The Promote Podcast

This week, we break down two asset classes on extreme ends of the fortune spectrum: The first, NYC rent-stabilized multifamily, which is facing a tidal wave of distress, with name-brand sponsors battling with lenders and very few investors willing to take the plunge. The second, massive data centers, which global investors cannot seem to stop throwing money at. We dive deep into both the carnage and opportunity in both sectors, as well as look at the players at the center of both. We tackle Pinnacle Group placing 5,000 units into bankruptcy protection in New York and Peter Hungerford's contrarian megabet on the rent-stabilized space. We then break down Blue Owl's OpenAI-anchored hyperscaler data center in Abilene, Texas, which was just funded to the tune of $11.6 billion.

Favors:
1) Leave us a review: On Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods
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3) Tell your CRE junkie friends about us

Further reading:

Inside New York’s Rent-Stabilized Mess: https://www.thepromote.com/p/nyc-rentopoly-a-dealmacher-s-grand-larceny-charge#inside-new-yorks-rent-stabilized-me

Inside The Finances Of 4,300 Rent-Stabilized NYC Apartments: https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/affordable-housing/the-crisis-has-already-started-inside-the-finances-of-4300-rent-stabilized-nyc-apartments-129459 

NYCB Comes for Wiener: https://www.thepromote.com/p/oh-miki-you-re-so-fine-wiener-s-empire-on-the-brink#nycb-comes-for-wiener

Dons of Data Centers: https://www.thepromote.com/p/dons-of-data-centers

OpenAI’s Biggest Data Center Secures $11.6 Billion in Funding: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-data-center-funding-microsoft-75e879b6 

This week, we dive deep into one of the most extraordinary tax loopholes that the CRE market has ever witnessed: the Traveling HFC, a Texas property-tax absolving vehicle that's been adopted en masse by distressed syndicators, agency lenders and a cottage industry of consultants, nonprofits and attorneys. The most punitive version of a bill designed to torpedo it flew through the Texas Senate, and now the industry is grappling with a very rude and abrupt end to a too-good-to-be-true party. We're joined by Texas' own Barrett Linburg to discuss the HFC saga, the gold rush it set off and what the fallout could mean for the long-term health of affordable housing in the state. Hiten and Will then discuss the Zeckendorf Brothers' latest big swing: an ultra-luxury condo at 80 Clarkson Street that has reportedly scored a half-billion dollars in sales without any fanfare – we unpack the players and lenders behind this quiet giant. 

For advertising inquiries, contact us at [email protected]
More information about our guest Barrett Linburg at Savoy Equity Partners https://savoyequity.com/ and on Twitter https://x.com/DallasAptGP
Find Hiten @hitsamty on Twitter  

Relevant reads:

1) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: https://www.thepromote.com/p/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-schwartz-s-puretz-playbook#steamrolled-syndicator-lifeline-on-
2) Inside Syndicators' Favorite Housing Loophole: https://www.thepromote.com/p/inside-syndicators-favorite-housing-loophole-mayweather-s-ko-deal
3) Inside Texas' Vanishing Property Tax Rolls: https://www.thepromote.com/p/inside-texas-vanishing-property-tax-rolls-dimon-s-byte-sized-delights#inside-texas-vanishing-property-tax
4) Texas landlords scramble for property tax breaks worth millions as loophole closes: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/texas-developers-property-tax-loophole-closing-20066584.php
5) Quiet Kings of Capital: https://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-the-quiet-kings-of-capital
6) House of Outrageous Fortune: Fifteen Central Park West, the World's Most Powerful Address: https://www.amazon.com/House-Outrageous-Fortune-Fifteen-Powerful/dp/1451666195

This week, we break down the sensational allegations made by the feds against former New York golden boy developer Josh Schuster – and why they are emblematic of the market. We dive into a big judgment over Personal Guarantees brought against multifamily mad lads Sean Kia and Ryan Andrade of Tides Equities – the case has important implications for syndicators. And we have a reprieve of sort on the tariffs- will it be enough to restore normalcy to the CRE markets? 

Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by AirGarage, the modern parking solution for real estate owners. Go to airgarage.com/promote to learn more. 

Relevant reads:
 1) USA v Schuster: https://www.thepromote.com/p/usa-v-schuster-a-skyscraper-installment-payment-plan#usa-vs-schuster
2) A Grandson Wants to Do His Grandfather Proud https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-grandson-wants-to-do-his-grandfather-proud-1474248482?utm_source=www.thepromote.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=usa-v-schuster-a-skyscraper-installment-payment-plan
3) Is developer Josh Schuster’s fast rise spiraling out of control? https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2021/07/16/is-developer-josh-schusters-fast-rise-spiraling-out-of-control/ 
4) Gotta pay the piper: https://www.thepromote.com/p/tides-lads-judgment-day-caisse-bails-on-sf-multi#gotta-pay-the-piper
5) Founder Mode: Starwood Comes at Tides’ Principals https://www.thepromote.com/p/tides-principal-punishment-greystar-s-modular-bets#founder-mode-starwood-comes-at-tide

