Matt Mellos
With a background as a highly successful business owner with far reaching ties into the San Diego community, Matt Mellos has an unmatched ability to leverage his relationships to create profitable local opportunities for investors and partners alike. At age 26, Mr. Mellos worked as the catalyst in bringing the necessary individuals together to raise capital and develop San Diego’s premier nightclub, restaurant, and event center in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, Stingaree. His entrepreneurial drive toward lucrative opportunities guided him into the national residential real estate sector, where he effectively flipped a number of single-family homes in a 3-year period averaging over 32% annual return. Matt’s past success in commercial real estate as both an owner and investor creates a unique perspective, providing both his partners and investors with the insight needed to negotiate the most favorable terms possible for a variety of commercial properties, including office, industrial, flex/R&D, retail, and multifamily property types. Taking part in local politics, Matt has been on the Gaslamp Quarter Association’s Board of Directors for the past eight years and has served as a member of the Gaslamp Quarter Association’s Land Use and Planning Committee for the past ten years. Mr. Mellos brought his extensive community network and his history of forming lucrative partnerships to the table to form an investment and development powerhouse, InDev, LLC.
Education
AA, Marymount College Palos Verdes
BA, Psychology and Business, Loyola Marymount University
Member of the Elite Entrepreneurial Business Program at
Loyola Marymount University
Professional Background
Vice President, Strom Commercial: Real Estate Decisions, San Diego, CA.
Sole Owner, Lonestar Flippers LLC, San Diego, CA
Owner, Stingaree: San Diego’s Premier Nightclub/Restaurant/Event Center, Gaslamp Quarter.
Committee Member, Gaslamp Quarter Association Board of Directors.
Committee Member, Gaslamp Quarter Association Land Use and Planning Committee.
Project Experience
C2 LOFTS: DESIGN / BUILD: URBAN IN-FILL IN PRACTICE
InDev – Invest + Develop
Completed in August of 2013 C2 Lofts is comprised of two for sale condo’s approx. 1450 sf
each. Situated on an in-fill lot at the edge of a canyon, the development rises to 50’ in height
with expansive patios providing views across San Diego.
KAPELA: DESIGN / BUILD: URBAN IN-FILL IN PRACTICE
InDev – Invest + Develop
Completed in April of 2011 and rose from the bones of a 1920’s home on a 2,540 square foot
site to a new foot print of over 4400 square feet. Each town home features high ceilings and
double height living spaces, expansive roof decks and multiple oversized operable windows for
natural ventilation.
STINGAREE: Restaurant, Nightclub, and Event Center
Managing Member of 6th and Island Management, LLC.
Broke ground on a 10,000 square foot historical wholesale produce warehouse, built in 1918,
and transformed it into a three-story 22,000 square foot multimillion dollar restaurant, night-
club, and event center within six months time. This project in the Gaslamp Quarter had over
18 different sub-contractors working together in unison to ensure the original completion date
stayed intact.
Sole Owner of Lonestar Flippers, LLC
From Courthouse Auction to 32% annual return.
Few Real Estate Development professionals rival Zara Stover’s intrinsic understanding of the development process. Over the course of her nearly 20-year career, Zara has developed over a billion dollars in mixed-use development projects on both East and West coasts along with select works in the Mid-West. Holding three advanced degrees in industry-related professions along with a CA General Contracting License, she excels at creating one of a kind infill projects that can adapt to, and engage with the people and places who call them home. As Principal at the InDev Companies, she oversees Land Acquisition, Entitlement and Permit Processing, Overall Project Design, Debt and Equity Placement, Construction Project Management, Project Estimating and Construction Implementation. Mrs. Stover’s work clearly showcases that when the designers and builders are the developers and decision makers, a more valuable building is the result.
Conrado Gallardo received his Bachelor of Architecture from one of the world’s top design schools, SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architec-ture). As a highly regarded architect, Conrado gained his project experience with local San Diego architecture firms, working in the offices of SGPA, Martinez + Cutri, and RJC and gained practical experience in retail shopping centers, office buildings and high-rises hospitality projects. In 2002 he became a California State Licensed Architect, and in 2003 founded Gallardo Architecture and Construction Inc. Since then Conrado has been committed to changing our city for the better with smart design and creative solutions to the problems we face in the built environment. Conrado is a well-rounded leader in his field and is able to realize this new built environment with a number of projects ranging from small residential remodels and tenant improvements to larger multifamily housing developments. Conrado Gallardo has served as Principal Architect, Lead Designer, and Construction Project Manager for numerous high visibility projects and now also maintains architect’s licenses in Florida, Utah, Arizona, and New York, as well as a general contractor’s license in the State of California. Conrado’s vast range of experience allows him to be an essential member of the InDev Team.
For 47 years John has worked with top construction companies, with experience in both residential and commercial construction. Before founding his own company, Zad-Con Development, in 2008, John spent 28 years as a superintendent and construction manager responsible for the oversight of a myriad of projects. His impressive resume includes a long list of completed projects ranging from a 222-Lot subdivision to a 1,500 sq. ft. remodel. He’s won industry awards for several of his projects including “San Diego Décor & Style – Home of the Year Award.”John has taken the lead on many projects within the InDev lineup, overseeing day to day construction on several jobs running concurrently. With his extensive experience, his attention to detail, and his passion for getting the job done the right way, John has been a fantastic addition to the InDev team.
Arronn comes to InDev, with more than 12 years experience, as a project manager. She began her career in 2005 as an assistant and with tenacity, a passion for the industry and hard work she manages projects for InDev as a seasoned professional. Arronn’s attention to detail and her experience with multiple subdivisions and custom homes is instrumental in overseeing everything from job-site scheduling to purchasing and accounts payable/receivable. She has been integral in keeping InDev up to date on the statuses of multiple projects using a daily log system to keep everyone abreast of situations on-site.
Allen Bennett is a graduate of NewSchool of Architecture + Design in San Diego, California. Allen has been surrounded by Architecture and Construction from a young age, working with his Dad since he was 10 years old in the construction field. After Graduating high school and working in the construction field he found himself at an engineering firm learning the fundamentals of architecture and creating construction documents. Allen has worked on a variety of small design projects though out California, working on every-thing from patios to house additions to complete custom homes as well as some industrial design projects. After completing college and coming out into the world with fresh ideas and wanting to explore something different he pushed his newfound knowledge in a different direction, looking into industrial design he found himself working with startup companies helping them develop their products further. Allen got recruited into a startup company the showed promise and an interesting challenge, being the product architect and helping develop parametric designs that encapsulated using 3D scan of clients ears and tailor fitting custom 3D printed headphones to fit the anatomy of the client perfectly. Coming full circle back to the construction industry, Allen’s diversity in construction to design allow him to handle many aspects of InDev’s projects.