The Promote Podcast

byten31 Media

BusinessInvestingNews

Your Commercial Real Estate Insider guide. From profiles of the biggest dealmakers to skyline-shaping transactions, we bring you the deals, breakdowns and war stories that move the market — for insiders, by insiders. From bad-boy guarantees to CMBS tranche warfare to syndicator sins, we cover it all. Each week, The Promote Podcast explores three of the most interesting and consequential stories in CRE, taking you well beyond the headlines and into the heart of the action. Hosted by the award-winning “Bard of CRE,” Hiten Samtani, founder of ten31 media and author of The Promote newsletter, along with no-BS institutional insider Will Krasne...

Episodes(40 episodes)

S2's REIT Wipeout & A Lender's Extreme Show of Faith

This week, we dive into Sunbelt multifamily kingpin’s Scott Everett's (S2 Capital) audacious attempt to save his distressed portfolio via a private REIT – an attempt coming apart in real time. It's an opportunity for us to discuss the Sunbelt ZIRP-fueled boom/bust, the broader syndicator reckoning and how figuring out how to survive is sometimes all you can do. It’s then time to talk fathers and sons – a long-stalled FiDi site at 8 Carlisle may finally see salvation after lender Maxim Capital kept the faith in developer Grubb Properties after a decade-long debacle by the Ohebshaloms. And then it’s tim...

Published: May 13, 2026Duration: 32m 35s

Mega-Marriage of Convenience and Miami’s Abuelagate

This week, we discuss multifamily’s mega-marriage of convenience: After getting no love from the Street for being merely huge, multifamily REITs Equity Residential and AvalonBay are considering a merger. Will overuses the word “tectonic,” but it really does apply here, so we’re going to dive in as deep as we can. We then leave the public markets behind for a telenovela playing out at an old-school Miami real estate family: major developer Terra Group’s David Martin is being accused of playing the part of a Bollywood villain. This is the exact kinda story lineup we love here at Th...

Published: May 6, 2026Duration: 35m 9s

Aman’s Dirty Laundry & Atlanta’s Phantom Megaproject

This week, we have the this-is-too-weird-to-be-real tale of Forge Atlanta, a $3.8 billion megaproject with the most bizarro development team and history we’ve ever come across for a project of this scale. We know ground-up is smoke and mirrors even on a good day, but this is NEXT LEVEL. We then slip into linen trousers and head to the embattled sun-kissed shores of hospitality giant Aman, where the involvement of a mysterious international fugitive has caused all sorts of drama between Aman and key partners Cain International and PIF. And finally, a quick wardrobe change into earnings-call appropriate attire, as...

Published: Apr 29, 2026Duration: 36m 41s

The Frum Fraudfather & Pied à Terre Purgatory

This week, we finally tackle the story of Mark Nussbaum – the real estate attorney who became the nexus of the underground Orthodox CRE dealmaking world, facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in deals and "show capital" before it all collapsed spectacularly in a wave of lawsuits, criminal fraud allegations, and even the suicide of a close collaborator, Mendy Steiner. Nussbaum's tale is a lens into the gray economy of the frum, where huge deals are often done on a handshake and under the aegis of a close-knit community. We also explore New York's new push for a pied-a-terre tax, wh...

Published: Apr 22, 2026Duration: 38m 41s

Multifamily's Icarus: Alan Stalcup On the Record

"Property management companies made my spreadsheets lie." "We're gonna move the pref to a 17. Okay, okay, Tom. You're fucking me right now. You know that, right?"This week, we break protocol to bring you a no-holds-barred interview with the poster child of the Sunbelt syndicator boom/bust, Alan Stalcup of GVA Management. Fueled by OPM, ZIRP, and an insatiable appetite for deals, Stalcup rode to the very top of the multifamily mountaintop, amassing 30,000 units in an acquisition spree for the ages. When rates turned, however, his firm became one of the highest-profile casualties, setting off a w...

Published: Apr 15, 2026Duration: 34m 26s

Mass Alt-luence & There's Something About Rabsky

This week, we chop it up on how God is Smiling Upon Alts: The federal govt has put forward much-anticipated regulation that creates a smorgasbord of investment options for retirees – with major implications for CRE. Next, we discuss how Manhattan office has broken the $300 a foot barrier – twice in a month! And finally, we bust out our Marley Slims and head to Brooklyn, where Orthodox dealmaker Simon Dushinsky's unorthodox playbook at the Rabsky Group is dominating the development landscape.Plus, our "Punch List" rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: New York real estate succession with Andrew Chung comi...

