The Promote Podcast

This week, we dive into how private credit mega-managers such as Blackstone, KKR & Blue Owl have been setting the stage for a potentially huge new pool of capital: 401(k)s. With the Trump administration’s eagerness to push more retirement savings into PE, players have been forming alliances with the biggest 401(k) managers in a move that could mean a far bigger CRE private-credit war chest. We then dive into the singular life and career of Donald Soffer, the visionary behind Aventura and a serious man-about-town.Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Vesto, which gives CRE players a single, clear point of access for all their bank accounts. Go to https://vesto.com/ to learn more. Further reading:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-24/private-credit-firms-from-kkr-to-blackstone-ready-for-401-k-win?utm_campaign=private-credit-s-old-gold-another-rabsky-riddle&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=www.thepromote.comhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/private-credit-s-old-gold-another-rabsky-riddle#old-is-private-credit-goldhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/landau-s-stalking-horse-dusty-dan-s-greystone-exit#insurance-juicing-private-credit-bohttps://www.vanityfair.com/news/1987/09/gary-hart-failed-presidential-campaign?srsltid=AfmBOoqQ3goufXX7T8B6NjVZJSKctEHacpKaJo0Y7pIUycKTgZV2FjLThttps://web.archive.org/web/20180326202536/http://www.biscaynetimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=1051%3Afamily-a-fortune&utm_campaign=nahla-s-raleigh-play-a-data-center-kingpin-s-exit&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=www.thepromote.com

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/0142180718Chris Hohn of TCI: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hohn-judgment.pdfhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-fbi-comes-at-arbor-steve-ross-hof-dealmaking#goat-exits-stage-southhttps://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-2bhttps://www.economicpolicyresearch.org/images/docs/research/political_economy/Cost_of_Hudson_Yards_WP_11.5.18.pdfhttps://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

Discover JPMorgan's ambitious plan for a massive campus involving the historic Roosevelt Hotel in New York. Explore why multifamily giants Cortland and Bell Partners are on the hunt for partnerships. Get a quick take on the $2.2 billion acquisition deal between Starwood and Fundamental, examining the risks and rewards of high-yield properties. The complexities of renovating a major hotel, including financial hurdles and regulatory challenges, reveal the dynamic landscape of real estate investment.

This week, we discuss the great changing of the guard at real estate dynasties – the 2nd and 3rd gens are taking the helm of some of the industry's most prominent families and are doing their best to position themselves as serious people. We then head west for some California love – CEQA, the environmental law that was turned into a tool to torpedo new developments, has been gutted. And finally, we chronicle the taking of 625 Madison Ave, an office tower that became a battleground for some of New York's biggest titans, from Ben Ashkenazy to Related.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: CEQA: https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2025-07-01/what-will-the-new-change-to-ceqa-do 625 Madison: https://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-arbor-responds-wire-fraud-nostalgia#the-taking-of-madison-six-two-fivehttps://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/saudi-arabia-wealth-fund-nyc-midtown-tower-1b953d32Nepo Babies: https://www.thepromote.com/p/elliott-backing-rxr-megadeal-shvo-business-in-miami-beach#run-rudin-runhttps://therealdeal.com/magazine/june-2025/the-house-of-rudin/https://commercialobserver.com/2025/05/samantah-rudin-michael-rudin-100-years/

The podcast dives into the ripple effects of Zohran Mamdani's surprising victory in New York's mayoral primary, creating waves of fear in the real estate community. A major $2 billion hotel deal by Hyatt is scrutinized, revealing the complexities of hotel ownership and management. Additionally, the fierce competition for a coveted casino license in NYC showcases the high stakes involved and the unique proposals vying for attention. A blend of fear and opportunity in the market is discussed, highlighting the need for strong relationships in the evolving landscape.

This week, we dive into Carlyle's attempt to stitch together an empire of Brooklyn walk-ups and how it illustrates the REPE giant's playbook. We then examine mortgage fraudster Barry Drillman's get-out-of-jail-free card, a feat of game theory and cooperation with the feds. We hit the real estate battlefields in the war between luxury leaders LVMH and Kering, looking at their race to snap up the world's most coveted corners (and hotel chains). Finally, we head north to the TSX to riff on Meyer Orbach & Josh Gotlib's attempt to IPO a prime Manhattan residential portfolio. Favors:1) Leave us a review: On Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods2) Tell Scotty G about us: Go to ProfG's Reddit page and tell him he's gotta have us on to talk CRE: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottGalloway/3) Tell your CRE junkie friends about usFurther reading:https://www.thepromote.com/p/madison-s-fannie-absolution-carlyle-s-walk-up-wonder#carlyles-walk-up-wonderhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/drillman-s-great-escape-the-magnificent-chapter-sevenhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/the-usual-suspectshttps://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-sutton-in-his-fifth-element-syndicators-in-default-city#sutton-in-his-fifth-elementhttps://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/louis-vuitton-lvmh-real-estate-communities-47aa1d55?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAhyKkxce1gly_M_2dLfZa3eLrYtoIUQfyBH9nxqu-dwt-w0KBoOwgc5u-eo6Mc%3D&gaa_ts=6864d777&gaa_sig=LETuj6u5U5dynKdSfuWScyQUv4SZlE__W5l3whZ1vnuFjVt4r07yB_t5-U0knv-MRtPj-vCgxfBDByp3_mWpqA%3D%3Dhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-multi-megabets-lvmh-s-re-weaponry#lvm-hs-real-estate-artilleryhttps://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-lvmh-bernard-arnault/?srnd=homepage-americas&utm_campaign=multi-megabets-lvmh-s-re-weaponry&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=www.thepromote.comhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/orbach-gotlib-s-loonie-tunes-mamdani-s-comrade-capitalism#loonie-tunes-orbach-gotlib-head-to-

