The Promote Podcast
The Promote Podcast is a commercial real estate insider guide that profiles major dealmakers and covers skyline-shaping transactions. Each week, hosts Hiten Samtani and Will Krasne explore three of the most interesting and consequential stories in CRE, going beyond headlines into deals, breakdowns, and war stories. Topics range from bad-boy guarantees to CMBS tranche warfare and syndicator sins. The show also offers a three-times-weekly newsletter for industry insiders.
Episodes
Golden State Gimmes & Lument's Lament
This week, we get into the potential homecoming of a big agency lender: Lument is on the block, and sources point to a round-trip to its original home, the billionaire Hunt family out of Texas. We then head further west to the golden state, where the welfare exemption, a spiritual cousin of the Traveling HFC has created a lucrative loophole for “affordable housing” players. It's a fabulou
Mana From Hedgie Heaven & Blue Owl Force Majeured
This week, we need to dive into the real estate deal of the year – arguably, of any year: Ken Griffin is bringing Carnegie Mellon to Miami, a transformative gift for the 305 in so many ways. We focus primarily on 2 guys – Paul Darrah, who's responsible for making it happen for Griffin, and Moishe Mana, the idiosyncratic mogul who’s just pulled off the most spectacular assemblage exit in t
Keep Calm and [No] Carry On
This week, it’s time to address the unrealized elephant in the room that is the biggest pain point in institutional CRE: Carry, or more precisely the lack of it. Thousands of the smartest guys and girls in the business have spent the last few years preparing for an outcome that never came. Grappling with that reality is shaping everything from talent moves to firm restructurings. Plus, ou
SF’s Advance Man: Cyrus Sanandaji On the Record
In this bonus episode, we sit down with Presidio Bay’s Cyrus Sanandaji. Cyrus is at the vanguard of the comeback in America’s most important boom-and-bust town – San Francisco. His firm made prescient bets on SF’s recovery as the city began to emerge from the black hole of Covid, while also expanding a national development portfolio that today spans close to 6M square feet and is valued b
Lurin's FBI Probe & the CapStack Snipers
This week, we take stock of the tale of Lurin Capital, a multifamily syndicator that's now in the FBI's crosshairs. Jon Venetos was cut from very different cloth than the rest of the Sunbelt Dreamers, and his rise and fall are arguably even more cinematic. Next, it's a classic Manhattan tale of capstack sniping. With 245 Park ready to be graced by a $2 billion Refi, we look back at SL Gre
The Last Tower & Blackstone's Lair Cake
This week, we visit CRE’s alpha lair, Blackstone HQ, where one of the industry’s top execs, global head of real estate Nadeem Meghji, is set to exit. His perch was among the best risk-adjusted seats in all business, but what does someone in that position do for their next act? And why is there so much churn atop the pyramid at BX? Next, we take stock of the most scrutinized real estate pr
Evergrande Delusions & Chitty Chetrit Bang Bang
This week, we dive into 2 operatic stories of ruin on different continents. We begin with the tale of Hui Ka Yan, a Chinese property tycoon who went from being a steelworker to one of the world’s richest men, before his firm Evergrande collapsed and sank the country’s real estate market with it. Hui has just been sentenced to life in prison. Then, we beam into a New York law firm boardroo
CW's Inside Man & Newmark's Weekend at Bernie's
This week, we put on our toques and head to the TSX, where Meyer Orbach and Josh Gotlib are on a fascinating multifamily caper with their REIT GO Residential. We then take a back door into a special-servicer war, with Greystone accusing rival CWCapital of stealing its trade secrets to poach its business and talent. Finally, we head to a palatial, soon-to-be-empty office at 125 Park, where
Man on Wire: Michael Stern On the Record
In this bonus episode, we sit down with JDS Development Group boss Michael Stern, one of the builders synonymous with the luxury condo market in New York and more recently in Miami. Stern talks through home runs like Walker Tower in Chelsea, strikeouts (though he disagrees) like the Brooklyn Tower, and 11th-inning odysseys like the skinny Billionaires’ Row supertall 111 West 57th St. Outs
Only Mortals: The Reichmanns, Pt. III
