The Promote Podcast

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 have to revi...

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 one of...

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 Stern is p...

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 create the...

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 for promi...

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 his former...

In this special episode , we dive deep into the story of JMB Realty Corporatio n, 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 Bed would...

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 fathers and...

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 old-schoo...

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 , where...

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 tale is a...

"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 rode t...

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 dealmaker...

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 Property Tr...

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 much abo...

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 has grand...

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 outsized role...

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 with the u...

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 data ce...

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 case...

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 and discu...

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 market and l...

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 Fifth Wa...

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 corner of...

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 CRE bankru...