Bergstrom Center honors Alumnus of the Year, David Rattner
The University of Florida Warrington College of Business is proud to honor David Rattner (MSRE ’03) as the Bergstrom Real Estate Center’s Alumnus of the Year.
Rattner is the President of Blue Sky Holdings, a real estate and development firm that focuses on retail and multi-family properties nationwide which he launched in 2008. He has developed strong, reliable relationships with the industry’s top real estate managers and brokers and holds fully negotiated leases and sales contracts with over 25 prominent national retailers.
Prior to launching his own firm, Rattner was responsible for commercial real estate investment and development in Florida with CBL & Associates and then privately held North American Properties. In his roles, he was responsible for the acquisition, design, entitlement and leasing of more than a combined 3 million square feet of retail development opportunities valued at more than $350 million. Rattner also worked as the vice president of acquisitions at Konover South where he helped recapitalize a $100M+, nine property, 884,000 square foot shopping center portfolio.
In addition to his prominence in the real estate industry, Rattner has been an advisory board member at the Bergstrom Real Estate Center since he graduated over two decades ago. His commitment to giving back to his alma mater shows not only his passion for the real estate industry, but also his dedication to uplifting the Warrington College of Business.
“David [has served in] several terms on the board’s executive committee and actively promotes the center to industry professionals,” said Tim Becker, executive director of the Bergstrom Center. “He is a tremendous asset, and we are honored and thankful for his immense support.”
During his time as an advisory board member with the Bergstrom Real Estate Center, Rattner has served as a guest lecturer in countless Master of Science in Real Estate courses, giving students career advice and his insight into retail development.
“David is always willing to help bring his expertise and experience to our students,” said Steve Martin, a clinical assistant professor who has taught 10 classes at the Warrington College of Business. “He is very generous with donating his time to furthering our student’s education.”
David Ling serves as the Ken and Linda McGurn Professor and Director of the Nathan S. Collier Master of Science in Real Estate program. He taught Rattner over 20 years ago when he was just a student at the University of Florida.
Ling shared that he could see Rattner’s passion for helping his fellow peers succeed early on. “Even while in the program, he was interested in helping his classmates evaluate career options and in helping them pursue jobs,” Ling said.
Since graduating, Rattner has served as a mentor to dozens of students within Warrington’s Master of Science in Real Estate program—meeting with them personally at a local coffee shop to offer his support and industry knowledge. A few years ago, Rattner connected one student, Sammy Coker (MSRE ’21), with a contact he had at the Wawa management team. Now Coker oversees site acquisition and development at the company.
“David Rattner was instrumental in making a difference in my life,” said Coker. “He continues to coach and mentor students and is fully committed to supporting the Center’s hands-on, real world case studies to help students successfully navigate their careers upon graduation.”
With a robust retail portfolio, Rattner will supply the local property that will be used in the Capstone Seminar and Applied Project course. He’ll also be involved in judging the capstone competition.
Rattner is the 20th alumnus to be honored with the Alumnus of the Year award. The award is given to a Warrington graduate who has made an impactful and sustained contribution to real estate education at the University of Florida. All recipients are friends of the Center who have gone above and beyond to grow the presence of the college’s real estate program.
“David cares deeply about the real estate industry and wants to ensure that the next generation of leaders in our business have the knowledge and skills to succeed,” said Becker.
