SF Commercial Property Conversations

In this episode of SF Commercial Property Conversations with Bruce Bean, Bruce sits down with Peter Belisle, founder of Belcon Advisors and former executive at JLL, to explore the complexities behind some of today’s most ambitious development projects. Peter shares his experience advising on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles—a 400,000-square-foot, architecturally stunning project se...

What does it really take to create places people love—and why is it so hard to build them today? In this episode, Ryan Lovett shares a fresh, multidisciplinary approach to solving some of the biggest challenges in real estate development, from housing shortages to community resistance. Ryan Lovett, founder and CEO of Lovett, brings together architecture, planning, and real estate strategy to tackl...

What if commercial real estate could be as easy to invest in as buying a stock? In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Mitchell Raimondo to explore how tokenization is transforming access, liquidity, and global participation in commercial real estate investing. Mitchell shares his journey from early Bitcoin adoption in 2012 to working at the intersection of blockchain and institutional real es...

What does it take to generate consistent 10–12% returns in today’s commercial real estate market? In this episode, Todd Stender shares how private credit and triple net development lending are creating unique opportunities for investors right now. Todd Stender brings a powerful mix of Wall Street experience and real-world investing insight. From his early career in sales at ADP and Coca-Cola to ea...

What does it really take to build thousands of homes in California—and navigate one of the most complex entitlement systems in the country? In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Nick Arenson to unpack the realities of large-scale homebuilding, from land acquisition to community pushback. Nick shares his journey from engineering major infrastructure projects to working with Walt Disney, and ul...

Ryan Brown’s journey into real estate didn’t start in finance—it started in medicine. From growing up in a small Northern California town to becoming a nurse anesthesiologist, Ryan built a strong W-2 career before discovering the power of real estate investing. In this episode, he shares how one well-timed triplex purchase changed everything—and how that led to building a 5,500-unit self-storage p...

Dave Lucas joins Bruce Bean for a practical guide to triple net real estate and 1031 exchange planning. In this episode, Dave explains what investors need to know before moving from a management-heavy property like apartments into a more passive triple net investment. He also shares the biggest mistakes buyers make when they wait too long, move too fast, or fail to review the lease carefully. Bruc...

Breck Bard joins Bruce Bean to discuss his unique path from architecture to commercial real estate ownership and asset management. Starting with a background in computer engineering and architecture, Breck explains how macroeconomic shocks like the Great Financial Crisis and COVID-19 shaped his career decisions and perspective. He shares how earning an MBA helped him transition from design into th...

What does it really take to design buildings that can withstand earthquakes, support growing cities, and adapt to new technologies like AI? In this episode, structural engineer Natalie Tse shares how engineering decisions shape the safety, sustainability, and future of our built environment. Natalie Tse, a structural engineer with over 20 years of experience in the Bay Area, joins Bruce Bean to di...

Bruce Bean sits down with longtime developer Greg Margetich to explore his decades-long career in commercial real estate and his latest project near the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). Greg walks through how he started in real estate in the late 1970s, transitioning from residential into commercial brokerage and eventually into large-scale development. Along the way, he worked on government-l...

In this conversation, Bruce Bean sits down with Howard Kline to explore his unique journey through commercial real estate law. Howard began his career as general counsel for a supermarket chain, where he gained hands-on experience in developing grocery-anchored shopping centers, leasing, and litigation. After experimenting with a career in real estate sales across multiple states, Howard realized...

In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with real estate attorney Connor McNellis to explore how complex real estate transactions and renewable energy deals are structured—and what’s changing in today’s market. From life sciences leases to solar portfolio financings, Connor shares insights from both Big Law and his boutique firm experience. Connor McNellis is a co-founder of Sunridge Legal, a San Di...

You can’t buy healthcare on the internet. And because doctors and patients always need a place to meet, medical real estate tends to stay strong even when other parts of the market get shaky. In this episode, Bruce Bean talks with Colin Hart of ERE Healthcare Real Estate about a part of commercial real estate that many people overlook: helping physicians understand the value of the buildings they...

