts and sciences come together, to one of the largest solar plants in Massachusetts.
In 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cathartes opened two ground-up luxury multifamily developments- Harborwalk Apartments in Plymouth, MA and Orpheum in Dover, NH. Ms. Huber’s involvement with these projects started with schematic design back in 2017. From then, she was involved in all stages of the development, including building design, interior design, branding, marketing, financing, lease up, and operations. Despite the sites’ early 2020 opening, she ensured both projects saw ahead-of-schedule absorption and above market rent growth. These assets now have the highest rent levels in their markets.
Ms. Huber and the Cathartes team are currently working on an exciting, multi-phased, ground-up, mixed-use project on the Cochecho waterfront in the heart of Dover, NH. The first phase includes 220 apartment units, panoramic water views, and best-in-class amenities- including a 7,500 sf cowork facility. Integrating cowork operations into the footprint of residential has been the brainchild of Cathartes since 2016. Ms. Huber successfully launched this concept within her Dover, NH and Portsmouth, NH multifamily assets, which are now generating above market returns on commercial rent. She is eager to expand this cowork model to the Cochecho waterfront project and create a network of cowork locations within seacoast New Hampshire.
Here is a Q/A with Ms. Huber:
Boston Real Estate Times: What do you enjoy most about your work?
Jackie Huber: At Cathartes, I have the opportunity to be involved in so many different facets of our developments. I enjoy being a part of the process from a site’s schematic design through stabilization. Working so intricately on each asset, I feel personally invested in its success. In my work, wearing so many hats means there is never a boring moment!
BRET: What do success and failure mean to you?
JH: For me, success often means achieving a goal by working together and finding compromises that don’t sacrifice the original intent, but which help get the goal across the finish line.
Failures should always be looked at as learning experiences and opportunities for self-reflection. In these moments, I try to ask myself- what can I take away from this that will help me in the future? What could I have done differently to affect a better outcome?
BRET: What is the one thing you attribute your success to?
JH: I have been fortunate to work for and with people who have supported me and given me opportunities to grow both in my career and in my personal life. They have acted as invaluable role models for my professional career. That, and having a sense of humor!
BRET: To which charitable, community and professional groups do you belong and why?
JH: I proudly support Wonderfund, an organization that serves kids engaged with the MA Dept of Children and Families. I also support the local food pantry and senior center.
BRET: In what way do you feel you have most positively influenced or served the local community, your company/organization or professional field?
JH: During my time at Cathartes, we developed the idea of Smart Living- a mission to integrate and focus on work-life balance, wellness, sustainability, and community engagement within our developments, with the goal of enriching and supporting the lives of our residents. I believe apartment residents long to feel connected with their community and we provide the tools to do so.
BRET: Is there any aptitude, gift or talent that not many people know about you?
JH: In high school and college, I was a stage manager for the school’s theater productions. Stage Managers keep the productions running smoothly, and cue all parts of the show including actors, lights, sound, props, and sets. The multitasking and priority management skills I developed in this role have definitely served me in my professional career!
BRET: What are your hobbies and interests?
JH: I enjoy traveling, trips to the beach, and Broadway musicals. I love spending time with friends laughing and sharing stories.
BRET: Your favorite quotes?
JH: “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans” – John Lennon
BRET: The one person you would like to meet and why?
JH: Simone Biles. I admire her physical and mental strength, and her positive platform for women and girls. When she withdrew from events at the 2020 Olympics, she used the media coverage to start a global conversation around mental health and prioritizing it over everything. To be at the top of your physical game, have the wisdom to know when to step back for your own well-being, and then act on it is something few people have the courage to do.
BRET: Your core values you try to live by?
JH: Love as hard as you can, hug as often as you can, pay it forward, know when you’re wrong, admit your mistakes, and treat all people the way you would want to be treated.
BRET: What inspires you?
JH: The kindness of others, people helping people.
