Mike Kerr – President and Principal

As President and co-founder of Bluestone Communities, Mr. Kerr oversees all acquisitions, financings and dispositions.

Prior to Bluestone, Mr. Kerr was the President of Polygon Southwest and various subsidiaries, with total activities in excess of $1.0 billion. Polygon’s real estate holdings included multi-family and commercial properties in several western states.

Prior to joining Polygon, Mr. Kerr was President and Co-Founder of the Westport Group, a successful real estate company engaged in homebuilding and land development throughout Southern California.

Kerr founded Westport upon leaving Arnel Development, where he had been Executive Vice President. His responsibilities at Arnel were included operational and financial oversight of a 5,000-unit apartment portfolio, acquisitions of real estate and operating companies, portfolio financing, and governmental relations.

Mr. Kerr also founded Realty Business Group, where he developed master-planned communities.  While running Realty Business Group, Mr. Kerr partnered with Robert Bass and American Express to create Rancho Las Flores, one of the largest master plans in San Bernardino County history. Encompassing over 10,000 acres with approvals for over 15,000 units, Mr. Kerr personally managed the contract negotiations, entitlement processing and community facilities district formation for the project.

Mr. Kerr began his real estate career acquiring income properties and evaluating private equity offerings for Shearson/American Express. While at Shearson/American Express, he acquired over $350 million of commercial and multi-family assets across the United States.

Mr. Kerr’s education includes a J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law and MBA from Haas School of Business – schools of The University of California, Berkeley. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. from Pomona College, with additional studies at University College, Oxford, England.  He is a frequent real industry speaker and panelist.

Ralph Emerson – Chief Financial Officer and Principal

Mr. Emerson oversees all development and construction activities, governmental relations and reporting functions for the company.

Mr. Emerson has over 20 years of broad development experience, emphasizing entitlements, planning, engineering, lot construction and homebuilding. He has handled over $500 million of real estate transactions over his career and has provided consulting services on real estate matters to financial institutions, builders and developers.

Prior to Bluestone, Mr. Emerson was Senior Vice President of Polygon Southwest, where he managed the land development process, from inception through the sale to end users.

Prior to joining Polygon, he was a principal at Benchmark Real Estate Group, whose largest development is Rancho Santa Margarita, a 5,000-acre master-planned community in South Orange County with residential, retail, and business park elements.  Additionally, he and Michael Kerr co-founded Westport Group, Inc., a boutique real estate development firm in 1993.

Mr. Emerson is licensed by the State of California as both an Engineering and General Building Contractor and Real Estate Broker.  He is also a registered Professional Engineer.  Mr. Emerson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1982.

Bentley Kerr - Principal

Mr. Kerr is a Partner and Project Manager of several Bluestone developments.  He is responsible for acquisitions, asset management, and marketing of real estate company projects.

He has over 20 years of experience in residential and commercial real estate development, acquisitions, asset management and marketing.  Prior to joining Bluestone, Mr. Kerr was a Vice President at Buchanan Street Partners, where he raised and invested capital for a $150 million portfolio of operating assets, with an apartment concentration.

Before Buchanan, he was a Vice President of Project Finance and Development at Polygon Development. At Polygon, Mr. Kerr helped acquire, develop and ultimately sell a $100 million portfolio of land and mixed-use properties.

Mr. Kerr is an alumnus of Lowe Enterprises, where he shared responsibility for the asset management of an institutional commercial real estate portfolio valued at over $250 million. In that capacity, he marketed and sold over 500,000 square feet of office and retail properties. He was also involved with pension fund advisory work that entailed underwriting and due diligence for development and operating asset acquisitions; portfolio asset management; and ultimately project management for the development of a 550,000 square foot office campus.

Mr. Kerr is a licensed Real Estate Broker and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  He earned MBA and Master of Real Estate Development degrees from the University of Southern California.

Jo Strapp

Mrs. Strapp, Assistant Project Manager, supports the Bluestone team in real estate development acquisitions, asset management and marketing.  She is also responsible for coordinating the closing of escrows, loans and sales.

Since she began with the company in 2003, Mrs. Strapp has worked as the Office Manager, Project Coordinator and Project Accountant for Bluestone’s various development projects.

Mrs. Strapp is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in Real Estate Finance at California State University Fullerton.