Breaking Ceilings|Breaking Ground

Molly McCabe & Jill Ferrari
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship

Every skyline has a story. Breaking Ceilings | Breaking Ground brings you the women behind them — developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators transforming commercial real estate across North America and shaping the next generation of great cities. Hosted by CRE veterans Molly McCabe and Jill Ferrari, each episode goes deep with industry trailblazers: the deals they've closed, the companies they've built, and how technology, community, and bold vision are changing what's possible. Whether you're already building or just getting started, this is the conversation you've been waiting for.

Episodes

  1. Jun 29

    Fabiola Fleuranvil - Icon Heritage Partners

    Fabiola Fleuranvil on Building Wealth, Access, and Legacy in Detroit Fabiola Fleuranvil bought her first Detroit building site unseen, at auction, having never set foot inside it. She closed the deal the day the city shut down for COVID — with no financing plan and no idea what LIHTC even stood for. Three weeks later, after teaching herself the entire framework, she became what she calls an overnight underwriter. That building is now 77 units of affordable senior housing, breaking ground last year and anchoring a $135 million pipeline across Detroit's Russell Woods neighborhood. Senior housing isn't abstract to her. It's shaped by Miss Charlie Brown — a 105-year-old friend Fabiola met after her own grandparents passed, someone she talked to on the phone for decades before she died in 2020. When Fabiola thinks about Miss Charlie Brown when she thinks about what is important in senior housing. That same instinct shows up everywhere in her work. When her architect tried to shrink unit sizes to maximize studios and yield, she told him this was a family neighborhood, not downtown, and the design needed to reflect who would actually live there. Fabiola is managing partner of Icon Heritage Partners and CEO of Blueprint Creative Group, and she's candid about what she's learned moving capital through LIHTC, new markets, and historic tax credits — tools she says are available to any developer but rarely taught to the people who need them most. That gap is why she founded the Institute of Black Wealth: not to share a secret, but to close a gap. As she puts it, if we're not at the table, we should build our own. Her own assessment — fear is what stops most people, not capability. She doesn't think about what she lacks. She thinks about what she wants — and lets the rest follow. Key Topics A $135M Detroit pipeline that started with one building bought sight unseenSelf-taught LIHTC, new markets, and historic tax credit financingThe Institute of Black Wealth: closing the access gap for women and Black developersDesigning for the neighborhood, not the yieldFear, faith, and building a 200-year legacyConnect with Fabiola Fleuranvil LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabiolaf/

    54 min

  2. Jun 22

    Leslie Horn - Three Squared

    Building Resilience, Innovation, and Community with Leslie HornIn this episode, we sit down with Leslie Horn, CEO of Three Squared, Inc., a visionary developer pushing the boundaries of sustainable real estate in Detroit. From shipping containers to advanced prefab materials, Leslie shares her journey of perseverance, collaboration, and her commitment to inclusive, eco-friendly spaces. Key Topics: From Rehabber to $57M Developer: Leslie’s pivot from traditional rehab to large-scale innovation.The Modular Revolution: Navigating Michigan’s first container permits and evolving into prefab panels for efficiency.Community-Centered Design: Strategies for authentic engagement and building local trust.Women in CRE: Leveraging empathy and relationship-building as development superpowers.PropTech & Innovation: In-house tools for energy-efficient building and industry collaboration.Highlights: Unbending Intent: Leslie’s secret weapon for overcoming market downturns and skeptics.Steel, Wood, and Speed: How advanced building tech reduces costs and timelines while boosting sustainability.Cochrane Commons: A case study in resilient design and layered community impact.Collaboration over Competition: Building inclusive, scalable developments to address the housing crisis.Timestamps: 00:00 – Focus, unwavering intent, and the power of collaboration02:22 – Leslie’s journey: From Detroit rehabs to shipping container pioneers08:45 – Achieving the first container permit in Michigan09:44 – Pivoting to prefab panels for sustainability and scale11:36 – Scaling impact: 50 completed projects and a pipeline of 250+12:43 – Personal influences and the mission for inclusive development17:49 – The unique lens women bring to the industry22:06 – Leslie’s superpower: “I plod until it's done”31:54 – Deep dive: Cochrane Commons and community-engaged design34:00 – Solving the workforce housing shortage with cost-effective tech39:08 – The future of PropTech and digital tools in development50:17 – Partnerships, investment, and collaboration opportunities Resources & Links: Three Squared Inc. WebsiteCochrane Commons Project DetailsInternational Building Code InfoFoam House Awards & InnovationsConnect with Leslie Horn: Website: threesquaredinc.com Notable Quotes: "Unbending intent is my superpower — persistence gets the job done." "Collaboration is the key to solving problems and building real community." Final Thoughts: Leslie Horn’s story is a testament to the power of women’s leadership in building resilient, sustainable, and socially responsible communities. Whether through cutting-edge modular projects or visionary PropTech, Leslie is defining the future of smarter development.

    57 min

  3. Jun 11

    Carla Guerrera - Prosperity by Design

    Breaking Ceilings, Breaking Ground: Carla Guerrera on Innovative, Inclusive Real Estate Development Molly McCabe and Jill Ferrari sit down with Carla Guerrera, CEO and founder of Purpose Driven Development, to explore her pioneering work in inclusive, sustainable housing. Carla's projects hold community impact and profitability as complementary priorities — a through-line that defines her decade-long approach to development in Vancouver and across North America. Carla's path to development runs through law, urban planning, and social housing — a combination that shaped both her methodology and her mission. Purpose Driven Development partners with nonprofits, faith communities, and Indigenous organizations to bring forward projects that would otherwise never get built. At the center of the conversation: North America's first all-women-led, intergenerational housing development — housing for seniors, single mothers, and workforce women, built by an all-women team from design through construction. The financial architecture of that kind of project is anything but simple. Carla walks through how she stacks public capital, grants, municipal fee waivers, and discounted land to make impact-driven projects financially viable. It's a model that demands patience, precision, and a long view on capital — and she makes the case that the development industry needs more of exactly that. The conversation also covers the current lending environment and how tightening financing has created new pressures for affordable housing development. Carla is direct about the challenges and equally direct about the opportunities: patient capital, innovative partnership structures, and a willingness to stay in complex deals long enough to see them close. This episode is a clear illustration of what becomes possible when profit and purpose are built into the same project from the start — and a compelling case that the most complex, socially vital developments are exactly where women in real estate are doing their best work. Key Topics North America's first all-women-led, intergenerational housing developmentFinancing strategies for social impact projects: stacking public capital, grants, and partnershipsWorking with nonprofits, Indigenous organizations, and faith communitiesEnvironmental, social, and economic sustainability as integrated prioritiesThe case for patient, long-term capital in transformative developmentConnect with Carla Guerrera Website: purposedrivenroi.com Email: Carla@purposedrivenroi.com

    40 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

Every skyline has a story. Breaking Ceilings | Breaking Ground brings you the women behind them — developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators transforming commercial real estate across North America and shaping the next generation of great cities. Hosted by CRE veterans Molly McCabe and Jill Ferrari, each episode goes deep with industry trailblazers: the deals they've closed, the companies they've built, and how technology, community, and bold vision are changing what's possible. Whether you're already building or just getting started, this is the conversation you've been waiting for.

Information

  • Creator
    Molly McCabe & Jill Ferrari
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Molly McCabe & Jill Ferrari