The final part of our special trilogy on the Reichmanns traces how the mother of all megaprojects became a siren song for Olympia & York. Everything that had brought them to these heights – the creative financing, the cinematic self-belief, the ability to convince others and themselves they could pull it all off – worked against them at London's Canary Wharf, and we talk through the a
Apex Predators: The Reichmanns, Pt. II
Pt. II of our special episode on the Reichmanns takes us to the ultimate proving ground of Manhattan. We do a tick-tock of how Olympia & York pulled off the CRE deal of the century, buying 10 million square feet of prime office space for just $33 a square foot and beating up some of the city's blue bloods along the way. Then, they go even bigger: the development of the World Financial
Men of Destiny: The Reichmanns, Pt. I
This special episode dives deep into the story of the Reichmanns, an extraordinary family that probably contributed more to the financialization of CRE than anyone else. It’s a tale of survival, grit, chutzpah, genius (on many fronts), generosity, unchecked ambition, heart-stopping leverage, and eventually, ruin. We follow the family's incredible journey from the Orthodox synagogues of pr
Stairway to Heaven & Parkmerced's Odyssey
This week, it’s time for some California dreamin': We ascend Orange County’s Ziggurat, a stairway to heaven or SoCal’s biggest development clusterfuck, depending on your flavor. The hulking structure and the quest to sell it showcase government incompetence at its most extreme. We then head up to San Francisco, where a whirlwind of fascinating dealmaking has gone down at the city's larges
Mailbag: CRE Mt. Rushmore, Would You Rather & Wildest Tenant Stories
In our second mailbag episode, co-host Will Krasne tackles your most unhinged CRE questions: self-managing vs. 3rd party, nightmare tenant interactions, his CRE Mt. Rushmore and many more. Sponsors:1) This episode is supported by Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. See how their precision underwriting means quicker approvals and higher proceeds for sponsors.2) This episode is
Skyscraper Triage & Data Center Power Struggle
This week, we ride up a rickety construction elevator to the 21st floor of the Pfizer Building, where a major scare threatens to consume New York’s signature office-resi conversion project. We do a 360-degree analysis, from the bricks n’ sticks to the financials and the all-important narrative, looking at the stakes for developers Nathan Berman & David Werner, lender Madison Realty Ca
S2pocalypse Now & Pimco's Puppet Master
This week, we wade into the underbelly of big-ticket restructuring, looking at Pimco’s $1.8B lifeline on its disastrous bet on the Columbia Property Trust office portfolio, and how the lenders that stepped in after the default have set themselves up for a massive payday. The whole journey is a valuable lens into the opportunities available deep in the nethers of the capstack. Next, we hav
Texas Chainsaw Massacre & The Man Who Knew
This week, we take stock of the legacy of Alan Greenspan, the long-serving Fed Chair who has died at the ripe old age of 100. Greenspan’s moves, for better and for worse, shaped the CRE market as we know it today. Next, we visit the rapidly gentrifying swamp that is Gowanus, where Sam Charney is remaking the neighborhood with a little help from his friends. And finally, we dive back into
Stern Ambition, Nuveen's Belly Flop & Private Credit's Gypsy King
This week, we load up on chips n' vinegar and take you with us on an extraordinary journey into British caravan country. Embattled mobile-home king Robert Bull's tale brings together gypsies, Norwegian beauty queens and New York financiers – and yes, it is very much a CRE story. Next, we slip into Dolce & Gabbana and ride to the branded-condo epicenter of Miami, where JDS’ Michael Ste
Not Easy Being [SL] Green & TPG's Shelf Life
This week, we dive into the high-stakes, high-reward (not for shareholders tho) world of SL Green, the mighty REIT that is New York’s largest commercial landlord. From a deal junkie standpoint, SL Green is king of the hill, but no matter what it does, it can’t seem to get Wall Street to love it. Next, we convert our dollars to lek and head to Albania, where Jared Kushner is trying to crea
Hail Caesar, CoStar's M&A Mania & a ZOMbie Developer