This week, data center pioneer and DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi walks Will & Hiten through 2 defining transactions in the space: The $11B take-private of Switch, and the "metaphorical lockbox" financing for cloud-computing player CoreWeave, one of the largest-ever private debt financings. Ganzi gives us an insider look at the numbers, real estate intricacies and capital markets maneuvers that went into both deals – this is "how the sausage gets made" stuff in one of the fastest-growing and least-understood corners of the business.A shout-out to our sponsor for this episode, NYC-focused developer MADDPROJECT. They've launched a New York resi development fund open to accredited investors, and you can reach out to antonia@maddproject.com for more information on it.Further readinghttps://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/coreweave-raises-7-5-billion-in-debt-for-ai-computing-push-99fd2241https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/digitalbridges-switch-exploring-40-billion-ipo-report/https://www.digitalbridge.com/news/2022-12-06-digitalbridge-and-ifm-investors-complete-11-billion-take-private-of-switchhttps://therealdeal.com/new-york/2021/05/18/how-marc-ganzi-bet-colony-capitals-future-on-the-next-gen-economy/

This week, Will & Hiten dive deep into the movement of the moment: AUM gobbling ™️ We break down the Sixth Street/L+M transaction, and how allocator preferences are driving this wave of M&A in commercial real estate. We then look at restaurateur Greg Flynn’s 🌮 basis bets in the SF CRE market – a man w/ deep pockets ™️ taking advantage of the bargains by the Bay. And finally, we tackle the financialization of the American Dream – i.e. a new lender-assisted EB-5 vehicle. Favors:1) Leave us a review: On Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods2) Tell Scotty G about us: Go to ProfG's Reddit page and tell him he's gotta have us on to talk CRE: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottGalloway/3) Tell your CRE junkie friends about usFurther reading:https://commercialobserver.com/2025/06/sixth-street-l-m/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170611/REAL_ESTATE/170609858/ron-moelis-is-the-king-of-affordable-housing-but-his-ties-to-nyc-deputy-mayor-alicia-glen-made-him-a-targethttps://www.thepromote.com/p/warehouse-lender-lifelines-cre-s-m-a-consiglieres#real-estates-ma-consigliereshttps://www.thepromote.com/p/syndicator-extremes-a-kushy-eb-5-triumph#kushner-taps-new-eb-5-lender-assisthttps://www.thepromote.com/p/trump-s-eb-5-killer-ross-drunken-sailor-playbook#potus-eb-5-out-gold-card-inhttps://sfstandard.com/2025/05/30/greg-flynn-san-francisco-market-center-sale/https://www.thepromote.com/p/men-with-deep-pockets-realpage-s-federal-lifeline#men-with-deep-pockets

This week, Hiten & Will are joined by Benefit Street Partners' Michael Comparato, who gives us an insider's look into the wild world of lending to multifamily syndicators. Comparato provides unvarnished, behind-the-scenes details on the conversations, numbers and battles that define lending in such a high-octane space – it's a level of candor and color that we rarely see from active lenders. He then walks us through BSP's headline-grabbing $425M acquisition of agency lender NewPoint, and the opportunities in that space. Favors:1) Leave us a review: On Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods2) Tell Scotty G about us: Go to ProfG's Reddit page and tell him he's gotta have us on to talk CRE: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottGalloway/3) Tell your CRE junkie friends about usFurther reading:https://www.thepromote.com/p/hfc-post-mortem-nuveen-s-american-nightmarehttps://www.thepromote.com/p/nussbaum-s-hush-money-syndicator-bad-boy-carve-outs#baby-did-a-bad-bad-thinghttps://www.thepromote.com/p/anatomy-of-the-newpoint-deal-the-big-bank-battle-of-chetritstan#anatomy-of-a-deal-bsp-new-pointhttps://www.thepromote.com/p/the-promote-quiet-kings-of-capital-pt-ii-nycb-s-multi-messFind Michael Comparato at LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-comparato-b2126b172/ or at Benefit Street Partners https://benefitstreetpartners.com/ 

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 pods2) Tell Scotty G about us: Go to ProfG's Reddit page and tell him he's gotta have us on to talk CRE: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottGalloway/ 3) Tell your CRE junkie friends about usFurther 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