CPE Podcasts

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 talking about mass timber construction with Varun Kohli, director of sustainability for Corgan, a global architecture and design firm with 19 offices.

In a recent study, sustainability and research teams at Corgan joined together to get a better understanding of the lifecycle of mass timber—from forest to installation and beyond—and the variables that impact its use. The goal was to help architects and developers account for all the embodied carbon associated with this increasingly popular building material.

The results of their study are helping dispel some of the myths about mass timber, and a mass timber carbon calculator now sits on the company's website.

" That's really where we want to make an impact," Kohli said. "You can't simply say, 'we want to use mass timber.'  Let's get into the specifics of where it's coming from, how it's being managed and see how that impacts your overall carbon emissions."

Here’s a sample of the topics we discussed:

• The allure of mass timber (2:22)
• Misconceptions about mass timber (3:51)
• Corgan's mass timber research project (5:51)
• Managing what's left behind in the forest (6:03)
• The transportation piece (9:25)
• The Corgan mass timber calculator (13:21)
• The embodied carbon debate (15:54)
• Blending research and sustainability (21:34)

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When going through a merger, acquisition or carve-out, you need to act with extreme care to ensure a smooth transition for everyone involved. To avoid pitfalls and subsequent issues, real estate strategy is one aspect that requires special attention.

“CRE leaders need to be involved in those key upfront stages so they know where the business plans to grow and contract in the two to three years post-merger, so that they can configure de footprint and the real estate operating model to meet the business where the business is at the right time,” said Rob Raymond, managing director in FTI Consulting’s Real Estate Solutions Group, in the second FTI Experts’ Hub podcast this year.

Listen to the entire conversation to find out all about the critical questions you should be asking in order to understand the impact of the M&A or carve-out on your real estate portfolio and operating model!

Press play for a conversation on CREW Network Foundation's mission and programs! Chair Gayle Bourdeau talks to CPE's Laura Calugar about all the way the foundation is making a difference.

Bourdeau first learned about CREW Network in 1998 while she was a summer associate in the business department of a title insurance company. She joined CREW Boston in 2003 and since then has held multiple positions within the organization. Today, she is the chair of CREW Network Foundation, dedicating all her resources to accelerating success for women and bringing more young girls into commercial real estate.

Five years after the passage of Local Law 97, impacted property owners are facing their first reporting deadline under the groundbreaking carbon emissions reduction legislation.

But it's the deadlines to come that will really challenge owners and the city at large. By 2050, all buildings are expected to get to zero.

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. 

My guest for this episode is Amanda Clevinger, policy and programs director for Bright Power. She and I discuss how owners are coping with the new building performance standard, how the city plans to fund its massive decarbonization project and and how owners not currently affected by emissions caps can prepare for what is likely to come in the future.

 "I think we need to get through the first year of emissions reporting, and then we're gonna see more of that focus of pushing buildings to take firmer actions to upgrade their buildings and Beneficial Electrification credits will be part of that discussion because it does provide a pretty lucrative reward for electrifying early," Clevinger told me.

Here's a sample of the topics we discussed:

An "aggressive" legislation (5:34)
The road to electrification (8:41)
Compliance challenges (12:10)
How can older properties and co-ops comply? (16:34)
Funding the work (21:26)
Local law 97 and the split incentive (26:00)
Energy effiiciency and AI (29:35)
Building performance standards are spreading (31:03)

Taking stock of the real estate capital markets is a tall order right now. At this volatile moment, it’s invaluable to hear insights from an executive who’s been there and done that through multiple market cycles.

Welcome back to Investment Matters. Our guest is Toby Cobb, a 30-year industry veteran and the co-founder of 3650 Capital, a diversified lender and loan servicer.

Previously, as co-CEO of LNR Property, he built the company's loan origination platform and led its restructuring and sale. At Deutsche Bank, he served as managing director & co-head of U.S. commercial real estate.

