Doug Chesnut
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
The StreetLights Residential vision starts with Doug Chesnut. Doug’s approach to longevity and community-driven design has spawned the StreetLights philosophy—one that empowers both neighborhoods and investors through smart urban development.
As the heart and soul of the StreetLights team, Doug serves day-to-day as the chief executive officer. His expertise lies in high-density developments and investments, specifically multifamily and mixed-use assets located in high job-growth markets.
Previously at Gables Residential, Doug served as Senior Vice President of investments overseeing development, construction and acquisition efforts for the Western U.S. and served on the Executive Committee. Prior to joining Gables in 2002, Doug was president and chief operating officer for the Central U.S. Region of Trammell Crow Residential Services. He oversaw the management of more than 25,000 apartment units and served on the Trammell Crow Residential Management Board.
Doug’s roots can be traced back to The University of Texas, from where he holds a Bachelor of Finance.
Tom Bakewell
President of Development & Co-Founder
Tom Bakewell is StreetLights Residential’s president of development, responsible for overseeing all development activities including feasibility analysis and site selection.
Throughout his 25 years in real estate, Tom has been responsible for more than $4 billion in development and acquisitions of multifamily assets. Prior to his role at StreetLights, he served as the regional vice president of investment for Gables Residential (Dallas market), where he oversaw multifamily acquisitions, site acquisitions and the development of new assets. Early in his career, Tom gained valuable experience in asset management with Phoenix Capital Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm.
Tom holds a Bachelor of Economics and Real Estate Finance from Southern Methodist University, along with a Master of Business Administration from SMU’s Cox School of Business.
Paige Close
President of Design
At StreetLights Residential, all design direction flows through Paige Close, President of Design. With more than 30 years of industry experience, Paige is one of the leading design architects for mixed-use communities in the nation.
Paige has received more than 100 design awards throughout his career, equipping him with an advanced knowledge in multifamily and a honed ability to design creative solutions for the development world.
Prior to joining StreetLights, Paige was the senior partner overseeing multifamily and mixed-use communities for LRK Architects. He has designed more than 20,000 apartment units including townhomes, urban infill flats, mid-rise and high-rise developments; his experience extends across all types of for-rent and for-sale projects.
Paige is a graduate of Texas Tech University with degrees in architecture and structural engineering.
Rob de Bruin
President of Design-Build
As the president of design-build at StreetLights Residential, Rob De Bruin manages the construction of nearly $1 billion of total capitalization.
Previously, Rob was the vice president of construction for the western U.S. region of Gables Residential and oversaw all cost estimation, budgeting and construction for the company’s portfolio. Rob began his construction career in 1994 with the Florida region of Trammell Crow Residential (TCR), which was acquired by Gables Residential in 1998.
Rob started with TCR as an assistant project manager and quickly worked his way up, spending nine years with Gables as vice president of construction for the western region. During his tenure, Rob was involved in more than $1 billion in new construction.
Rob earned his Bachelor of Civil Engineering at Northeastern University and graduated cum laude.
Roger Beless
Chief Operating Officer
Roger Beless serves as chief operating officer, where he oversees capital markets, asset management, acquisitions, portfolio management, and company operations. He has extensive global experience in multi-family, office, retail, hotel assets, and both single asset and portfolio investments.
In his previous role, Roger oversaw global real estate asset management for Mount Kellett Capital Management LP. In this position, Roger oversaw the management of a portfolio of $6.5 billion and worked closely with operating partners in acquiring, formulating and executing asset strategy in order to maximize value and investment returns.
Prior to joining Mount Kellett, Roger spent nearly 20 years with Goldman Sachs/Archon Group where he held a number of positions, including co-head of US Real Estate and Chief Operating Officer for Archon Residential, where he oversaw acquisitions, asset management, property management and dispositions. He also spent four years in Tokyo, Japan where he led the startup of Goldman Sachs Realty Japan.
Roger holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and Finance from Baylor University and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.