Published: Apr 8, 2026Duration: 37m 49s

From BSDs to DSTs & a Lakewood Lad's SNF Summit

This week, we talk some takeaways from institutional real estate’s March Madness, the PREA conference – we’ve got the latest on what the industry's biggest allocators & fund managers are thinking about. Then, we SNF around that quirky asset class’ latest megadeal - Chuny Herzka’s $1.7B acquisition of the Centers healthcare portfolio. And finally, the changing of the guard at Camden Property Trust and BGO's takeover of Bell Partners are great excuses to discuss 2 of our favorite themes – AUM Gobbling & the private-leaning shift in the capital markets. Plus, our "Punch List" rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: A...

Published: Apr 1, 2026Duration: 37m 55s

Reubens on Rye and Apollo's Divine NNNtervention

This week, we dive into the life & times of two quintessential Men with Deep Pockets: Billionaire British Brothers David & Simon Reuben have become some of the most aggressive buyers of trophy hotel and retail assets across the country – many of them in various states of undress & distress. We then look at Apollo’s new NNN partnership with Realty Income - an alliance that says much about how both AUM Gobblers and vanilla REITs are saying they’ve got what the other needs. And finally, failed mega-retailer JCPenney is now the scene of a bruising battle with a jilted would-be buyer...

Published: Mar 25, 2026Duration: 35m 24s

Savills Gobbles Eastdil & Ray Washburne's Second Helpings

This week, we dive deep into the M&A deal that's all anyone in institutional CRE can talk about. Savills – yes Savills! – is buying Eastdil Secured for $1.1B. That gives the Brits some serious capital-markets firepower stateside, but the devil lies in the details of the golden handcuffs. Next, we strap on our Lucchese boots and head to Dallas, where legendary dealmaker Ray Washburne has grand plans for a convention center. We discuss his HoF deal for Highland Park Village and how he's part of a dying breed of CRE cowboy we’re obsessed with. Plus, our "Punch...

Published: Mar 18, 2026Duration: 37m 41s

Wartime Allocators & Rialto's Double Agent

This week, we have no choice but to tackle the topic of war. The conflict with Iran continues to roil markets and CRE's biggest allocators are in sixes and sevens. Fewer young people are going to college, which puts a big question mark on what's historically been one of the biggest drivers of real estate activity. And finally, with special servicers like Rialto continuing to play an outsized role in the market, some of their more exotic strategies are coming under a pretty harsh spotlight.Sponsors:1) This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt...

Published: Mar 11, 2026Duration: 36m 1s

Larry's White Whale & Jamestown Puckers Up

In Ep. 50 (!), we trace Larry Silverstein's odyssey with the World Trade Center redevelopment, analyzing the new blockbuster Amex deal and the insurance, legal and financing battles that the developer has fought since 9/11. Next, we jump on our Zambonis and check out Jamestown’s push for a hockey team in Atlanta. And finally, Blackstone has a data center offering that it wants to share with the universe - of retail investors, that is. We also do a "Punch List" rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: CRE players' outsized roles in the Iran attacks; Hudson Pacific's billion-dollar losing streak; th...

Published: Mar 4, 2026Duration: 36m 8s

Times Square Trainwreck, Royal Renters and Blue Owl Bytes the Dust

This week, we look at the tragicomedy that is TSX Broadway, the Maefield/L&L/Fortress Times Square megadevelopment that came undone and left hundreds of foreign investors in the lurch. We discuss how complex ground-up projects can lay waste to capital stacks, and what can happen between partners under pressure. We then look at the latest alarm bells ringing in the high-octane world of data center development – Blue Owl is staring down a multibillion-dollar void, and OpenAI’s marquee Stargate project has had major challenges powering up. Finally, we explore the rise of the rich renter – a trend that’s...

Published: Feb 25, 2026Duration: 39m 57s

Limit-Up Hotel Kamikazes & AI's Brokerage Rout

This week, we dive deep into the story of Anbang Insurance, the Chinese insurer that went on an epic US trophy real estate buying spree, but flew too close to the sun. We trace the origins of Anbang's founder Wu Xiaohui, his multibillion-dollar acquisition of top US hotels include NYC's Waldorf-Astoria, and Anbang's eventual collapse and government takeover. We then talk about a rare RICO case against a notorious DC landlord, Ali "Sam" Razjooyan, and how such extreme incidents can shape landlord-tenant policy. Finally, we look at why the big CRE brokerages are seeing their stocks getting hammered by...

