Mann Report November/December 2022

The Year in Review

New York Los Angeles Miami Hamptons Las Vegas

Emerging Trends Report: Time is on Real Estate’s Side

ALTA Policies: Christmas for Title Pros

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FirstService Residential on — The Property Management Paradigm Shift: From Facility Caretaker to Strategic Building Partner

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FashionMannuscript has increased its coverage of live events and conferences as the world reopens. And look for an even greater presence by Mann Report on social media, as we grow our staff to provide a special focus on commercial real estate and our upcoming retail publication in the new year.

Welcome to the final issue of 2022 — where did the year go?

For many of you, it’s been a year of growth, evolution and consolidation. The comeback continues.

That’s why I’m especially pleased to feature FirstService Residential as our final cover story of the year. As a company, it has epitomized growth and evolution in response to the needs of the properties it manages, adding new services and divisions as needed. For them, bigger is indeed better.

Here at Mann Publications, we’ve been growing and evolving, too. Our Mann About Town lifestyle magazine has expanded from quarterly to bi-monthly and, based on your strong response, we plan to increase the frequency in the not-too-distant future.

And I’m excited to report that the reinvigoration of the National Realty Club remains an overwhelming success in just 10 months. In the last year alone, we’ve held multiple events (get in touch about our November 15 breakfast with guest speaker Brownette Cooke, founder, president and CEO of Evans Electrical Services), increased our membership and become a significant fundraising force. As its president, I’m honored to continue and expand upon the work my father Irving Mann and his colleagues began 75 years ago.

So please enjoy this double issue, and join us again in 2023.

Have a healthy, happy and blessed holiday season!

C O N T E N T S

30 News Briefs

16 Events 16

National Realty Club Foundation Hosts Annual Golf Outing

18

Children’s Happy Faces Foundation Hosts Golf & Tennis Outing

20

CHIP Hosts 24th Annual Cocktail Party

22

Nancy Zeckendorf Launches Memoir “Small Town, Big Dreams”

24

The CoreNet NYC Women’s Leadership Committee Hosts Annual Summer Event

26

Professional Women in Construction Salutes “Women of Achievement”

60

30

Commercial News

34

Residential News

38

Management News

42

Tech Talk

46

Breaking News

46

Features 60

Emerging Trends Report: Time is on Real Estate’s Side

64

SL Green, Caesars Entertainment Pursue Gaming License for Times Square

66

Bringing the New to the Ancient World: Lamda Launches The Ellinikon

72

Know When to Shift to a Property Manager for Your Short-Term Rental

74

ALTA Policies: Christmas for Title Pros

76

Project REAP Launches Advanced Learning Program with University of Colorado Boulder

80

A Blueprint for Proptech’s Future

82

Living Well: Life Time Reveals New Luxury Residences Near Las Vegas

52

106 COVER FEATURE

AEC

52

104 Luxe Living in Little Saigon: Completing the Bolsa

FirstService Residential — The Property Management Paradigm Shift: From Facility Caretaker to Strategic Building Partner

Row Apartments

106 The Office of the Future? SGA Designs Spec Suite for Oxford Properties

108 Connecting the Park

108 Colleges 114 Fordham Discusses the Sustainability Shift in Real Estate

126

114 Departments 8

One Mann’s Opinion

12

Editor’s Letter

86

The Articles

118 Executive Changes 124 Crossword: Diversity and More 126 Commercial Corner: Ken Wellar, Rittenhouse Realty Advisors

128 By the Numbers: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Editor’s Letter Welcome to our year-end double issue, which offers a glimpse into what we might expect in 2023.

Our cover feature on FirstService Residential shows how management has changed in recent years, and all it has done to adapt to changing times. And it’s clear that times will continue to evolve.

The respondents to the Urban Land Institute’s and PwC’s annual Emerging Trends in Retail survey remain warily optimistic, its new report observed. Look for the housing boom to moderate, industrial space (a darling for the last few years) to settle a bit as construction catches up with demand and even retail to approach normalcy. What might become the new normal is previewed in our overview of proptech conference Blueprint, which was dominated this year by practical solutions rather than venture capital money.