Laura Kruger didn’t originally plan to work in real estate. She was on track for law school, studying political science at Pepperdine and working in Washington, DC at institutions like Georgetown Law. But a short break after college—and a little family property chaos—changed everything. In this episode, Laura shares how she returned home to help organize her family’s Bay Area real estate portfolio...

In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with entrepreneur and real estate connector Marie Antonette Waite to explore her remarkable journey from the Philippines to the United States and how she built a career centered around connecting people, businesses, and opportunities. Marie shares stories from her unique upbringing in the Philippines, where her grandfather helped introduce karate to the countr...

What does today’s commercial real estate financing market really look like — and how should investors prepare for the $865 billion maturity wave ahead? In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Niko Tsiplakos, Commercial Mortgage Banker at Slatt Capital, to unpack what’s happening in middle-market CRE financing across the Bay Area and California. Niko shares how he transitioned from traditional b...

Is retail really dying — or is it just evolving? In this episode, Bruce Bean welcomes back Ravi Jagtiani to talk about why service-based retail continues to thrive, how syndication fits into today’s market, and why small businesses are seeing a surge in demand. Ravi shares how his firm focuses on retail shopping centers and single-tenant properties that are resistant to e-commerce disruption. Inst...

What happens when public infrastructure meets private property? In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Lara Boyko to unpack the world of easements, right-of-way work, and the human side of infrastructure real estate. If you’ve ever wondered how roads widen, pipelines get built, or utilities cross private land, this conversation pulls back the curtain. Lara shares how she transitioned from trad...

In this episode of SF Commercial Property Conversations with Bruce Bean, Bruce sits down with Christy Schnurle to talk about two powerful sides of commercial real estate: reducing construction costs without sacrificing quality, and investing through a fund-to-fund strategy. Christy shares her journey from USC’s Marshall School of Business into multifamily development consulting and eventually laun...

In this episode of SF Commercial Property Conversations with Bruce Bean, we sit down with Mark Goldfinger, General Manager of Mindspace North America, to explore how the boutique flexible workspace provider is shaking up the global real estate landscape. From his early days at WeWork to leading the U.S. operations at Mindspace, Mark shares an insider’s look at what sets Mindspace apart in a crowde...

How has warehouse construction changed since COVID? What does it really cost to build a tilt-up industrial building today? And how do owners protect themselves from costly change orders? In this episode of SF Commercial Property Conversations, Bruce Bean sits down with construction management professional Nick Hughan to unpack the realities of industrial development in Southern California. From gr...

What does it look like when a real estate developer thinks like a builder, an engineer, and an investor all at once? In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Tyson Dirksen to explore how science, sustainability, and smart underwriting come together in modern development. Tyson shares how he got his start in real estate at just 15 years old—painting units, managing apartments, and sitting in on n...

What happens when a U.S. Air Force Special Operations officer trades deployments for Delaware Statutory Trusts? In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Steve Haskell, founder of Anchor 1031, to discuss his journey from military service to raising over a billion dollars in capital for passive real estate investments. After seven years on active duty and time spent deploying around the world, Ste...

Artificial Intelligence is changing everything — and commercial real estate is no exception. In this episode, Bruce Bean sits down with Matt Hagar, founder of AiCRE Partners, to talk about how AI is transforming brokerage, investing, and the future of commercial real estate. Matt shares his journey from growing up in Brentwood to leading the commercial division at Intero for 10 years, and now laun...

What if a personal crisis led you to discover the true power of real estate investing? In this episode of SF Commercial Property Conversations with Bruce Bean, Bruce sits down with Kathy Fettke, founder of RealWealth, to talk about how she turned a life-altering moment into a mission to help others build passive income through smart real estate investing. Kathy shares how her husband’s melanoma di...