OUR TEAM

Leadership Rooted in Experience

With over 70 years of combined experience and more than $3 billion in real estate development, Bobby Maly, Steve Smith, and Adam Gelter have led some of the most impactful revitalization projects in the country. Their work spans affordable housing, civic spaces, historic landmarks, and large-scale mixed-use developments. Supported by a team of experts, they turn complex challenges into lasting community change.

  • Before co-founding Iterum, Adam Gelter served as Executive Vice President of Real Estate at 3CDC, where he led all real estate development, property and parking management, and leasing activities. Over nearly two decades, Adam played a central role in the revitalization of Cincinnati’s urban core, directing more than $2.5 billion in real estate development.

    His work included the strategic planning, financing, design oversight, and implementation of projects ranging from corporate headquarters and high-end hotels to affordable housing, homeless facilities, civic spaces, and retail environments. Under his leadership, 3CDC delivered 2,303 new residential units, 1.35 million square feet of commercial space, 1,056 hotel rooms, four comprehensive homeless service facilities, and over 6,000 structured parking spaces. Major civic projects included the redevelopment of 17 acres of public space, the $143 million renovation of Music Hall, and the transformation of Washington Park and Ziegler Park. Most recently, Adam oversaw the $750 million Convention Center District, including the renovation of the Duke Energy Convention Center and development of a new 800-room convention hotel.

    Adam’s financial acumen spans the use of NMTC, LIHTC, HTC, TIF, bonds, and traditional lending. In addition to development, he managed a commercial portfolio generating over $48 million annually, with full responsibility for leasing, budgeting, and property operations.

    Adam joined 3CDC as an intern in 2005 and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming one of the region’s most respected urban development leaders. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Development and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Vanderbilt University, as well as a Master of Community Planning with a concentration in Economic Development from the University of Cincinnati.

    Adam currently serves as Chair of the Board for Shelterhouse, Cincinnati’s largest homeless services provider. He also co-founded Generocity513, a street outreach initiative, and RepresentCincy, an effort to foster racial equity in Over-the-Rhine’s business district. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning.

ADAM GELTER

CO-FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL

  • Stephen (“Steve”) Smith is a Principal and Co-Founder of Iterum Consulting, the Cincinnati-based advisory firm he launched in 2025 with longtime colleagues Adam Gelter and Bobby Maly to help cities, civic institutions, and developers deliver catalytic, community-scale projects. Drawing on three decades of development leadership, Steve guides Iterum’s clients through strategy, capital stack structuring, and on-the-ground execution for mixed-use, mixed-income developments across the Midwest and beyond.

    Before Iterum, Steve spent 26 years at Model Group, serving as Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to 2020 and remaining a Principal today. In 2001 he founded Model Property Development and pioneered the firm’s signature “Transformative Neighborhood Revitalization” methodology. Under his stewardship, Model has completed more than $1 billion in real-estate development, ranging from affordable housing and adaptive-reuse projects to large civic anchors, all designed to “positively transform communities.

    A hallmark of Steve’s career is the revitalization of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) district—now a national benchmark for holistic urban renewal. Projects such as Washington Park, Music Hall, and the Vine Street corridor combine historic preservation, market-rate and affordable housing, and vibrant public spaces. Steve’s mixed-income approach in OTR was profiled in Housing Finance Magazine for “reversing blight” while preserving affordability.

    Widely regarded as an expert in assembling complex public-private capital stacks, Steve regularly speaks to investor groups, planning agencies, and universities about leveraging Historic, New Markets, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, TIF, OZ funds, and patient philanthropic capital to unlock community potential. He also serves on the board of Crossroads Community Health Center, underscoring his commitment to equitable, health-centered neighborhood growth.

    Steve earned a B.S. in Business Management from Northern Kentucky University. A lifelong advocate for Cincinnati’s urban core, he and his wife Michelle have three adult children and three grandchildren.

CO-FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL

STEVE SMITH

  • Bobby Maly has been with Model Group since 2004 and has been in the CEO role since 2020. Prior to that, Bobby directed The Model Group’s daily operating activities as COO and led Model Property Development. Working with key neighborhood development agencies and community partners, Bobby has played a lead role in some of the most transformational urban mixed-use developments in downtown Cincinnati, Dayton, and Fort Wayne. In addition, he has played a central role in developing and financing most of Model’s high impact affordable housing in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. He has led over $1 Billion in real estate development and construction. Bobby is an active leader in local civic organizations, including the Ohio Housing Council, the Cincinnati Chapter of YPO, the OTR Special Improvement District Board, the Housing Advisory Board for Cincinnati City Council and Administration, and at St. Xavier High School.

    Mr. Maly earned a BA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife and four children.

BOBBY MALY

PRINCIPAL