Our contributors shed light on other aspects of the industry. Look for an in-depth discussion of changes to the title industry byleader Joe Powell, and Avalara’s Pam Knudsen tells us when it’s time for short-term rental investors to consider hiring professional help.

As the year draws to a close, we even do some armchair traveling, visiting Ellinikon, the upcoming smart city-within-a-city being developed in Athens, Greece. Being built on the site of the old international airport, it’s a major example of re-using obsolete space — and I’m desperately trying to figure out an excuse to visit.

Wherever your travels take you (or don’t) this holiday season, have a blessed and healthy celebration, and a happy 2023!

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PHOTO EVENT

National Realty Club Foundation

Hosts Annual Golf Outing

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he weather may have been challenging, but golfers clearly are tougher as the National Realty

Club and CEO of Mann Publications. “We’re attracting sponsors for

Club Foundation’s annual golf outing hosted a

future events, which will help us be even more generous to organizations going forward.”

sellout 116 players at the Fresh Meadow Country Club. After the tournament, another 100 real estate professionals

The National Realty Club was founded by Mann’s father, Irving

joined for an elegant dinner.

Mann and other New York City real estate legends including Harry Helmsley and Aaron Gural to provide networking and other oppor-

The event raised funds that will be donated to nonprofit charities that benefit New York City, part of the mission of the 75-year-old organization which has been reinvigorated in the past year.

tunities. Jeff Mann and a core group of industry professionals have revived the organization in the last year with the goal of expansion

“To consider that we started just 10 months ago, where we are today

Photos by Howard Wechsler

is extraordinary,” said Jeff Mann, president of the National Realty

16 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

and diversification.

PHOTO EVENT

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01. Bryan Geffen, Jonathan Stern and Shlomo Weissberg, Meridian Capital Group

Knakal, JLL and James Ventura, NNN Pro 07. Steve Sladkus, SSRGA; Phil Levine and Michael Paris

02. The Bargold Storage Systems team 03. Michael J. Willner, Norris McLaughlin; Ed Wilkin and

08. James Rowland, Jaimee Nardiello, Maria Kefalas and Anthony DeIngeniis, Zetlin & De Chiara

David Schwartz, WilkinGuttenPlan and Jeffrey K. Cassin, Norris McLaughlin 04. Robert Romanoff, Absolute Electric; Joseph Martinez, Jason McKay and Joe Pavone, Holt Construction 05. Mina Bevan and Astra Varian, Douglas Elliman 06. Michael Wlody and Thomas Donovan, B6 Real Estate; Bob

09. Jeffrey Mann, Mann Publications 10. Bob Knakal, JLL 11. Michael Kerr, M&R Management 12. Brandon Gordon, Land Appliance; Sean Slattery, Lee & Associates; Ira Gordon, Land Appliance and Frank DeLucia, Hub International

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 17

PHOTO EVENT

Children’s Happy Faces Foundation Hosts Golf & Tennis Outing

Tennis Crew with Joe Caracappa, Sierra Consulting

T

he Children’s Happy Faces Foundation hosted 225

their support, taking us beyond $8.5 million over the last 15 years.”

golfer and tennis players and 100 donors at its charity golf and tennis experience at the Westchester Country

“We are grateful to the Children’s Happy Faces Foundation and all who

Club’s Exclusive Beach Club on Manursing Island over-

have partnered with us to bring this year’s golf outing to life. The funds

looking the Long Island Sound. The event, which raised $555,000 to

raised for this event are critically important in supporting our families

benefit Ronald McDonald House New York, included live music by the

as they experience the most difficult fight of their lives,” said Ruth C.

Parker Reilly Band & the American Bombshells.

Browne, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York.

“The incredible support from the New York real estate industry directly

The fundraiser was supported by several notable organizations. Title

benefiting Ronald McDonald House New York is truly amazing,” said

Sponsor: Century Management Services; Platinum Sponsor: Hercules

David Lipson, CEO and founding member of Children’s Happy Faces

Corp.; Gold Sponsors: Efficient Combustion & Cooling Corp., Morgan

Foundation and senior managing director of Century Management Ser-

Stanley and National Cooperative Bank; Silver Sponsors: Bargold Stor-

vices Inc., the event’s chairman. “It’s so wonderful to see the continued

age Systems and Gallagher; Bronze Sponsors: Daniels Norelli Cecere

outpouring of love and support for Ronald McDonald House New York

& Tavel PC and M & R Management; Brass Sponsors: Gallet Dreyer &

and the children and families staying there as they continue their ba!le

Berkey LLP, JAD Corp., Mann Publications, Schwartz Sladkus Reich

of survival. This year the New York real estate industry really stepped up

Greenberg & Atlas and Skyline Restoration.

