Meet the Principals

Steven H. McFarland

Steve is the founding Principal of RS Development and oversees Acquisitions, Planning and Regulatory Approvals, Construction, and Residential Leasing and Sales. Steve got his start in real estate in the 1980’s renovating property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while working as a Sales Engineer for Moore Products Co. Since incorporating RS Development in Hoboken in 1988, Steve has completed over 50 projects in New Jersey. He serves as both developer and general contractor for all his projects, applying his skills as a Civil Engineer and providing unsurpassed hands-on oversight of every detail of the development process.

Steve is a member of the Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern New Jersey, the New Jersey Builders Association, and the National Association of Home Builders. He is a NJ State registered New Home Builder, Home Improvement Contractor and licensed real estate agent in the State of New Jersey.

Steve has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University and a MBA from Temple University.

Irene Z. McFarland

Irene oversees Finance, Commercial Leasing and Asset Management, and is involved in Acquisitions and Project Design for RS Development and McFarland Properties. In addition to these responsibilities, she provides real estate consulting services to individuals and institutions. Irene previously held executive positions at prominent real estate financial services companies. At Prudential Real Estate Investors (“PREI”), she was Principal, Investment Risk Management, and Executive Director, head of Equity Capital Markets. She was also a real estate investment banker for more than a decade, having spent most of that time at Morgan Stanley. Irene has experience in a wide variety of both principal and advisory real estate transactions, including acquisitions, workouts and restructurings, and raising capital in the public and private markets. Irene also was responsible for arranging several billion dollars in debt financing and asset sales for the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds.

Irene recently retired from her position as Specialist Professor of Real Estate and Finance at Monmouth University’s Kislak Real Estate Institute and Leon Hess Business School, where she taught Principles of Finance, Real Estate Development, Real Estate Finance, Introduction to Real Estate, and Real Estate Competitions. She previously served as a Part-time Lecturer at the Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University, where she taught Real Estate Finance & Investment Analysis.

Irene is a member of ULI, NAIOP-NJ, and ICSC, and serves on various associated panels and advisory committees.

Irene earned a MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with a double major in Real Estate and Finance, and a BS in Business Administration from Bucknell University.