Carl de Stefanis, P.E., president of IVI International, Inc., a construction consulting advisory firm, today announced the appointment of Robert Barone, R.A., as director of the company's Real Estate Workout Services division. Based in IVI's headquarters in White Plains, Barone will oversee the continued expansion of the division, which provides loan workout expertise to lenders.

A construction industry veteran with more than 27 years of experience, Barone is a senior vice president and principal at IVI. Most recently, he managed the company's Project Management Oversight division, which is one of the largest in the country. In addition to his new duties, Barone will continue to manage the oversight division, which is currently consulting on over 200 construction and renovation projects on behalf of lending institutions and equity investors.

Some of the recent projects Bob and his team at IVI have monitored include City Center, a $9.0 billion 18,000,000 SFG resort and casino in Las Vegas; Xanadu, a $1.2 billion, 2,600,000 SFG regional mall in northern New Jersey; Trump International Hotel & Tower, a $600 million, 96-story mixed-use building in Chicago; The Cosmopolitan, a $2 billion, 6,000,000 SFG resort and casino in Las Vegas, and Time Warner Center, an $860 million, 2,800,000 SFG mixed-use building in Manhattan.

"Due to the faltering economy, more and more banks need advice and construction services for distressed construction loans," said de Stefanis. "The key to minimizing losses is a quick, customized approach. Bob has helped clients weather the last four real estate cycles, including 1981's 21 percent prime rate, 1990's S&L crisis, the dot-com recession of 2000, and finally the subprime-initiated debacle that began in 2007. This extensive experience will play an incredibly important role in IVI's planned expansion of our workout division."