CPE Podcasts

The last quarter of 2024 was a busy time for Los Angeles and pushed the metro to rank third nationally in terms of investment. Despite a slight slowdown compared to previous years, the metro kept a stabilized vacancy rate, below the national average. As economic uncertainty continues to influence the office sector, no market remains immune to the current shifting dynamics and investors are trying...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on theintersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. For this episode, I'm talking about brownfield remediation with David Greek, managing partner of Greek Real Estate Partners. Based in New Jersey, the nation's densest state, Greek iswell-versed in turning remnants of the past into real estate opportunities for the futur...

Commercial real estate investment inquiries have improved to their strongest level since early 2022 in the first quarter of the year, despite growing concerns about the impact of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, according to the latest Global Commercial Property Monitor released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London. The same survey found that credit conditions...

Happy Earth Day and welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. For this episode, I'm taking listeners beneath the earth's surface to reveal the potential for geothermal energy in commercial real estate. Joining me for this episode is CPE Senior Associate Editor Anca Gagiuc, our lead climate and energy reporter...

For the first episode of the CREW Up podcast series in 2025, CPE Senior Editor Laura Calugar spoke with CREW Network’s Cindy MacMillan. As president of the organization, she has clear goals for the year: help the soon-to-be-elected new CEO to settle in, further expand the organization worldwide, and also oversee CREW's benchmark study on women’s progress in commercial real estate. While discus...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. For this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing Juliette Apicella, director of sustainability at Gables Residential, a privately held owner and manager of multifamily and mixed-use properties. I don't cover many multifamily topics on the podcast, but when I heard that Ga...

Almost three quarters of fully remote or hybrid U.S. workers would seek alternative employment if required to return to office full time at their current pay, the latest survey from FTI Consulting found. At the same time, the majority of employees are excited or OK to be back in the office for some portion of the week. A large part of the workforce understands the benefits of being together in per...

Once considered one of the most stable markets due to its reliance on government agencies, Washington, D.C.'s office market is now facing a period of volatility, with rising vacancy rates and a low development pipeline . As investors wait on the sidelines or turn to more flexible solutions, the overall sentiment is to “wait and see,” as the market is navigating this period of redefining itself...

Back in 2007, Peter Ciganik joined GTIS Partners, which was then a two-year-old real estate investment management firm. Fast forward to 2025. GTIS is marking its 20th anniversary, it now manages $4.7 billion in assets and Ciganik himself is the company’s head of capital markets, handling a wide range of responsibilities. In this episode, you’ll get an insider’s view of the factors shaping the real...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. Last month, I chatted with Elizabeth Beardsley, senior policy counsel for the U.S. Green Building Council, about the state of climate action in the U.S. and globally. Despite concerns that our new president would be less eco-friendly than President Biden, Beardsley said there...

Sometimes the most accomplished investors and developers thrive while keeping a relatively low public profile. That’s clearly true of The Fallon Company. For nearly 20 years, the Boston-based firm has been the driving force behind Fan Pier, the three million-square-foot development on Boston Harbor that ranks among the most significant urban placemaking initiatives of the past couple of decades. H...

Globally, sentiment toward real estate in 2024 was a bit of a mixed bag. The first three quarters saw steady improvement, but then sentiment softened in the last three months of the year, mainly due to the rise in bond yields.   “But even so, it is worth noting that investor inquiries did rise slightly in several markets, which could be taken as a more positive sign,” said Senior Economist Tarrant...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. Happy New Year! On the verge of a new year and a new Federal administration, I interviewed Elizabeth Beardsley, senior policy counsel, for the U.S. Green Building Council, about the state of climate action in the United States and globally. Beardsley had just returned from COP...

Over the past couple of years, landlords and companies have been reevaluating their office space needs. Many  have resized their portfolios  and adapted to the need for more flexibility in office settings. Although return-to-office strategies are widely reinforced, there’s still a  gap between actual attendance  and these policies. While some regions and industries register higher office return ra...

The Super Bowl of Tax or Taxmageddon—just a couple of the labels that experts have put on 2025 when referring to imminent tax policy changes. With a new administration in the White House, commercial real estate owners, developers and asset managers need to be ready for what’s next. Leland Collins, senior director in FTI Consulting’s Real Estate Tax Advisory Group, and Asha Shettigar, managing dire...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. Therese Fitzgerald's guest for this episode is Ethan Elser, executive vice president of PACE Equity LLC.  The Commercial Property Assessed Energy Program, otherwise known as C-PACE, was launched 15 years ago to provide property owners with low-cost, long-term financing for sus...

Most commercial real estate companies are currently getting positioned to take a greater leap into generative artificial intelligence. CREW Network CEO Wendy Mann expects to see more extensions into AI over the next 24 months. A recent study conducted by the organization showed that as of right now there’s still a very low level of actual usage of AI in day-to-day business. Additionally, as Mann p...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. For this episode, my guests—Sairah Burki, managing director & head of Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability at the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, and David McCarthy, CREFC managing director & head of Legislative Affairs—delve into the legislative logjam arou...

The global real estate market is in the early stages of recovery, according to the latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London. In fact, the indicators tracking lending conditions posted the most positive reading since 2015, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t any elements that could derail global business activity. “We need to avoid seeing a re-escalation in inflationar...

Change is in the air this fall for commercial real estate investment. The Fed’s announcement of a 50-basis-point interest rate cut in late September, and the expectation that more cuts are ahead, signals a reopening of the spigot for real estate finance. But there’s plenty more in the mix these days. In this conversation, CPE Executive Editor Therese Fitzgerald gives us a snapshot of what’s around...

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. For this episode, I'm tackling carbon credits with my guest Mahesh Ramanujam, CEO of Global Network for Zero and formerly the president & CEO of USGBC. For Ramanujam, carbon credits are a necessary bridge to achieving net zero in commercial real estate and the world. N...

With property valuations at historic lows, buying office or retail space instead of leasing it might make a lot of sense today. But there are lots of caveats to it. Shifting from owner to occupier has many implications and requires a different skillset than managing a portfolio of leased real estate. However, a long-term commitment to a specific location—probably a company headquarter or a flagshi...

As the president of Colliers International’s Real Estate Management Services division, Karen Whitt leads a team of almost 2,000 people. Recently, she noticed that talent availability is loosening up at both the executive and the entry level, but finding qualified, experienced candidates is still a challenge. So retaining current employees is critical, and creative, empathetic leaders that understa...

The demand for traditional office environments is shifting, leading to significant impacts on vacancy rates, lease structures and development activity. As companies are looking for ways to right-size their portfolios and office spaces, the market's current outlook is showing some improvement. Office attendance is now closer to ⁠pre-pandemic levels⁠ , and some companies have found the right for...

Commercial real estate is often a family business, and some family-run firms have uncommon origin stories. Take BEB Capital. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, a suburb on Long Island, the company reflects the entrepreneurial energy of the Brodsky family, led by its patriarch, Bert Brodsky. Decades of success in the health care and technology industries evolved into a lateral move into co...