This week, we look at Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s $18B megadeal for the Caesars entertainment empire - this is really an excuse for us to talk Tilman, one of the industries "C"haracters. Next, we dive into CoStar’s $800M acquisition of home-data firm Zonda – part of Andy Florance’s quest to control every piece of data in the real estate universe. And finally, it might be curtains
Enemy at the Rates, Mayweather Gets KO'd & Newmark Nepomania
This week, we talk fear and loathing in interest rates: The 10Y and 5Y are going haywire and threaten to knock CRE's recovery off-kilter. Next, we discuss nepo babies running the asylum at Newmark: Howie Lutnick’s son Kyle has decided it’s his time to shine. And finally, we have to revisit one of the strangest sagas we’ve discussed on here: Floyd Mayweather is now throwing haymakers at hi
CRE's Paypal Mafia: The JMB Realty Story
In this special episode, we dive deep into the story of JMB Realty Corporation, one of the most influential firms in the modern history of CRE, with a playbook and an alumni network that continue to shape the industry today. You could argue that if JMB didn’t exist, real estate syndication would look very different today. M&A would look very different today. Hell, even the Heavenly Be
S2's REIT Wipeout & A Lender's Extreme Show of Faith
This week, we dive into Sunbelt multifamily kingpin’s Scott Everett's (S2 Capital) audacious attempt to save his distressed portfolio via a private REIT – an attempt coming apart in real time. It's an opportunity for us to discuss the Sunbelt ZIRP-fueled boom/bust, the broader syndicator reckoning and how figuring out how to survive is sometimes all you can do. It’s then time to talk fath
Mega-Marriage of Convenience and Miami’s Abuelagate
This week, we discuss multifamily’s mega-marriage of convenience: After getting no love from the Street for being merely huge, multifamily REITs Equity Residential and AvalonBay are considering a merger. Will overuses the word “tectonic,” but it really does apply here, so we’re going to dive in as deep as we can. We then leave the public markets behind for a telenovela playing out at an o
Aman’s Dirty Laundry & Atlanta’s Phantom Megaproject
This week, we have the this-is-too-weird-to-be-real tale of Forge Atlanta, a $3.8 billion megaproject with the most bizarro development team and history we’ve ever come across for a project of this scale. We know ground-up is smoke and mirrors even on a good day, but this is NEXT LEVEL. We then slip into linen trousers and head to the embattled sun-kissed shores of hospitality giant Aman,
The Frum Fraudfather & Pied à Terre Purgatory
This week, we finally tackle the story of Mark Nussbaum – the real estate attorney who became the nexus of the underground Orthodox CRE dealmaking world, facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in deals and "show capital" before it all collapsed spectacularly in a wave of lawsuits, criminal fraud allegations, and even the suicide of a close collaborator, Mendy Steiner. Nussbaum's tal
Multifamily's Icarus: Alan Stalcup On the Record
"Property management companies made my spreadsheets lie." "We're gonna move the pref to a 17. Okay, okay, Tom. You're fucking me right now. You know that, right?"This week, we break protocol to bring you a no-holds-barred interview with the poster child of the Sunbelt syndicator boom/bust, Alan Stalcup of GVA Management. Fueled by OPM, ZIRP, and an insatiable appetite for deals, Stalcup r
Mass Alt-luence & There's Something About Rabsky
This week, we chop it up on how God is Smiling Upon Alts: The federal govt has put forward much-anticipated regulation that creates a smorgasbord of investment options for retirees – with major implications for CRE. Next, we discuss how Manhattan office has broken the $300 a foot barrier – twice in a month! And finally, we bust out our Marley Slims and head to Brooklyn, where Orthodox dea
From BSDs to DSTs & a Lakewood Lad's SNF Summit
This week, we talk some takeaways from institutional real estate’s March Madness, the PREA conference – we’ve got the latest on what the industry's biggest allocators & fund managers are thinking about. Then, we SNF around that quirky asset class’ latest megadeal - Chuny Herzka’s $1.7B acquisition of the Centers healthcare portfolio. And finally, the changing of the guard at Camden Pr
Reubens on Rye and Apollo's Divine NNNtervention
This week, we dive into the life & times of two quintessential Men with Deep Pockets: Billionaire British Brothers David & Simon Reuben have become some of the most aggressive buyers of trophy hotel and retail assets across the country – many of them in various states of undress & distress. We then look at Apollo’s new NNN partnership with Realty Income - an alliance that says