Published: Feb 18, 2026Duration: 35m 1s

House of Brookfield, Wholesale Shopping and a Condo Buyout Coup

This week, we discuss the House of Brookfield’s new overlord: Connor Teskey has a modest target – double AUM to $2 trillion. We talk about the labyrinth that is Brookfield’s corporate structure – Bruce Flatt's not going away – and what CRE’s role in the ramp-up will be. We then look at the flurry of REIT take-privates, from Peakstone to Plymouth. And finally, we slip into resort casual and discuss a princely condo buyout payoff in West Palm Beach – the goat Steve Ross makes an appearance. We also do a "Punch List" rundown of the newsiest industry happenings: Michael Shvo's b...

Published: Feb 11, 2026Duration: 37m 38s

Apollo's Sister Act, ICE Age & the Doomed Tower of Power

This week, we discuss how the Chrysler Building has laid waste to the best-laid plans of so many global titans. With Tishman Speyer reportedly coming back for another go at the Art Deco icon, we trace its rich and rollicking deal history, from Jack Kent Cooke to Abu Dhabi. We then discuss how the ICE immigration crackdown is putting another big question mark on the Sunbelt multifamily market and leaving landlords in limbo. And finally, we discuss Apollo's sister act: REIT ARI is selling its $9B loan book to insurance arm Athene, and patting itself on the back for...

Published: Feb 4, 2026Duration: 30m 9s

A Condo Kingpin’s Next Act and Proptech Falls off the Wall

This week, we discuss second acts: Ziel Feldman has left the scandal-ridden past of his glitzy New York condo development firm HFZ Capital Group behind, and he's reinvented himself as an affordable housing player through his silent partnership in GoodHomes. We trace the wild arc of his career and his far more below-the-radar new game. Proptech's loudest voice and most prolific fundraiser Fifth Wall is now yelling into the fundraising void; we talk about how the firm's issues are emblematic of the broader sector. We also do a "Pardon the Interruption" style rundown of the biggest industry happenings: S2...

Published: Jan 28, 2026Duration: 34m 44s

SNFing out Megadeals and Syndicator Patient Zero

This week, we discuss a redemption tour by GVA’s Alan Stalcup, Patient Zero of the Sunbelt multifamily boom/bust. He’s battling PGs, LPs and maybe even the SEC, but Stalcup is unapologetic. He sat down with Hiten for a pretty unplugged conversation, and we chat through our key takeaways. We then dive into the 24-6 world of dealmaking in Skilled Nursing Facilities, a totally undercovered corner of CRE with big numbers and some batshit maneuvering. The Genesis bankruptcy case is all anyone in that world can talk about right now. We also do a "Pardon the Interruption" styl...

Published: Jan 21, 2026Duration: 34m 32s

Pinnacle's Bankruptcy Summit & Life Sci's Midlife Crisis

This week, we’re talking a glitch in the Morse code: MCR has failed to come up with the cash to consummate the take-private of Soho House, setting off a mad scramble. There’s more bad chemistry in the life-sciences space, with the venerable Beacon Capital Partners battling its operating partner and lenders in the space losing patience. And finally, we dive into the most closely-watched CRE bankruptcy auction in the country: The Pinnacle rent-stabilized portfolio in New York. Sponsors: 1) This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software. Featuring one-click covenant testing, inst...

Published: Jan 14, 2026Duration: 31m 18s

Windy City Tailwinds & Stadium Arcadium

This week, we talk Chicago – America’s Second City is now becoming top of mind for national multifamily players. We break down 2 significant deals: LaTerra’s monster AIMCO portfolio buy and S2’s debut. We then slip into our jerseys and look at the arcane world of stadium development – and all the freebies and surrounding action that comes with it. Finally, we schlep the streets of Brooklyn, where Carlyle & Greenbrook have pulled off a massive Freddie refi of their walk-up empire. Sponsor: This episode is supported by LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software. Featuring one-click covenant testing, instant ca...

Published: Jan 7, 2026Duration: 27m 54s

The Mayweather Whisperer: Jona Rechnitz (Rerun)

We're technically off this week. BUT, Business Insider dropped a banger of a read on Floyd Mayweather's tangled financial web, and somewhere at the center of that web is a character of great interest to The Promote Cinematic Universe: Jona Rechnitz was 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 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 w...

Published: Dec 31, 2025Duration: 34m 1s