Using PILOT Financing to Build the Platform

In this special episode of The Promote Podcast, we dive deep into Related Companies' de-risking playbook at its Hudson Yards megaproject. How they're pulling off a $25 billion, 18 million-square-foot undertaking in New York City while continuously taking chips off the table through creative financing structures, global capital sources, equity partners and tax breaks. We look at how Steve Ross spent 4 decades shoring up Related's balance sheet to take huge swings, and what other CRE hopefuls can learn from his approach to big-ticket development.

Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Vesto, which gives CRE players a single, clear point of access for all their bank accounts. Go to vesto.com to learn more.

Further reading:

https://fortune.com/2013/08/29/the-man-behind-the-largest-real-estate-project-in-u-s-history/

https://www.amazon.ca/Other-Peoples-Money-Housing-Greatest/dp/0142180718

Chris Hohn of TCI: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hohn-judgment.pdf

https://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-fbi-comes-at-arbor-steve-ross-hof-dealmaking#goat-exits-stage-south

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2013/08/16/anatomy-of-a-deal-inside-relatedoxfords-unusual-hudson-yards-financing/

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2025/07/01/how-related-companies-got-hudson-yards-approved-and-saved-2b

https://www.economicpolicyresearch.org/images/docs/research/political_economy/Cost_of_Hudson_Yards_WP_11.5.18.pdf

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2016/08/24/inside-the-hudson-yards-financing-playbook/

https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/press-media/press-releases/related-companies-and-oxford-properties-group-close-on-nearly-1-4-billion-in-equity-and-debt-investments-for-hudson-yards