Savills Gobbles Eastdil & Ray Washburne's Second Helpings
This week, we dive deep into the M&A deal that's all anyone in institutional CRE can talk about. Savills – yes Savills! – is buying Eastdil Secured for $1.1B. That gives the Brits some serious capital-markets firepower stateside, but the devil lies in the details of the golden handcuffs. Next, we strap on our Lucchese boots and head to Dallas, where legendary dealmaker Ray Washburne h
Wartime Allocators & Rialto's Double Agent
This week, we have no choice but to tackle the topic of war. The conflict with Iran continues to roil markets and CRE's biggest allocators are in sixes and sevens. Fewer young people are going to college, which puts a big question mark on what's historically been one of the biggest drivers of real estate activity. And finally, with special servicers like Rialto continuing to play an outsi
Larry's White Whale & Jamestown Puckers Up
In Ep. 50 (!), we trace Larry Silverstein's odyssey with the World Trade Center redevelopment, analyzing the new blockbuster Amex deal and the insurance, legal and financing battles that the developer has fought since 9/11. Next, we jump on our Zambonis and check out Jamestown’s push for a hockey team in Atlanta. And finally, Blackstone has a data center offering that it wants to share wi
Times Square Trainwreck, Royal Renters and Blue Owl Bytes the Dust
This week, we look at the tragicomedy that is TSX Broadway, the Maefield/L&L/Fortress Times Square megadevelopment that came undone and left hundreds of foreign investors in the lurch. We discuss how complex ground-up projects can lay waste to capital stacks, and what can happen between partners under pressure. We then look at the latest alarm bells ringing in the high-octane world of
Limit-Up Hotel Kamikazes & AI's Brokerage Rout
This week, we dive deep into the story of Anbang Insurance, the Chinese insurer that went on an epic US trophy real estate buying spree, but flew too close to the sun. We trace the origins of Anbang's founder Wu Xiaohui, his multibillion-dollar acquisition of top US hotels include NYC's Waldorf-Astoria, and Anbang's eventual collapse and government takeover. We then talk about a rare RICO
House of Brookfield, Wholesale Shopping and a Condo Buyout Coup
This week, we discuss the House of Brookfield’s new overlord: Connor Teskey has a modest target – double AUM to $2 trillion. We talk about the labyrinth that is Brookfield’s corporate structure – Bruce Flatt's not going away – and what CRE’s role in the ramp-up will be. We then look at the flurry of REIT take-privates, from Peakstone to Plymouth. And finally, we slip into resort casual an
Apollo's Sister Act, ICE Age & the Doomed Tower of Power
This week, we discuss how the Chrysler Building has laid waste to the best-laid plans of so many global titans. With Tishman Speyer reportedly coming back for another go at the Art Deco icon, we trace its rich and rollicking deal history, from Jack Kent Cooke to Abu Dhabi. We then discuss how the ICE immigration crackdown is putting another big question mark on the Sunbelt multifamily mar
A Condo Kingpin’s Next Act and Proptech Falls off the Wall
This week, we discuss second acts: Ziel Feldman has left the scandal-ridden past of his glitzy New York condo development firm HFZ Capital Group behind, and he's reinvented himself as an affordable housing player through his silent partnership in GoodHomes. We trace the wild arc of his career and his far more below-the-radar new game. Proptech's loudest voice and most prolific fundraiser
SNFing out Megadeals and Syndicator Patient Zero
This week, we discuss a redemption tour by GVA’s Alan Stalcup, Patient Zero of the Sunbelt multifamily boom/bust. He’s battling PGs, LPs and maybe even the SEC, but Stalcup is unapologetic. He sat down with Hiten for a pretty unplugged conversation, and we chat through our key takeaways. We then dive into the 24-6 world of dealmaking in Skilled Nursing Facilities, a totally undercovered c
Pinnacle's Bankruptcy Summit & Life Sci's Midlife Crisis
This week, we’re talking a glitch in the Morse code: MCR has failed to come up with the cash to consummate the take-private of Soho House, setting off a mad scramble. There’s more bad chemistry in the life-sciences space, with the venerable Beacon Capital Partners battling its operating partner and lenders in the space losing patience. And finally, we dive into the most closely-watched CR
