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Blackbird was formed out of a desire to work on good projects with great people, Blackbird takes on projects of all size, from home remodels to large commercial projects in and around the City of St. Louis
Bernie Edler
Owner and Co-Founder of Blackbird Design & Development.
Bernie is responsible for the business management, project consulting and real estate development activities of Blackbird Design & Development.
Prior to starting Blackbird, Bernie worked in asset management for a number of private equity real estate firms where he was responsible for operations and asset strategy of a diverse portfolio of commercial real estate across the Midwest. Overall, managed more than $440 million in assets across various product types.
Bernie’s long career in real estate also includes experience in real estate finance, working as an analyst for NorthMarq Capital and Bank of America, and in project management, having served as Development Project Manager at The Lawrence Group Properties. In that role, he worked closely with Blackbird partner David Dwars on the renovation of the 55,000 square foot South Side National Bank Building into condominiums, office and retail space.
Bernie graduated with an M.S in Real Estate from the University of Florida and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Truman State University. Bernie has been a CCIM member since 2012.
David Dwars
Owner and Co-founder of Blackbird Design and Development
David is responsible for the business management, architectural design and construction activities of Blackbird Design and Development.
Prior to founding Blackbird, David was the Chief Operating Officer and Lead Architect at Habi-Nex, a tiny house builder based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. While at Habi-Nex, David was responsible for supply chain management, sustainability, and all aspects of project design and delivery.
Before moving to the Netherlands to found Habi-Nex, David was an associate principal at the Lawrence Group Architects where he headed the Multifamily design studio. Projects ranged from adaptive reuse of historic buildings to container-based homes and apartment buildings.
David holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Kansas State University. David is a licensed architect and has been awarded numerous awards in his field.