Leigh Ferguson

Biography: Leigh Ferguson Recently retired (12/2021), a developer with over 40 years' experience in the real estate profession. He is an expert on downtown revitalization, affordable housing, mixed-use development and partnerships with public and non-profit entities. He has chaired over seventeen ULI Advisory Service Panels and participated in more. Most recently the Director of Economic Development for the City of New Orleans, he was responsible for facilitating Downtown real estate development and investment, assisting the Downtown community with issues affecting the business environment, advancing Downtown planning, and attracting new business and development projects that will result in the expansion of employment, tax base and wealth creation in Downtown New Orleans. Prior to his time in New Orleans, he was a senior developer at Bayer Properties where he was involved with a variety commercial, mixed use and residential products in a variety of locations around the US. His primary duties included operating the residential and mixed-use real estate development and management division that focused on urban mixed-use community development projects in Birmingham’s revitalizing Center City. Ferguson also managed the Sloss Real Estate Group’s participation as a joint venture partner in a $100 million dollar HOPE VI, mixed-income residential development. Prior to joining Sloss, Ferguson was the president of Corker Group, Inc., where he managed approximately two million square feet of office, commercial, and industrial properties; supervised all leasing, administrative, maintenance, and financial operations; and prepared monthly and annual business plans, budgets, and reports to ownership. From 1991 to 1999, Ferguson was president of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, Inc. (CNE). At CNE, Ferguson managed lending, development, financing, and property management functions of approximately $30 million per year. Previously, Ferguson was president and chairman of John Laing Homes, Inc. and vice president of development for both the Van Metre Companies and the Mark Winkler Company in the Washington, DC area.