Windy City Tailwinds & Stadium Arcadium
This week, we talk Chicago – America’s Second City is now becoming top of mind for national multifamily players. We break down 2 significant deals: LaTerra’s monster AIMCO portfolio buy and S2’s debut. We then slip into our jerseys and look at the arcane world of stadium development – and all the freebies and surrounding action that comes with it. Finally, we schlep the streets of Brookly
The Mayweather Whisperer: Jona Rechnitz (Rerun)
We're technically off this week. BUT, Business Insider dropped a banger of a read on Floyd Mayweather's tangled financial web, and somewhere at the center of that web is a character of great interest to The Promote Cinematic Universe: Jona Rechnitz was a New York real estate developer who was caught up in a massive NYPD corruption scandal before heading to LA and reinventing himself as a
Bluerock's Liquid Death, Soundstage Flops and OZK Walks the Plank
This week, we talk illiquid death – the Bluerock listing debacle says so much about the mark-to-magic happening in the nontraded REIT market. We then head to Hollywood where showbiz is turning into badbiz for Hackman Capital, HPP and others who went all-in on soundstages. And finally, we head to Charm City to check in on Kevin Plank & Goldman Sachs' Baltimore Peninsula megaproject – M
Exotic Alts (w/ SomeraRoad's Ian Ross) & Taconic's Lab Leak
This week, we’re talking exotic alts – the far-flung corners of CRE that are starting to catch serious institutional interest. Think car washes, aviation hangars and the like. We're joined by Ian Ross, managing partner of SomeraRoad, to talk through the fascinating niche of aviation infrastructure and how it's been supercharged by the Big Beautiful Bill. Then, we walk through Taconic Part
Starchitects, Swedish Whales & an SF Hotel Heist
This week, we look back at the skyline-shaping impact of 2 starchitects who’ve just left us – Robert A.M. Stern and Frank Gehry – and then jump into a broader discussion about the pros & cons of name-brand architects. We dive into the industrial deal of the year, EQT’s 9M sf sale to Aum gobbler Artemis. And we have an exclusive tick-tock of a hotel megadeal in San Francisco, Newbond &
Mailbag: CRE Casting Couch, Return-Immune Investing & Best Dumb-Guy Sectors
In our special mailbag episode, co-host Will Krasne tackles your most unhinged CRE questions: who'd be the dream cast of a CRE version of Million Dollar Listing, the best projects through which to launder funds, and which industry niches are IQ-optional.To advertise: Reach out to partnerships@thepromote.comFor feedback: Write us at podcast@thepromote.com And please rate us and write a rev
Sleepless in Seattle: The Martin Selig Story
This week, we dive deep into the maverick career of Seattle skyscraper titan Martin Selig - a true man in full who at his pomp controlled more than a third of the city's downtown, but is now at risk of losing it all. As of this summer, Selig has lost 19 of his buildings to third-party managers or lenders. He’s been unable to make good on over $850 million in loans. We break down his meteo
Sonder's Mercy Killing and the Mooch's OZ Misadventure
This week, we explore why more multifamily REITs are offering themselves up at the altar - there just doesn’t seem to be a real path forward for many of these midsize players in this capital-markets environment. We then look at Marriott’s mercy killing of Sonder and the lessons to take away from yet another high-profile proptech implosion. And finally, the Mooch’s OZ fund was kinda like t
Reston Peace, Senioritis & A Capstack Crisis
This week, we chat about 2 big events in the senior housing space: Blackstone’s fire sale of a $1.8B portfolio and the Sonida-CNL merger. It’s a pretty gnarly business to operate, but there’s lots of room for creative structuring. Next, we look at the behind-the-scenes wrangling at one of Brooklyn’s buzziest projects: Jonathan Landau is attempting to build Brooklyn Heights’ tallest condo,
Blackstone Cubs, Secondaries Sizzle & Hines of Arabia
In a world awash with capital, it’s the same names who are vacuuming up increasing shares of it: We dive into Blackstone alpha cub Chad Pike's take-private megadeal for industrial REIT Plymouth, his most significant deal since being shunted to the BX sidelines. We then discuss how major US players such as Hines and Brookfield are now heading to the Gulf, not just to raise capital for US p
