The Promote Podcast

This week, we break down an ingenious scheme that has wreaked havoc on several regional banks. Lad of Lakewood Shaya Prager became one of the biggest buyers of suburban office in the pandemic era – everyone wondered how his Opal Holdings could make the numbers pencil – perhaps his lenders should have wondered harder, too. Next, we look at how Apollo is looking to become the Everything Store of CRE finance: Two fresh deals – with UDR and with Mubadala Capital – showcase the breadth of its ambition.

Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: 350 Park's construction loan; Webstar's fugazi project; Hines sells to Hines DST; Lower Manhattan's heimish transformation; NYC's nonprofit dibs ruling.

Sponsors:
1) Harvard AMDP, the premier advanced leadership program for mid-senior CRE pros. Applications for the Summer 2027 term are now open.
2) LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software, now supercharged by AI.
3) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Sign up for their upcoming HUD market-rate webinar here.
4) H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack. Hit them up for bridge loans of up to $50M, or if you need a co-GP partner for that last 10-20% of equity.

NYC Live POD: Nov. 5, 2026 - by invitation only. Inquire about sponsorships here.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening
Sleepless in Seattle: The Martin Selig Story
Capstack for Citadel’s NYC Tower Takes Shape
Atlanta’s Phantom Megaproject
Lower Manhattan’s Heimish Era
Nonprofits to get first dibs on buying distressed multifamily housing

Prager Pain Hits More Banks
Lads of Lakewood
Apollo To Buy Majority Stake In $2B UDR Portfolio   
Apollo Sinks Tentacles Deeper Into CRE Credit 

This week, we dive into why the smartest guys in the room keep bellyflopping when it comes to CRE. Two Sigma’s recent retreat is part of a long line of edgy hedgies who’ve been humbled at the brick-and-mortar altar. We then head to the scene of a fast-moving car crash in the world’s hottest asset class: Yields on CoreWeave's junk bonds surged to an alarm-ringing 15% this week, and institutional players from across the CRE universe who've gone all-in on data centers are watching closely. Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: Cain's "Founder Bonds" at One Beverly Hills; EQT-Stockbridge; Pontegadea's Chicago blockbuster deal; and S2 and Rise48's refis and loan mods.

Sponsors:
1) Pensford, the only interest-rate advisory focused exclusively on CRE
2) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender.
3) H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack. Hit them up for bridge loans of up to $50M, or if you need a co-GP partner for that last 10-20% of equity.

Partner Content:
"Inside the Capstack" with Gibson Dunn's Kahlil Yearwood. Yearwood talks about harnessing AI's potential in loan negotiations.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening
Cain to One Beverly Hills Buyers: Bankroll Our Build
More AUM Gobbling ™ : EQT Takes Stockbridge
Everett Stays in the Game…And Rise48 Does Too
Meet the CRE Guy For the World’s Hungriest Investor

Two Sigma Halts Real Estate Unit Fundraising and Cuts Staff
Pencils Down at King St.
Men With Deep Pockets
The Sovereign, the Scion, and the Suit

CoreWeave Woes Risk Shutting Down AI Junk Market
CoreWeave’s Big Dream Crashes Into Reality as Yields Top 15%

CoreWeave targets ‘unlimited’ insurance money to fund AI build-out

This week, we get into the potential homecoming of a big agency lender: Lument is on the block, and sources point to a round-trip to its original home, the billionaire Hunt family out of Texas. We then head further west to the golden state, where the welfare exemption, a spiritual cousin of the Traveling HFC has created a lucrative loophole for “affordable housing” players. It's a fabulous case study in gaming the system. Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: GO REIT hiccups; Tishman Speyer at the Chrysler; DST fundraising up; David Martin; BDT & MSD x Sunrise sr. living. 

Sponsors:
1) Harvard AMDP, the premier advanced leadership program for mid-senior CRE pros. Applications for the Summer 2027 term are now open.
2) LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software, now supercharged by AI.
3) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Sign up for their upcoming HUD market-rate webinar here.