18 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

PHOTO EVENT

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01. Dave Lipson, Children’s Happy Faces Foundation; Rick Martin, Ronald McDonald House and Mitchell Barry, Century Management Services Inc. 02. Justin Verret, Bluewoods; Jacob Sirotkin, Century Management Services Inc.; Andrew May, Hercules Corp. and Michael Zerka, Bluewoods 03. Alexandra Bruno, Century Management Services and A.J. Rexeh pi, Century Management Services; Eugene Donnelly and Andrew Tonaj, August Construction 04. Sco" Silverman, Steven Blicht and Mitchell Barry, Century Management Services and Gary Kronfeld 05. Ed Howe, NCB; Mike Norris; Lloyd Pine and Mike Seligman

11

06. Michael Donuk, Gus Catanzaro and Michael Catanzaro, Century Management Services and Robert Callioras 07. James Cavanagh, Michael Cantor and Rob Cecere, Daniels Norelli Cecere & Tavel and Jay Cohen 08. Conor Dolce, Brian Cox and Doug Fenniman, Gallagher and Adam Zerka, Century Management Services 09. Jack Dellorusso, Sal’s Metal Corp.; Sean Caszar, Con Edison; Dave Lipson, Children’s Happy Faces Foundation and Melisa Vlasaty 10. The “Beach Bums” 11. Mariachi Band

Photos by Jill Lotenberg

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 19

PHOTO EVENT

CHIP Hosts 24th Annual Cocktail Party

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Photos by Jill Lotenberg

M

ore than 600 real estate headliners and supporting stars turned out for the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP)’s Annual Cocktail Party. CHIP members

reunited at Tribeca Rooftop in lower Manhattan for a scintillating evening of camaraderie, conversation, cocktails and cuisine.

The Annual Cocktail Party is CHIP’s variation on an age-old theme: Give its members a venue to meet and share opinions on everything

20 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

to do with the multifamily real estate industry — in the company of sympathetic companions, old and new.

“Thus may we help each other to survive the slings and arrows of an oftentimes hostile business and regulatory climate,” the orgnaiztion said. “In the end, regardless of the daily hurdles we all face, solidarity and optimism prevail.”

CHIP extended its thanks to the event’s sponsors and attendees.

PHOTO EVENT

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01. Jeff Katz, Milbrook Properties; Stirling Collins, Champion Eleva-

08.Matthew Rosenberg, Joseph Rosenberg and Robert Rosenberg,

tor and Josh Goldman, Bargold Storage Systems 02. Shamir Seidman, Meridian Capital Group and Robert Shapiro,

Rosenberg Realty Group 09.Tracey Daniels, Daniels O’Connell PC; Rick Lapidos, Hubb NYC;

Cushman & Wakefield 03. Joseph Moran, Avison Young and David McNair, Hubb NYC 04. Carly Farkas and Steven Farkas, Farkas Management 05. Anita Gupta, Chatam Management; Michael Cuniberti and Flavia Ferzivolli, Houlihan Parnes Properties

Ben Schwartz and Marc Altschul, Metropolitan Property Services 10. Dan Fine, Chase and Jonathan Ruhl, Ranger Management 11. Over 600 real estate professionals attended CHIP’s Annual Cocktail Party 12. Jeff Klein, Allied Government Affairs and Jay Martin, CHIP

06. Tony Subraj, Zara Realty; Oleg Feldsher, Estreich & Company; Shiromie Mansukh, Zara Realty and Aram Pehlivanian, Estreich & Company 07. Julia Kodis and Paul Attinello, Kaled Management

13. Neal Altman, NAJO Consulting; Michael Lifland and Paul Eisenberg, RCG Tower Group and Kim Winn, Kim S. Winn & Associates LLP 14. Scott Marino, Rose Corporate and Seth Dotterer, SiteCompli

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 21

PHOTO EVENT

Nancy Zeckendorf Launches Memoir “Small Town, Big Dreams”

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Dancing is singing with the body,” said Nancy Zeckendorf from the stage at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The celebrated philanthropist and former Metropolitan Opera ballerina returned to New York City from Santa Fe, New Mexico for a week of events to launch her new memoir, “Small Town, Big Dreams.”