Fugazi First Positions & Cracking Billionaires' Row
This week, we look at explosive allegations of mortgage fraud that have caught up 2 prominent regional banks. Zions and Western Alliance woes stemming from shenanigans at a California CRE investor once again show how vital regional banks are to the industry’s capital markets – and how distress in that space can ruin the whole party. Next, we look at Walmart’s intriguing new playbook – the
The Skyscraper That Broke America
This week, we have a special episode diving deep into the skyscraper that encapsulates our political and financial age: 666 Fifth Avenue. Now known as 660 Fifth Avenue, this tower brings together a dizzying array of characters – from Jared and Charlie Kushner to the former finance minister of Qatar and an imprisoned Chinese mogul – and elements such as cocky scions, insane appraisals, ove
Fathers, Sons & Fast Fashion Tax Shields
This week, we asked the taboo question about New York office to residential conversions. Do the numbers work? There's been enough distress from some of the OGs, including Nathan Berman, that it warrants that question amid all the private-credit billions flowing into the space. We then look at how a single man, Zara founder Amancio Ortega, can drive pricing across product types and markets
SF Apartment Therapy & the Short King of Data Centers
This week, we discuss an intriguing deal in the data-center space – TeraWulf is raising $3B in debt to build data centers for Google, in an intertwined transaction that's becoming a prototype for getting these massive developments going. We dive into the maverick mogul behind Terawulf, Paul Prager, who's using his heft to turn Maryland's Eastern Shore into the new Hamptons. We then take s
Brookfield's $10B YES! & RXR's OPM Masterclass
This week, we dive into Brookfield's $10B mega-acquisition of manufactured-home player YES! Communities, and how it's emblematic of the next frontier of institutional CRE investing – we chop it up on the liquid debt markets for affordable housing, putting money to work at scale and Stockbridge's FAT upcoming promote. We then examine RXR's OPM masterclass in Manhattan with Gemini, a $3.5B
Sobrato's Silicon Sizzle & Macklowe Unfurled
This week, we take a closer look at one of the biggest winners from Nvidia's Silicon Valley real estate rampage: The Sobrato Organization amassed a 12M sf portfolio through a combination of guts, vision and HEAVY leverage, and are now reaping the rewards as Nvidia goes shopping. We then look at how some big players, including Toll Brothers, are bowing out of multifamily development, and e
Ross takes his talents to [West Palm] Beach & Barnett Prefs Up
Like a lot of older guys, Steve Ross moved to Florida. Unlike them, however, the billionaire real estate developer didn't go there to retire, but instead to take on an even more audacious skyline-shaping challenge: West Palm Beach. This week, we trace Ross' whirlwind of big-ticket dealmaking down south that combines real estate, private equity, education, sport, and glamour – much to take
Tupac vs Biggie, CRE Edition
This week, it's Tupac vs Biggie, commercial real estate edition: We dive into a deal on each coast that brings together all the things that we think make CRE the greatest show on earth. Rapacious lenders, billion-dollar-dreams, broken capital stacks & creative financing. In New York, we look at the saga of 172 Madison Avenue, Yitzchak Tessler's moonshot condo project that ended in mul
Mormon Money & Cardone Waterfalls
This week, we’re talking the Mormon real estate playbook – how the LDS church built a serious property portfolio and also run it like serious people. We then discuss syndicator Grant Cardone’s intricate plan to rescue a distressed Boca rental – with a Bitcoin twist. We also chop it up on how fund managers' courtship of retail money is leading to pushback from big institutional LPs.Want to
Soho House Postgame And Billion-Dollar Capstacks
We break down the puzzling $2.7B take-private of Soho House – what do Apollo, MCR, Ron Burkle and Ashton Kutcher think they can pull off by revitalizing the famed member's club? The discussion touches on everything from select-service hotels to Tyler Morse's start as "Barry's guy" to the perils of the hospitality business. We then break down the capital stacks on two closely watched Manha
Shvo Business & Multifamily's Antitrust Agita
