What do billion-dollar developers really think about design — and where does lighting fit in?

In this episode, LytePOD host Sam Koerbel sits down with the COO of a luxury real-estate developer in New York City responsible for billions of dollars in projects. Together they unpack the owner’s perspective on budgets, design ambition, and risk — and what happens when lighting becomes the most misunderstood line item on the spreadsheet.

This candid, behind-the-scenes conversation reveals how developers make decisions, where designers lose trust, and what it takes to bridge the gap between creativity and construction reality.

💬 Topics covered:
• How developers evaluate risk, cost, and design value
• Why lighting often gets “value-engineered” — and how to prevent it
• The balance between aesthetics and ROI in high-end projects
• What guardrails and responsibilities do developers have
• How a developer can guarantee success on a project (spoiler alert: belief, conviction, and a team that adapts as the market changes)

Where Jamil works: https://www.ll-holding.com/

Where we recorded this: https://terminalwarehouse.nyc/

🎧 Listen now to learn what truly drives billion-dollar development decisions — and how lighting can become the differentiator, not the casualty.

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Setting the Stage: What Developers Value
• 00:05:15 Jamil's Path: From Construction to COO
• 00:11:45 Balancing Cost, Time, and Quality
• 00:19:30 Building A Business Plan For New Development
• 00:27:15 The Anatomy of a Construction Budget
• 00:36:00 Managing Consultants and Contractors
• 00:45:30 Choosing the Right Design Partners
• 00:54:00 The Lighting Conversation
• 01:05:40 Q+A, Sam Answers to Jamil's Questions
• 01:40:30 Reflections and Grattitude