About Us

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CEO/Founder

pmcconnell@mcconnelldevelopment.com

Paul is a native Delawarean, graduating from Salesianum School in Wilmington and from the University of Delaware, and has been a significant contributor within the commercial real estate industry in and around Delaware for almost 50 years. 

Paul’s career began just after his graduation from the University of Delaware in 1974 when he and his brother formed McConnell Bros., and together they bought, renovated, and sold residential properties. Paul went on to develop office, residential, commercial, and industrial properties, totaling over five million square feet in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He founded McConnell Development, Inc. in 1989, and McConnell Johnson Real Estate in 2000.

Paul is a prominent leader in the business community; he has been active for many years in the State and County Chambers, including the Delaware Business Roundtable and is one of the founders of the Wilmington Alliance. 

Paul has served on the Advisory Board of Philadelphia Airport, the British American Business Council and also on the Boards of several private companies. Paul currently is serving on the Advisory Board of Limen Recovery + Wellness. 

Over the past 10 years, Paul has received the St. Patrick’s Day Society’s Daniel S. Frawley Community Service award, he was inducted in to the Junior Achievement of Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame, the University of Delaware Alumni Association Wall of  Fame, the Hall of Fame at Salesianum, and was presented the Citizen of the Year Award by the Boy Scouts of America Del-Mar-Va Council.  

Paul and Linda together received the New Castle County Chamber’s Wallace Johnson Community Service Award and the Friends of St. Edmond’s Academy Award. 

Passionate about education, Paul is an active member of the educational community. He currently serves on the Board of the Community Education Building and has in prior years served on the Boards of the Centreville Layton School, Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington, and St. Edmond’s Academy where he and his wife Linda founded the Science Center. Paul has also been a member of the University of Delaware President’s Leadership Council. 

As a champion of entrepreneurship, Paul has been an avid angel investor and valued mentor to the local startup community. In 2013, Paul and Linda founded 1313 Innovation in Wilmington, a collaborative environment for professionals, students, and educators. Within 1313, they helped launch Dual School, a program enabling high school students to create their own entrepreneurial projects, and they established and continue to sponsor the Innovation Program at Ursuline Academy, a college credit course designed to build a group of young, critically thinking innovators. 

Prior to this, Paul and Linda established the Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative in the Horn Program of the University of Delaware to raise awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career path for high school and university students.   

Founder

Linda is a native Delawarean, whose real estate career began in 1977 after graduation from St. Mark’s High School. Linda worked in many different facets of the business, including land acquisition, planning and building design, leasing and marketing, and was ultimately responsible for leasing over 900,000 square feet of industrial space in the New Castle County market. 

Her career continued with Paul when together in 1989 they founded McConnell Development, developing several residential communities, and developing and leasing the many real estate holdings they own and operate today.

Both Linda and Paul are passionate about equal educational opportunities for all children and supporting innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives. They created the Paul and Linda McConnell Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative in the Horn Program of the University of Delaware; the Diamond Challenge, a highly selective, international pitch competition, was a direct result of this initiative and has seen huge successes.

 After starting 1313 Innovation in the Hercules building located in Wilmington, they established and continue to sponsor the Innovation Program at Ursuline Academy, a college credit course, focused on promoting innovation and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit for students of all ages. Linda has served on the Board of Trustees for Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington as well as on their Development Committee, and together Linda and Paul founded the Science Center at St. Edmond’s Academy located in Wilmington.

Linda has served on the Development Committee for Faithful Friends Animal Society and holds various roles supporting Limen Recovery + Wellness located in Wilmington.

President

(302) 225-7891

sgrace@mcconnelldevelopment.com

Shona has over 20 years of commercial real estate experience and as President of McConnell Development is responsible for managing all aspects of our real estate portfolio and future growth. She has a strong understanding of quality customer service and anticipating client needs across a wide range of sectors.

Shona has been with the company since 2001 with evolving roles in administrative and financial operations, property management, and leasing. She utilizes her wide range of experience, industry knowledge and network of resources to offer daily guidance and support to the McConnell Development team. 

Born and educated in England, Shona started her career there working for a national insurance company and from there she moved to the States, where prior to beginning her real estate career Shona was Customer Service Manager for a local HVAC company.

Shona is committed to being of wider value to the local business community, she provided administrative support to the Executive Committee of the Wilmington Leaders Alliance during its formation and has served on the Board of the Wilmington Renaissance Corporation, the New Castle County Economic Development Council and the British American Business Council. She has also served on the Board of Dual School, and the Board of Delaware Military Academy. 

Shona is also active in supporting many of the McConnell family philanthropic efforts and is currently assisting Limen Recovery + Wellness with their plans for operational growth and facility expansion. She also shares a passion for animals, supporting the local animal shelters and enjoys spending her downtime with the dogs she and her husband have adopted. 

Director of Finance

(302) 225-7892

lhoban@mcconnelldevelopment.com

Laurie attended the University of Delaware for her BA and the University of North Florida for her MBA. She spent 13 years in the banking / financial services industry prior to joining the team at McConnell Development, where she is a liaison with our bank partners and handles our financial reporting and charitable giving.

 Laurie is married and has three children. She lives in Newark where she enjoys reading, traveling, and outdoor activities.

Commercial Sales & Leasing Manager

(302) 225-7901

mmcconnell@mcconnelldevelopment.com

Michael is a graduate of La Salle University with a background in Environmental Science and Geology. He joined McConnell Development in 2009 and has performed various job duties including property management, office and industrial leasing, land acquisition and ground-up development.  Michael holds a real estate license in the State of Delaware.  He has worked with a variety of clients including Dollar General, the United States Attorney’s office, Highline Warren, Amazon, American Freight and Siemens. He enjoys working with our extensive network of Tenant, Consulting, Banking and Construction partners.

As Commercial Sales and Leasing Manager, Michael is responsible for overseeing all aspects of leasing for the industrial portfolio and the generation and management of new ground-up development opportunities.

Michael enjoys going to the beach with his family, golfing and Longwood Gardens.   

Property Manager

(302) 225-7895

pmoran@mcconnelldevelopment.com

As Property Manager at McConnell Development Patrick is responsible for overseeing our current industrial portfolio of fourteen Class A warehouse facilities. Patrick enjoys working daily with the McConnell Development team and since starting in 2010, Patrick has built a solid tenant relation base, regularly visiting tenants and quickly resolving their questions and needs.  Patrick graduated from Wilmington University in 2010 with a degree in Business Management and also currently holds his real estate license in the State of Delaware. Patrick along with his family and close friends are passionate supporters of DFRC and atTAck Addiction. Patrick was recently married in September of 2022. 

Account Specialist

(302) 225-7899

ccoletta@mcconnelldevelopment.com

  Cindy joined the McConnell Development team in 2012 as an Account Specialist. Prior to this, Cindy worked in retail management for over 25 years. While raising her children she designed/created window and interior treatments for homes and she also handled the AR and AP for her husband’s company. Cindy has been a certified aerobic instructor for 28 years. She enjoys gardening and boating with her family on the Chesapeake. 

Property Management Coordinator

(302) 379-5118

smcconnell@mcconnelldevelopment.com

 Sean began his career at McConnell in 1313 Innovation, a coworking and event space, where he worked with and assisted established companies and entrepreneurs alike. Whether it was planning events for the community, creating marketing materials, or just chatting with tenants, Sean was always involved and eager to help. This led him to his current Property Management position in 2021, where he continues to help our tenants thrive in the best possible environments. In his downtime, Sean enjoys watching the Sixers, trips to the beach, and walking his dog, Winston.