We dive into the singular life and multiple dramas of real estate impresario Michael Shvo, the luxury resi broker turned developer who went on one of the most epic commercial real estate buying sprees in the 2020s. Backed by German pension money, Shvo snapped up icons such as the Transamerica Pyramid in SF, Big Red in Chicago, and the sites of boutique ultra-luxury condo projects across g
Talking Tycoons: Tom Cousins & Jacob Chetrit
This week, we break down the outsized life & career of seminal Atlanta developer Tom Cousins: skyline-shaper, quail hunter, Ted Turner lender, Buffett buddy – an honest-to-goodness Man in Full. We trace his origins from selling tract homes to setting the stage for the modern Atlanta skyline, and examine his broader cultural impact on real estate. We then dive into the zany case of the
Megafunds Geezer-Chasing & A Miami Kingpin's Epic Aventura
This week, we dive into how private credit mega-managers such as Blackstone, KKR & Blue Owl have been setting the stage for a potentially huge new pool of capital: 401(k)s. With the Trump administration’s eagerness to push more retirement savings into PE, players have been forming alliances with the biggest 401(k) managers in a move that could mean a far bigger CRE private-credit war
How to De-Risk a Megadeal: Related's Hudson Yards Masterclass
In this special episode of The Promote Podcast, we dive deep into Related Companies' de-risking playbook at its Hudson Yards megaproject. How they're pulling off a $25 billion, 18 million-square-foot undertaking in New York City while continuously taking chips off the table through creative financing structures, global capital sources, equity partners and tax breaks. We look at how Steve
JPM's Roosevelt Run & Cortland's PE Courtship
This week, we discuss JPMorgan's age of empires, its play for the Roosevelt Hotel as part of a potentially 7 million square foot campus in the heart of New York. We dive into why 2 multifamily giants, Cortland and Bell Partners, are shopping for suitors and explore the capital landscape for large apartment owners. Finally, we do a quick-and-dirty breakdown of the Starwood-Fundamental $2.2
Attack of the Nepo Babies & A Manhattan Skyscraper Heist
This week, we discuss the great changing of the guard at real estate dynasties – the 2nd and 3rd gens are taking the helm of some of the industry's most prominent families and are doing their best to position themselves as serious people. We then head west for some California love – CEQA, the environmental law that was turned into a tool to torpedo new developments, has been gutted. And f
Mamdani Fear Factor & Hyatt's Friends with Benefits
We break down CRE's fear & loathing stemming from Zohran Mamdani’s improbable win in the New York City mayoral primary. Players have pulled the plug on deals and are devising a "retreat & resist" strategy. We then dive into the mechanics of a particularly juicy offshore hotel transaction – Hyatt is selling Playa Properties in a $2 billion asset-light megadeal. And finally, we head
Carlyle Takes the Stairs, Drillman's Great Escape & the LVMH-Kering War
This week, we dive into Carlyle's attempt to stitch together an empire of Brooklyn walk-ups and how it illustrates the REPE giant's playbook. We then examine mortgage fraudster Barry Drillman's get-out-of-jail-free card, a feat of game theory and cooperation with the feds. We hit the real estate battlefields in the war between luxury leaders LVMH and Kering, looking at their race to snap
Deconstructing Data Center Megadeals with DigitalBridge's Marc Ganzi
This week, data center pioneer and DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi walks Will & Hiten through 2 defining transactions in the space: The $11B take-private of Switch, and the "metaphorical lockbox" financing for cloud-computing player CoreWeave, one of the largest-ever private debt financings. Ganzi gives us an insider look at the numbers, real estate intricacies and capital markets maneuv
Sixth Street's AUM Gobbling & SF's Basis Bets
This week, Will & Hiten dive deep into the movement of the moment: AUM gobbling ™️ We break down the Sixth Street/L+M transaction, and how allocator preferences are driving this wave of M&A in commercial real estate. We then look at restaurateur Greg Flynn’s 🌮 basis bets in the SF CRE market – a man w/ deep pockets ™️ taking advantage of the bargains by the Bay. And finally, we ta
A Syndicator Lending Safari with Benefit Street's Mike Comparato
