Management Team

Paul Aschkenasy

Managing Partner – Blank Aschkenasy Properties/Relative Properties 

Mr. Aschkenasy has 34 years of real estate experience.  While at BAP and Relative Properties, he has led the acquisition, development, and management of over 35 projects totaling well over a million SF of commercial space and 1,100 multifamily units. Before joining BAP in 2000, he spent 10 years in real estate advisory, most recently as Senior Director with Cushman & Wakefield in its New York headquarters, advising his clients primarily on office transactions. He represented his clients in over five million square feet of leasing, sales, and structured ownership transactions nationwide, totaling over two billion dollars in aggregate value. Mr. Aschkenasy received a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin.

Devin Aronstam

Managing Partner – Relative Properties

Mr. Aronstam has 25 years of real estate and capital markets experience. Prior to launching Relative with Mr. Aschkenasy, Devin was the Director of Acquisitions for Vantage Properties and its affiliate, Candlebrook Properties, a New York-based multifamily owner / operator. Upon joining Vantage in 2009, Devin led Vantage’s expansion out of New York and into the Mid-Atlantic region, acquiring over 4,000 apartments, with a total acquisition cost of approximately $430 million.

Prior to joining Vantage, Mr. Aronstam was a Principal at Lubert-Adler Partners, a multi-billion dollar private real estate investment firm, where he focused on new acquisitions and asset management. Devin received a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate.

Karyn Bennett

Ms. Bennett brings over 30 years of experience in commercial property management, leasing, and asset management. Since joining BAP in 2013, she has overseen the firm’s commercial portfolio and office operations. Previously, she managed commercial retail assets at Fameco Management Services and office assets at CBRE. Before relocating to Pennsylvania in 2005, she worked with Equity Office Properties Trust and Trammell Crow in Boston, as well as Trizec Hahn in Atlanta. Ms. Bennett currently serves as President of the Bryn Mawr Business Association and is a member of the Philadelphia Women Leadership Association.

Hilary Fesmire

Ms. Fesmire has 14 years of property management experience. Before joining Relative Properties in 2019 as Regional Property Manager, she served as a multi-site Property Manager for Toll Brothers Apartment Living in Princeton, NJ, where she managed nearly 900 luxury units and led her team to a record-breaking lease-up. Earlier roles include on-site management for Relative Properties and several Toll Apartment Group properties. Ms. Fesmire received a B.A. in Communications and English from Ursinus College and earned her Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) designation in 2018.

Michael Fritz

Karen Mapes

Bernie McCabe

Mr. McCabe has over 35 years of experience managing a wide array of construction projects—from ground‐up multifamily developments to large-scale retail tenant fit-outs and apartment renovations. Working primarily for owner-operators, he consistently delivers quality workmanship while diligently managing budgets. Prior to joining Relative Properties in 2014, Mr. McCabe held senior construction management roles with National Properties, a midsize regional developer and operator of apartments, and with Home Properties, a large publicly traded multifamily REIT. He received a B.S.B.A. in Management from Kutztown University.

David Tallarida

David has over 20 years of experience in the accounting industry, both public and private, with a concentration on real estate. As Senior VP of Finance, David leads BAP and Relative’s accounting operations including all financial reporting, budgeting, treasury management, and development accounting.

Prior to joining BAP / Relative, David was the Executive VP of Finance and Accounting at Method Co., a vertically integrated real estate management, development and design company, where he led the accounting department and oversaw the financial reporting for the entire company portfolio including development, office, hotel, condominiums, and restaurants.

Prior to joining Method, David spent 6 years in public accounting as an auditor and tax accountant at Asher & Company, a CPA firm in Philadelphia. David received a BS in Accounting from La Salle University.