The Promote Podcast
Your Commercial Real Estate Insider guide. From profiles of the biggest dealmakers to skyline-shaping transactions, we bring you the deals, breakdowns and war stories that move the market — for insiders, by insiders. From bad-boy guarantees to CMBS tranche warfare to syndicator sins, we cover it all. Each week, The Promote Podcast explores three of the most interesting and consequential stories in CRE, taking you well beyond the headlines and into the heart of the action. Hosted by the award-winning “Bard of CRE,” Hiten Samtani, founder of ten31 media and author of The Promote newsletter, along with no-BS institutional insider Will Krasne...
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Fugazi First Positions & Cracking Billionaires' Row
<p>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 retail behemoth is on a mall shopping spree. And finally, there’s a LITERAL crackdown allegedly happening at one of the country’s most notable supertalls- Harry Macklowe and CIM Group's 432 Park Avenue. </p><p>To adverti...
The Skyscraper That Broke America
<p>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, overheated CMBS, hardball pref, media wars, White House wildcards, and so much more. We trace the history of the building from being Jared Kushner's splashy and later disastrous buy to the Brookfield bailout and ultimate redemption. Next, we look at a...
Fathers, Sons & Fast Fashion Tax Shields
<p>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 – even though his buys may not really be pegged on real-world investment metrics. And finally, we go a little bit tabloid to talk about the case of David Bren, the embattled son of real estate ty...
SF Apartment Therapy & the Short King of Data Centers
<p>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 stock of the carnage in San Francisco's multifamily market, where the biggest players are winning and losing thousands of units all at once – and leaving their lenders in the lurch. Finally, we explore why institutional investors are...
Brookfield's $10B YES! & RXR's OPM Masterclass
<p>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 office vehicle that is making splashy buys and generating even splashier fees in the process. We then visit the modest environs of Wilmington, DE, where Buccini Pollin is in the midst of an intriguing office-resi bet.</p><p>To ad...
Sobrato's Silicon Sizzle & Macklowe Unfurled
<p>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 explore who's stepping into the void. Finally, with his adventures on the high seas on pause, Harry Macklowe is back to adventuring on the Manhattan skyline: But who the hell wants to give the...
Ross takes his talents to [West Palm] Beach & Barnett Prefs Up
<p>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 away for the aspiring city shaper. We then look at Gary Barnett's latest financing coup: a $1.2B pref commitment for a range of development projects. And finally, we explore the legal challenge to the "nuclear" bill that ki...
Tupac vs Biggie, CRE Edition
<p>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 multiple bankruptcies. And in Beverly Hills, we look at the star-studded history of the One Beverly Hills site, and how a motley crew of billionaire Todd Boehly, "Russian James Bond" Vlad Doronin, and Beverly Hills wheeler-dealer Beny Alagem...
Mormon Money & Cardone Waterfalls
<p>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.</p><p>Want to reach our audience of top CRE decision-makers? Reach out to partnerships@thepromote.com</p><p>Further reading:</p><p>https://www.thepromote.com/p/through-the-cardone-looking-glass#inside-cardones-boca-bankruptcy-bet<br>https://lrlfinancial.substack...
Soho House Postgame And Billion-Dollar Capstacks
<p>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 Manhattan megadeals: RXR's purchase of 590 Madison Avenue and Miki Naftali's ultra-luxury condo play at 800 Fifth Avenue. Finally, we explore Yieldstreet's latest debacle and ask: Is real estate crowdfunding doomed by design? </p><p>Want to reach ou...