NYC Live POD: Nov. 5, 2026 - by invitation only. Inquire about sponsorships here.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening

Is Lument Coming Home?
DUS License Frenzy: Fannie Wants to Wet its Beak
Anatomy of a Deal: BSP-NewPoint

How real estate investors are profiting off a California tax break for affordable housing
The Traveling HFC Hangover
The Mother of all Tax Loopholes

The Promote Insider: Speyers Run it Back
Terra-Led JV Lands $507M Construction Loan for South Beach Condo Before Pre-Sales 

This week, we need to dive into the real estate deal of the year – arguably, of any year: Ken Griffin is bringing Carnegie Mellon to Miami, a transformative gift for the 305 in so many ways. We focus primarily on 2 guys – Paul Darrah, who's responsible for making it happen for Griffin, and Moishe Mana, the idiosyncratic mogul who’s just pulled off the most spectacular assemblage exit in the history of that town. Next, we travel to another port city: Bain Capital is in talks to do a rescue recap of a Hong Kong development dynasty, New World. And finally, we consult the French dictionary as Force Majeure surfaces its ugly head in the capital-intensive world of data centers- Oracle is telling Blue Owl it doesn’t really feel like making rent. Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: Interest rate volatility; Hines co-CEOs; Manhattan record office rent; GGP refi; the AI buildout equation. 

Sponsors:
1) H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack.
2) Pensford, the only interest-rate advisory focused exclusively on CRE
3) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Sign up for their upcoming HUD market-rate webinar here.

NYC Live POD: Nov. 5, 2026 - by invitation only. Inquire about sponsorships here.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

This week, it’s time to address the unrealized elephant in the room that is the biggest pain point in institutional CRE: Carry, or more precisely the lack of it. Thousands of the smartest guys and girls in the business have spent the last few years preparing for an outcome that never came. Grappling with that reality is shaping everything from talent moves to firm restructurings. Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: Floyd Mayweather v Jona Rechnitz; Barry Diller-MGM; Gary Barnett's $3.8B financing; LA office market; RIP Nanobanc.

Sponsors:
1) LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software, now supercharged by AI.
2) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Join our upcoming HUD webinar on Oct. 14 here
3) H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack. Hit them up for bridge loans of up to $50M, or if you need a co-GP partner for that last 10-20% of equity.

Partner Content:
"Inside the Capstack" with Gibson Dunn's Jennifer Yashar. Yashar talks through structuring leases on ground-up towers from a tenant's perspective.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening
Confessions of a Battle-Scarred GP
Paycheck Confidential: A GP Reveals Real Coin
Key Blackstone Cub Leaving Lair
Private Equity’s Path to Riches Is Getting Harder to Follow

In this bonus episode, we sit down with Presidio Bay’s Cyrus Sanandaji. Cyrus is at the vanguard of the comeback in America’s most important boom-and-bust town – San Francisco. His firm made prescient bets on SF’s recovery as the city began to emerge from the black hole of Covid, while also expanding a national development portfolio that today spans close to 6M square feet and is valued by the firm at $5.4B. We talk through doom loops and boom loops, capstack-sniping and how you cater to an AI industry defined by hypergrowth and extreme volatility.

Sponsors:
1) This episode is supported by Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. See how their precision underwriting means quicker approvals and higher proceeds for sponsors.
2) This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software. Featuring one-click covenant testing, instant cash flow forecasting, and our favorite nerdy delight: Live forward curves!
3) H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack. Hit them up for bridge loans of up to $50M, or if you need a co-GP partner for that last 10-20% of equity.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further reading
Inside CXP's Bruising Restructuring
The shadow landlords secretly controlling SF’s distressed office towers
Inside the Hotel Heist of the Year

This week, we take stock of the tale of Lurin Capital, a multifamily syndicator that's now in the FBI's crosshairs. Jon Venetos was cut from very different cloth than the rest of the Sunbelt Dreamers, and his rise and fall are arguably even more cinematic. Next, it's a classic Manhattan tale of capstack sniping. With 245 Park ready to be graced by a $2 billion Refi, we look back at SL Green's Tranche Warfare with HNA at the Skyscraper, and what is already likely a monster payoff.

Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest CRE happenings:  Benefit Street Partners Leadership Shakeup, 485x's perverse incentives, Pontegadea's latest acquisition, Jeff Greene-Fort Partners, CBRE-Tenet deal

Sponsors:
1) Pensford, the only interest-rate advisory focused exclusively on CRE
2) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Check out their new SNF market ranking here.
3) H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack. Hit them up for bridge loans of up to $50M, or if you need a co-GP partner for that last 10-20% of equity.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening
Inside the SL Green Playbook
Not Easy Being [SL] Green
China’s HNA Found to Owe $185 Million Over Bankrupt Manhattan Skyscraper

A hedge funder’s syndication mess

This week, we visit CRE’s alpha lair, Blackstone HQ, where one of the industry’s top execs, global head of real estate Nadeem Meghji, is set to exit. His perch was among the best risk-adjusted seats in all business, but what does someone in that position do for their next act? And why is there so much churn atop the pyramid at BX? Next, we take stock of the most scrutinized real estate project in modern American history, the World Trade Center complex. Twenty-five years after 9/11, Larry Silverstein's final tower is set to rise, and the neighborhood it will serve is dramatically different from the one that existed at the time of the attack. Plus, our Punch List rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: Barnett's $1.3B Torch financing; Steve Ross strikes big in Boca; MF1 sale; Centerspace merger; Kroenke's Angels play.