In part 1 of this special two-part episode, you’ll hear Cobb’s frank insights on what it takes to get projects financed today, the prospects for interest rates and the telling tale of three neighboring office buildings in Midtown Manhattan. Take a listen.

Episode highlights:

• Taking the pulse of the credit and equity markets and policy changes in a volatile time (1:12)

• Why higher-for-longer looks more likely (5:21)  
• The Fed’s impact on market cycles (8:25)

• Snapshot of bank lending—the top 50 and beyond(10:15)     

• How extend-and-pretend is undermining assetvalue (13:08)      

• What’s getting construction financing today (15:30)   
• A tale of three Manhattan assets (19:25 )

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 to adapt.

While uncertainty remains a concern, there’s space for optimism in the sector. The rise of flex office spaces, as well as creative offices and the flight of tenants toward higher quality, amenitized spaces, keeps the metro in flux. In this episode of Step Into My Office, I delved into the market dynamics with John Anthony, SIOR, Executive Vice President and Managing Director at Kidder Mathews. Anthony highlighted some of the shifts reshaping demand and examined the current occupancy patterns and the evolving tenant roster.

Anthony believes that Los Angeles is “going through an evolution, a recalibration”, as landlords adapt to hybrid work patterns and ongoing market volatility. He pointed out two key trends shaping the metro’s dynamics: the flight to quality, as tenants seize to upgrade their spaces without long-term commitments and “somewhat of a flight to the suburbs”, since flexible campus-style environments are becoming more attractive than traditional office space, such as downtown towers.

Here's what we touched on:

• LA’s current office landscape (01:31)
• The main trends influencing demand (03:29)
• Finding opportunities in Los Angeles (04:53)
• What role does the government play? (06:29)
• The pause in office development (08:23)
• How are investors recalibrating their strategies? (10:12)
• What’s fueling flex office space growth? (17:19)
• What’s up with conversions? (20:23)
• What’s next? (23:40)

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 future. And, while there are state incentives for cleaning up contaminated sites, he said the best driver for remediation is the market.

That's why brownfields are having their moment. As thedemand for industrial real estate has boomed in recent years, more developers have turned to brownfields to unlock development sites.

 "While the Brownfields program in New Jersey has beenaround for a long time, a lot of uptick in the remediation activity only really occurred when the value of the underlying real estate justified it," Greek said.

Here are some of the topics we covered:

• Third-generation developer (1:18)
• Remediation as a necessity in New Jersey (6:54)   
• What's driving brownfield demand nationally (10:49)

• The national picture (13:03) 
• Case in point: Linden Logistics Center (14:16)
• Incentives vs. market forces (20:16)
• The New Jersey model for remediation (23:16)
• Managing brownfield risk (29:06)
• Brownfields and the Trump-era EPA (33:00)
• How to learn more about brownfields (36:09)

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 are improving to some degree, though the pace has slowed down. Tariffs are clearly dominating the business news, and the related uncertainty has been reflected in a sharp pullback across the financial markets, although these have settled down a little bit following the 90-day pause that was announced.

CPE's Laura Calugar and RICS Senior Economist Tarrant Parsons discuss the latest data on CRE sentiment in this podcast episode.

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. We discuss geothermal's advantages over other renewables and how forces, including the backing of President Trump, are aligning to increase geothermal investment and exploration.

" Geothermal energy is accessible, it's widespread and has always been there," Gagiuc said. "Somehow it feels like it's the energy industry's massive overlook."

Here are some highlights of our conversation:

• President Trump's favorite renewable (1:31)
• Accessing geothermal (5:08)
• What's driving geothermal in CRE (8:52) 
• Geothermal for data centers? (12;57)
• Geothermal in urban environments (15:18)
• Action plan for geothermal

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 discussing women's advancement in the real estate space, MacMillan referred to how the recent disturbance to DEI programs is impacting companies.

MacMillan is vice president of asset management at Grosvenor and a member of CREW Vancouver, Canada.