Trentonian David Eric Belt, founder and managing principal of Macro Sea, New Lab and DBI Projects, is a successful international real-estate developer and entrepreneur.
Born in Trenton, New Jersey on June 29, 1967, Belt but grew up in Yardley Pennsylvania and was the oldest of two children who attended grade school in Bucks County and later The George School. (Fun Fact: His younger brother Jimmy Belt is an Emmy Award Winning Show Creator for Nickelodeon).
Both Belt and his company Macro Sea received heavy media coverage in 2015 for revitalizing the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Once a resident of Trenton with his family, Belt and his firms now undertake projects that re-purpose existing municipal or commercial spaces.
Belt started his career working as a construction laborer in San Francisco. However, a huge fire in the Berkeley Hills gave him a one-shot opportunity to take on greater management roles with the UMB Corporation. It was soon after this that Belt started running big projects such as the New International Terminal in the San Francisco International Airport.
After returning to the East Coast in 1999, he continued to work on projects that included renovations of at-risk properties, public art projects and re-purposing of abandoned spaces. In the year 2002, Belt formed DBI Construction Consultants which was created to provide project management, real estate advisory and development management for high profile projects in New York City, Europe, South America and Latin America. DBI Projects is a multi-disciplinary construction consulting real estate development and project management firm that provides services to a diverse client base that includes global insurance carriers, real estate owners, institutions, and not-for-profit groups.
In 2009 Belt founded Macro Sea out of necessity in order to execute more progressive projects outside the scope of “typical” real estate development firms. The company exists as a string of continuous collaborations between lawyers, artists, designers, architects and many more experts in a wide variety of fields. It has also served as the guiding light for Belt’s endeavors since 2009.
Currently, Belt takes up residence in Brooklyn, New York and has served on many different boards. He has donated a variety of free services to different organizations. Some of which include The Robin Hood Foundation, Bread and Life, Rooftop Films, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.