Sponsors:
1) This episode is supported by Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Check out their new SNF market ranking here.
2) This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software. Featuring one-click covenant testing, instant cash flow forecasting, and our favorite nerdy delight: Live forward curves!
3) This episode is supported by H Equities, your mid-market go-to on both sides of the capstack. Hit them up for bridge loans of up to $50M, or if you need a co-GP partner for that last 10-20% of equity.

Partner Content:
"Inside the Capstack" with Gibson Dunn's Harry Silvera. Silvera talks through structuring the modern-day capital stack for a trophy office project.

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening
Power at Ground Zero: Politics, Money, and the Remaking of Lower Manhattan
Larry’s White Whale: More Deets on 2 WTC Deal
Lower Manhattan, 25 Years After 9/11
One Attack or Two? Jury to Get Trade Center Insurance Claim

Key Blackstone Cub Leaving Lair
UC Regents' Trophy Deal Tarnished
At Blackstone’s $339 Billion Property Arm, the Honeymoon Is Over

Stan Kroenke’s Angels Purchase Puts Angel Stadium Redevelopment Back in Play

This week, we dive into 2 operatic stories of ruin on different continents. We begin with the tale of Hui Ka Yan, a Chinese property tycoon who went from being a steelworker to one of the world’s richest men, before his firm Evergrande collapsed and sank the country’s real estate market with it. Hui has just been sentenced to life in prison. Then, we beam into a New York law firm boardroom, where one of CRE’s preeminent girthy lads, Meyer Chetrit, has given an extraordinary deposition as creditors pursue the Chetrit Group over hundreds of millions of dollars in personal guarantees. And finally, Blackstone’s finding the secular tailwinds in the marina business are strong enough to set sail.

Sponsors:
1) This episode is supported by Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. Check out their new SNF market ranking here.
2) This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software. Featuring one-click covenant testing, instant cash flow forecasting, and our favorite nerdy delight: Live forward curves!

Partner Content:
"Inside the Capstack" with Gibson Dunn's Eric Meer. Meer breaks down an emerging trend of GPs setting captive title insurance joint ventures. 

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Pod's on vacay: We're taking a fortnight off. Our next episode will drop 9/16. Arrivederci!

Further Reading/Listening

Heat on Chetrit
The Big Bank Battle of Chetritstan
Chetrits - Checkmated or playing possum?
The man from Morocco

Evergrande delisting marks end of era for China’s property sector
Chinese authorities accuse Evergrande of inflating revenues by $80bn
Limit-Up Hotel Kamikazes

MarineMax to Be Taken Private by Blackstone-Owned Safe Harbor for $1.5 Billion
Exotic Alts

This week, we put on our toques and head to the TSX, where Meyer Orbach and Josh Gotlib are on a fascinating multifamily caper with their REIT GO Residential. We then take a back door into a special-servicer war, with Greystone accusing rival CWCapital of stealing its trade secrets to poach its business and talent. Finally, we head to a palatial, soon-to-be-empty office at 125 Park, where we take stock of the legacy of longtime Newmark CEO Barry Gosin – and what exactly a new leader will be coming into. Plus, our Punch List rundown of key industry happenings: BREIT's exit from self-storage, 800 Fifth Ave's financing hunt, Ishbia's UWM mess, Canary Wharf

Sponsors:
1) This episode is supported by Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. See how their precision underwriting means quicker approvals and higher proceeds for sponsors.
2) This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software. Featuring one-click covenant testing, instant cash flow forecasting, and our favorite nerdy delight: Live forward curves!

Up your CRE game:  Consider becoming a premium subscriber to The Promote to unlock access to deep dives, bonus content and expert perspectives. Take 10% off annual subscriptions by using this link:

For feedback: Write us at [email protected] And please rate us and write a review on Apple 🙏
For brand partnerships: Reach out to [email protected]

Further Reading/Listening
GO’s Multifamily AUM Gobbling ™
Loonie Tunes: Orbach, Gotlib Head to TSX
A Special Servicer Skirmish
Newmark’s Data Center Talent Shuffle
Ain’t No Party Like a Lutnick Party
Top Brokers Leave Newmark After Suing Firm, Boss
Howard Lutnick talks bank failures, Newmark’s competitors and more