This week, we dive into the tangled web of Jona Rechnitz, 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 Floyd 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 who manages to whip up controversy whereever he goes but keeps escaping any real consequences. We also take a close look at a lawsuit that has cast a pall over Billionaires' Row, alleging that the developers of 432 Park Avenue ignored warnings of serious structural issues – and what this action says about this new and still relatively untested asset class. A big thank you to our sponsor for this episode, AirGarage – find out more about their full-service parking management solution at Airgarage.com/Promote

Further reading: 

Jona Rechnitz Atavist profile: https://magazine.atavist.com/all-that-glitters-jona-rechnitz-lawsuit-jadelle-jewelry-coba-ethereummax-mayweather/ and The Promote's CRE-focused summary: https://www.thepromote.com/p/rechnitz-s-righteous-gemstones-rfr-s-one-click-salvation#rechnitzs-righteous-gemstones

Harry Macklowe profile: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/nyregion/harry-macklowe-gambles-again.html?ref=nyregion&utm_source=www.thepromote.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=supertall-retribution-ackman-s-baby-berkshire-playbook

432 Park lawsuit: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/432-park-owners-sue-harry-macklowe-and-cim-group-165-million-alleged-fraud-over-facade?utm_source=www.thepromote.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=supertall-retribution-ackman-s-baby-berkshire-playbook

Downside to life in a supertall: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/realestate/luxury-high-rise-432-park.html?utm_source=www.thepromote.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=supertall-retribution-ackman-s-baby-berkshire-playbook 

This week, Northwind Group's Ran Eliasaf, one of the most active private lenders in New York real estate, gives us an inside look at the debt game – the returns, the structures and the nuances of funding some of the city's most high-profile projects. He walks us through the capital stack of the supertall condo tower at 125 Greenwich in particular, building on our discussion from last week. Will and Hiten also chop it up on Adam Neumann's latest venture, Flow, a multifamily operator that is bleeding money all over the place, but STILL manages to raise more venture capital. A big thank you to our sponsor for this episode, AirGarage – find out more about their full-service parking management solution at Airgarage.com/Promote

This week, we chat about a fascinating hospitality deal, Newbond swooping in to buy almost 9% of San Francisco's hotel stock in one megadeal. It’s one of the city's biggest hospitality real estate plays in a decade. We look at the aftermath of Carl Icahn's failed big short on malls, and his vendetta against special servicer Rialto. We then dive into a supertall capital stack – 125 Greenwich Street has seen New York's most famous and infamous names pile in. A big thank you to our sponsor for this episode, AirGarage – find out more about their full-service parking management solution at Airgarage.com/Promote 

This week, The Promote dives into the proliferation of preferred-equity deals in the CRE market – why are they suddenly everywhere, and what investors need to think about before doing them. We then dive into Meridian Capital Group being cleared for business by Fannie Mae, ending a year-plus period on the ice with the agency. Where does the brokerage go from here? And finally, we look at the walloping the tariffs have given the formerly exuberant CMBS market. 

This week, we discuss the fear & loathing set off in the CRE markets by the Trump tariffs, looking at the impact both on fund managers and on developers – construction costs are "completely a swag" as co-host Will puts it. We then look at Miki Naftali's megabet on a Fifth Avenue condo site where he believes he can set a new high-water mark – $11,000 per square foot – on pricing. We touch upon Floyd Mayweather's shady Upper Manhattan deal, and finally, we chop it up on Starwood's latest land play. 

In this special edition of the Promote Podcast, we dive into the singular career of Gary Barnett, the diamond trader who birthed Manhattan's Billionaires' Row and has consistently pulled off the most audacious high-wire acts in the real estate development game. We trace Barnett's origins, from his days as a diamond dealer in Belgium to his early days in New York real estate. We then dive into 2 of his most iconic deals: the creation of One57, the luxury condo that kicked off Billionaires Row; and the Ring portfolio masterclass, the takeover of 1 million square feet of prime Manhattan office space.

This week, we break down CrowdStreet playing the victim card in CRE's biggest-ever crowdfunding scam, perpetrated by Elie Schwartz. We riff on why CMBS is rearing its head in development deals, and how private equity reimagined life insurance as a perpetual source of capital for its private-credit bets. Plus: A Manhattan REIT's nepotism playbook. 

Further reading: 

https://ten31.beehiiv.com/p/crowdfunding-scam-highlights-the-goldman-mistress-back-channel#7-highlights-from-cr-es-biggest-cro 

https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/missing-millions-and-a-rabbinical-arbitrator-real-estate-deal-gone-bad-hits-popular-crowd-funder-3555314f

https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/capital-markets/crowdstreet-accused-of-raising-securities-without-a-license-in-class-action-128551?utm_source=ten31.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=s3-s-sizzle-silber-gets-off-easy

https://ten31.beehiiv.com/p/pulte-s-purge-cmbs-development-ambitions

https://ten31.beehiiv.com/p/kkr-s-surprise-sale-cushman-s-mayoral-menace#life-is-for-lending

https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2025/02/from-investment-to-savings-when-finance-feeds-on-itself/

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/paramount-group-paid-millions-outside-companies-owned-ceo-albert-behler