“I loved dancing to opera music and I love improvising to it. But you know, I wasn't dancing because I wanted to dance. No, I wanted to be the music. And much later, my teacher Antony Tudor said, ‘Dancing is singing with the body.’ That’s what I was trying to do.”

She was joined on stage by American Ballet Theatre’s (ABT) newly appointed Artistic Director, Susan Jaffe, who shared, “When I first got into ABT, with Misha Golubitsky and Gelsey Kirkland there, I’d see them walking down the hallways — I didn’t close my gaping mouth for at least the first year. I could not believe I was there, that I could literally touch them … And when you think about it, Antony Tudor, Margaret Craske and Martha Graham; these icons were her teachers! These are the stories Nancy shares in her memoir.”

Nancy Zeckendorf’s audience included stepsons Artie Zeckendorf (with wife Elizabeth Zeckendorf) and William Zeckendorf III (and wife Anna Zeckendorf), ABT’s Sascha Radetsky and Stella Abrera, as well as Diana Byer, Candace and Frederick Beinecke, Penny

22 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

02

Colman, Beverly D’Anne, Joan Duncan Oliver, Mercedes Ellington, Betti Franceschi, Magee Hickey, Judith Hoffman, Niel Hoos, Shelby Lamm, Ambassador Earle I. Mack, Ellie Manko Libby, Boulie and James Marlas, NYPL’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division Curator Linda Murray, Joan Duncan Oliver, Richard Osterweil, Liane Pei, Tara and Michael Rockefeller, Rosita Sarnoff, Ellen Rubin, Irene Shen and many more.

Nancy Zeckendorf’s book details a life on stage at The Old Met (formally known as The Metropolitan Opera House) at 1411 Broadway, where Nancy unveiled a commemorative plaque. Her memoir also details life after dancing; her philanthropic work and her marriage to her late husband, William Zeckendorf Jr.. Nancy and her stepson William Zeckendorf III unveiled the second plaque at Zeckendorf Towers by Union Square. Executive Director of the Union Square Partnership, Jennifer Falk, spoke to the importance of community and how Zeckendorf Towers remains one of the most influential draws for the Union Square neighborhood's continued growth and progressive development. Board President Melanie Wong shared that when she first moved to New York, Zeckendorf Towers was a building she passed on her commute daily, and dreamed of one day living in.

Photos by PMC Sean Zanni

PHOTO EVENT

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01. Anna Bender-Zeckendorf, Michael Rockefeller, Tara Rockefeller, William Zeckendorf 02. Max Defrancesco, Kristina Allegra, Anthony Centineo and Darren Judi 03. Christine Dobush and Ailina Fisk 04. Artie Zeckendorf and Nancy Zeckendorf 05. Cornelia Bregmanand Sue Bloomberg 06. Susan Jaffe and Richard Osterweil

07. Herman Krawitz, Nancy Zeckendorf andRichard Miller 08. Jennifer Falk, Nancy Zeckendorf, William Zeckendorf and Melanie Wong 09. Irene Shen and Stella Abrera 10. Liane Pei and Lizanne Potamianos 11. Lynn Alexander and Chris Morris 12. Richard Osterweil, Grey Hirschfeld and Magee Hickey

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 23

PHOTO EVENT

The CoreNet NYC Women’s Leadership Committee Hosts Annual Summer Event

CoreNet NYC Members Networking

Courtney Grill and Meredith Lovejoy

T

This year, CoreNet NYC’s Women’s Leadership Committee will celebrate the 10th year of the New York City Mentorship Program. The program is open to all CoreNet members and is an embodiment of

he CoreNet Global New York City Chapter (CoreNet NYC) hosted its Annual Women’s Leadership Summer Networking event at the Steelcase Showroom in New York City, overlooking Columbus Circle.

