Behind a Great Company, a Great Team
MICHEAL J. darby
Principal, Founder
ROGER B. CARLSON
Executive Vice President,
Retail
Danny Brooker
Director of Acquisitions & Investment Sales
Rich Sillery
Director of Retail
Jessica Alvarez
Director of Marketing
Michael J. Darby
Through his dynamic leadership and visionary thinking, Michael Darby has been not only the driving force in Monument Realty’s success, but also a recognized and admired real estate executive in Washington, DC. As the principal and founder, Michael has built Monument Realty into a full-service real estate firm with expertise in financing, development management, commercial and retail leasing, asset management, residential sales, and property and construction management.
Best recognized for thinking out of the box and creating value out of complicated situations, Michael has successfully taken on projects that many others have passed on. Michael has always been comfortable leading the pack into evolving areas by using his company’s collective experience to tailor his buildings to the needs of the market.
Monument Realty was the first to build new apartments in the SW Waterfront area in 2002, they built multiple buildings at the Herndon end of the Dulles Toll Road during the ‘Tech Boom’ and pre-leased all of them because Michael adjusted the shape of the buildings to make the floor plans more ‘Tech’ friendly and the buildings more technologically advanced. Monument Realty was the first developer to invest heavily buying 1.5 million sf of developable land in the Ballpark area in SE Washington because Michael was confident the Washington Nationals Ballpark would increase land prices and create office, retail and residential demand.
Michael believes that he can always design a better building for his users because their needs are constantly evolving and his buildings need to stay ahead of these needs. This excites him because he finds this kind of challenge stimulating. He believes that creating a better building creates more value for his investment partners and building users.
An active member of the Washington, DC region’s development industry for more than two decades, Michael previously worked with some of the most prominent developers in the Washington DC area including Carr America in the 80’s and Akridge in the 90’s. During those years he managed the development of many prominent Washington buildings including such landmark restoration projects as the Willard Hotel, the Southern Railway Building and the Victor Building.
Michael began his career in his native Australia, working with a Melbourne-based general contractor, and holds a degree in Engineering and Business from the University of Melbourne. He has been active in numerous regional real estate organizations over the years and has served on the Board of the DC Building Industry Association.
Michael is involved with several charities and his company have been longtime supporters of the annual Real Estate Games, a charitable sports competition that supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and he was the event co-chair for six years.
- Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
- Hidden talent: Juggling while moving around the office on his hover board
- Best known as: An adrenaline junkie
- Favorite food: Roast leg of lamb (as long as it’s Australian lamb)
Roger B. Carlson
Roger Carlson is Executive Vice President of Monument Retail. He is consistently recognized as a market leader in the retail real estate business in the Mid-Atlantic. Since 1987, Roger has worked with hundreds of property owners, retailers and restaurants in various capacities. His success can be attributed to his vast experience with project leasing and Tenant representation, primarily with national tenant roll-outs in the DC-area marketplace. Roger has worked with over 130 retailers, leased or sold in excess of 7 million sf of retail space, and has completed over 700 retail transactions. Representing a diverse mix of clients,
Roger has had a loyal client base of national retailers looking to his site selection expertise. Among them are long-standing relationships with Trader Joe’s stores and Panera Bread, along with multi-unit, rollout-requirements with companies such as Pret A Manger, Advance Auto, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, BJ’s Restaurants, Maison Kayser, TD Bank, and many others.
Roger has also specialized in project leasing for a number of retail centers and urban properties on behalf of regional and national landlords, including Prudential, Paradigm, Skanska, Monument Realty, Vornado/Smith, Regal Cinemas, and Water Street Development.
Roger has been active in retail brokerage in the Washington/Baltimore marketplace since 1986. He was a founding member of Madison Retail Group and served as a managing partner. Roger also co-founded First Retail Partners and served as principal. Prior to joining Monument Realty, he was managing director for Colliers International. Roger holds a Bachelor of Science from Hobart College. He is licensed in DC, Maryland, and Virginia and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
- Hometown: Princeton, NJ
- Favorite musical artist: U2
- Favorite movie: The Godfather
- Place you want to visit most: Japan
Danny Brooker
Danny Brooker is the Director of Acquisitions and Investment Sales at Monument Retail. He is responsible for building Monument’s urban retail portfolio focusing on the acquisition of retail assets throughout the Washington, DC MSA. Danny also leads the investment sales team representing owners, investors and institutional clients in the acquisition, disposition and 1031 exchange of retail assets nationwide. Since starting his career in 2008 Danny has represented clients in the closing of 100+ transactions across 30 states, amassing over $300M+ in transactional value.
Prior to joining Monument Retail in 2016, Danny brokered out of Marcus & Millichap, Colliers International and KLNB Retail. Danny holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from The George Washington University; where he was also a four-year member of their NCAA division 1 golf team. He is licensed in DC, Maryland and Virginia and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
- Hometown: Windsor, England
- Favorite place to visit in DC: Georgetown Waterfront
- Favorite sound: Golf ball going into the hole
- Best known in the office for: Wearing bright socks
Rich Sillery
Rich Sillery joined Monument Retail in 2018 – his focus is on private client investment sales/1031 exchange representation – managing asset sourcing, lease analysis, underwriting, LOI/contract negotiations, due diligence process/closings in an effort to create short-term/long-term value tailored to client’s investment goals. He has actively closed $100M+ over 60+ transactions representing buyers, sellers and 1031 exchange clients throughout the country.
Rich has been active in retail investment sales in the DC region since 2011 – beginning his career at the nation’s largest commercial real estate firm and later assisting in the launch of one of the region’s most prolific net-leased investment sales groups. Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Union College; where he was also a four-year member of their NCAA division 1 hockey team. He is licensed in DC, Maryland and Virginia and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
- Hometown: Gaithersburg, MD
- Favorite place to visit in DC: Capital One Arena
- Favorite movie: Troy
- Favorite place visited: San Sebastián, Spain
Jessica Alvarez
As the director of marketing for Monument Realty, Jessica is responsible for the corporate and property marketing for Monument Realty’s portfolio throughout the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC markets. She collaboratively works with all departments within Monument Realty to ensure cohesive messaging, marketing, and branding throughout the organization and its property assets.
Jessica brings experience in property management and commercial real estate, where she fostered result-oriented integrated marketing communication campaigns and developed and nurtured brands among multi-culture audiences.
Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Florida International University and a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Georgetown University.
Hometown: Miami, FL
Favorite movie: Top Gun
Favorite place visited: South Africa
