Asia Real Estate Club talk with Gemdale leadership

Aida Stoddard ’95 M.Arch, Director of Development at Gemdale USA, and Chris Farmer, Executive Director of Architecture and Design at Gemdale USA, will deliver a talk on the real estate investment and development company Gemdale USA. Gemdale is one of China’s largest developers, with offices in NYC, SF, Seattle, and Dallas.

About the Speakers

Aida Stoddard ’95 M.Arch is the Director of Development for GemdaleUSA in New York where she manages Development teams and works closely with the Acquisitions group. Ms. Stoddard periodically serves on the USA Investment Committee, and is an active member of GEMS, Gemdale’s internal women’s organization. Ms. Stoddard has been working in the construction, design, and development fields in New York for more than twenty-five years. Prior to her role at GemdaleUSA, Ms. Stoddard has managed development teams most recently at Jonathan Rose Companies and Twining Properties. With a background as a licensed architect, Ms. Stoddard started her career in development by launching Bright City, the first all-women owned developer to be financed by HSBC in New York. Bright City developed some of the first sustainable condominiums in Brooklyn. Ms. Stoddard is an active WLI/ULI member having served on the WLI-NY steering committee for two years as co-chair of the Scholarship committee and is currently a member of the New York Mixed-use Development Product Council [Blue]. Ms. Stoddard was awarded a Prologis grant in 2022. Ms. Stoddard received her BA from Columbia College and M.Arch from Columbia University GSAPP. She lives with three generations of her family and two cats under one roof in Brooklyn, NY.

Chris Farmer qualified with a MA Architecture from Westminster University, London, subsequently joining Foster + Partners working on the MASDAR initiative in the UAE, before transferring to the New York office two years later. Chris worked as a project Architect on multiple high-rise residential buildings in New York City including 50 United Nations Plaza, alongside Zeckendorf and 100 E 53rd alongside Aby Rosen, RFR. Upon completion, Chris took an opportunity to join B.I.G as Project Manager/Project Architect working on ‘The Cube’, a luxury residential building at The Albany, Bahamas, alongside Tavistock and contributing to the XI on 11th Ave, alongside HFZ. Throughout, Chris’s interaction with varying developers created an interest in real estate development. The opportunity came when Gemdale headhunted Chris as Design Manager, rising to Executive Director of Architecture & Design for the New York Office. Chris works cross functionally supporting multiple offices on a variety of building types including condo, rental, life sciences and office. Chris is interested in the intersection between the Architectural profession and the financial demands of Real Estate development.

Organized by the Columbia GSAPP Real Estate Development x Asia Real Estate Club. Open to currently enrolled students at Columbia GSAPP.