This week, Hiten & Will are joined by Benefit Street Partners' Michael Comparato, who gives us an insider's look into the wild world of lending to multifamily syndicators. Comparato provides unvarnished, behind-the-scenes details on the conversations, numbers and battles that define lending in such a high-octane space – it's a level of candor and color that we rarely see from active l
A Tale of Two Asset Classes: NYC Rent-Stabilized Carnage & Data Center Mania
This week, we break down two asset classes on extreme ends of the fortune spectrum: The first, NYC rent-stabilized multifamily, which is facing a tidal wave of distress, with name-brand sponsors battling with lenders and very few investors willing to take the plunge. The second, massive data centers, which global investors cannot seem to stop throwing money at. We dive deep into both the
The Mother of all Tax Loopholes & Zeckendorf Bros. Downtown Funk
This week, we dive deep into one of the most extraordinary tax loopholes that the CRE market has ever witnessed: the Traveling HFC, a Texas property-tax absolving vehicle that's been adopted en masse by distressed syndicators, agency lenders and a cottage industry of consultants, nonprofits and attorneys. The most punitive version of a bill designed to torpedo it flew through the Texas Se
NYC Developer Ponzinomics & Tides Equities' Judgment Day
This week, we break down the sensational allegations made by the feds against former New York golden boy developer Josh Schuster – and why they are emblematic of the market. We dive into a big judgment over Personal Guarantees brought against multifamily mad lads Sean Kia and Ryan Andrade of Tides Equities – the case has important implications for syndicators. And we have a reprieve of so
Jona Rechnitz's Uncut Gems & Skyscraper Structural Corruption
This week, we dive into the tangled web of Jona Rechnitz, a New York real estate developer who was caught up in a massive NYPD corruption scandal before heading to LA and reinventing himself as a diamond dealer and Floyd Mayweather whisperer. Rechnitz is the archetype of a netherworld character who somehow keeps popping up in real estate: the hustler with the incredible Rolodex and fuzzy
Inside the Lending Game with Ran Eliasaf & Adam Neumann's Divine Flow
This week, Northwind Group's Ran Eliasaf, one of the most active private lenders in New York real estate, gives us an inside look at the debt game – the returns, the structures and the nuances of funding some of the city's most high-profile projects. He walks us through the capital stack of the supertall condo tower at 125 Greenwich in particular, building on our discussion from last week
Inside a Supertall Capital Stack & Newbond's Hotel Flyer
This week, we chat about a fascinating hospitality deal, Newbond swooping in to buy almost 9% of San Francisco's hotel stock in one megadeal. It’s one of the city's biggest hospitality real estate plays in a decade. We look at the aftermath of Carl Icahn's failed big short on malls, and his vendetta against special servicer Rialto. We then dive into a supertall capital stack – 125 Greenwi
The Rise of Pref & Meridian Out of Agency Jail
This week, The Promote dives into the proliferation of preferred-equity deals in the CRE market – why are they suddenly everywhere, and what investors need to think about before doing them. We then dive into Meridian Capital Group being cleared for business by Fannie Mae, ending a year-plus period on the ice with the agency. Where does the brokerage go from here? And finally, we look at t
Tariff Terror, $11,000 psf condos & Starwood's land bets
This week, we discuss the fear & loathing set off in the CRE markets by the Trump tariffs, looking at the impact both on fund managers and on developers – construction costs are "completely a swag" as co-host Will puts it. We then look at Miki Naftali's megabet on a Fifth Avenue condo site where he believes he can set a new high-water mark – $11,000 per square foot – on pricing. We to
Gary Barnett: The Father of Billionaires' Row
In this special edition of the Promote Podcast, we dive into the singular career of Gary Barnett, the diamond trader who birthed Manhattan's Billionaires' Row and has consistently pulled off the most audacious high-wire acts in the real estate development game. We trace Barnett's origins, from his days as a diamond dealer in Belgium to his early days in New York real estate. We then dive
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