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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The Mayweather Whisperer: Jona Rechnitz (Rerun)
<p>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 diamond dealer and 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 origin story, someone w...
Bluerock's Liquid Death, Soundstage Flops and OZK Walks the Plank
<p>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 – MAG is out, Hines is in, and Bank OZK is pissed. </p><p><br>To advertise: Reach out to partnerships@thepromote.com</p><p>For feedback: Write us at podcast@thepromote.com And please rate us and write...
Exotic Alts (w/ SomeraRoad's Ian Ross) & Taconic's Lab Leak
<p>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 Partners' failed grand experiment with life science real estate in NYC – $2B deployed, not much to show for it. </p><p><br></p><p>To advertise: Reach out to partnerships@thepromote.com</p><p>For feedback: Write us at podc...
Starchitects, Swedish Whales & an SF Hotel Heist
<p>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 & Conversant's heist of 3,000 rooms in one fell swoop – it's a great window of what it takes to get a distressed CMBS trade across the finish line.</p><p>To advertise: Reach out...
Mailbag: CRE Casting Couch, Return-Immune Investing & Best Dumb-Guy Sectors
<p>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.</p><p>To advertise: Reach out to partnerships@thepromote.com</p><p>For feedback: Write us at podcast@thepromote.com And please rate us and write a review on Apple.</p><p>Up your CRE game: Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to expert CRE content. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this l...
Sleepless in Seattle: The Martin Selig Story
<p>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 meteoric rise, his ability to survive through cycles that ended the careers of lesser men, and why this time may truly be the end. </p><p>...
Sonder's Mercy Killing and the Mooch's OZ Misadventure
<p>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 the Mooch’s White House tenure. Short and painful.</p><p>To advertise: Reach out to partnerships@thepromote.com</p><p>For feedback: Write us at podcast@thepromote.com - we're tak...
Reston Peace, Senioritis & A Capstack Crisis
<p>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, but has a quarter-billion dollar hole to fill. And finally, BXP (aka Boston Properties) is cashing in on legacy assets to fund its development pipeline. Supertalls ain’t cheap! </p><p>To advertise: Reach out to partne...
Blackstone Cubs, Secondaries Sizzle & Hines of Arabia
<p>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 projects, but to build out those lucrative skylines. And finally, buying leftovers has never been sexier - CRE secondaries are the hottest game in town. </p><p>To advertise: Reach out...
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...