The event consisted of a networking and cocktail reception and was attended by over 100 leading professionals in the real estate and construction industry as well as CoreNet NYC members and leadership.

“We look forward to hosting this event each year; it's one of our most anticipated and well-attended events of the Summer,” said Lisa Speltz, managing director, head of net lease asset management, Angelo Gordon.

24 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

the commitment the CoreNet NYC Chapter has, to assist corporate real estate professionals in their personal growth and professional development. Over the past 10 years the program has connected 248 real estate professionals. Professionals at all stages of their careers are encouraged to participate, either as mentors or mentees, which showcases the chapter’s overarching diversity and inclusion for all CoreNet professionals.

Photos courtesy of The Berman Group

PHOTO EVENT

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01. Alison Kwiatkowski, Stephen Brown, Sonya Dufner and Dan Fishbein 02. Ariel Zurad, Monica Weiner, Crissy Hathaway and Guest 03. CoreNet Guests Networking 04. Courtney Grill, Mark Belenky, Lisa Speltz and Natalia Zawisny

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05. Kait Kennedy and Wanda Dunaway 06. Lisa Speltz, Abbey Suskin, Crissy Hathaway and Guest 07. - 09. CoreNet Guests Networking 10. Members of the Women’s Leadership Committees Offer Opening Remarks

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 25

PHOTO EVENT

Professional Women in Construction Salutes “Women of Achievement”

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01. Zenaida Rodriguez, Regional Alliance for Small Contractors; Elizabeth Velez, Velez Organization; Flora Bao, Bjarke In-

03. Maureen Henegan, Henegan Construction; Victoria Cerami, Cerami & Associates; Sabrina Kanner, Brookfield Partners and Emily

gels Group; Jessica Braham and Gina Grande Rivera, PWC; Victoria Cerami, Cerami & Associates and Sabrina Kanner, Brookfield Partners

Sobel, Macro/Savills 04. PWC scholarship recipients Xiao Lin Wang, Labiba Nazrul, Yulia Zdryuvea, Elena Dieci and Jessica Schiffer

02. Linda Breda Neely, Miller Knoll and Victoria Cerami, Cerami & Associates

05. Barbara Gao, Lisa Bolle, Alloy Kemp and Marguerite Pinto, Thornton Tomasetti

P

rofessional Women in Construction (PWC) New

York hosted its “Salute to Women of Achievement” dinner at The View at Battery Park, recognizing three executives for their outstanding careers and contributions to empowering women in the AEC industry. The evening’s honorees include Victoria Cerami, CEO Emeritus of Cerami & Associates; Sheela Maini Søgaard, partner and CEO of Bjarke Ingels Group and Elizabeth Velez, president of the Velez Organization.

Collectively, Cerami, Søgaard and Velez have made tremendous contributions to the New York City construction industry through strategic leadership, projects, mentorship and involvement in civic and professional causes, the organization said. Each of the honorees received

26 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

an original piece of artwork by New York-based artist Chelsea Best.

PWC New York is the founding chapter of PWC, a national nonprofit founded in 1980 which supports, advances and connects women, and promotes diversity within the architecture, engineering, construction and related industries. The funds raised at the Salute to Women of Achievement dinner support the organization’s scholarship program and various panel events throughout the year. Some $15,000 in scholarships were given to six women pursuing studies in real estate and AEC-related fields at New York University and the City College of New York.

Photos by Olivia Francois, RaMed Studios

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COMMERCIAL NEWS

GFP Real Estate Inks Four Leases at 515 Madison Ave. GFP Real Estate announced four lease trans-

vate equity firm, signed a two-year lease for

actions totaling 11,771 square feet at 515

3,956 square feet on the 37th floor. Highwa-

Madison Ave. in Manha"an’s Plaza District.

ter Capital Group, a real estate investment firm, signed a one-year lease extension for

“We have been seeing an increase in leasing

3,655 square feet on the 13th floor. Dr. Henrik

activity as companies are returning to the of-

Zakari, M.D. signed a five-year lease for 1,330

fice,” said Martin McGrath, senior managing

square feet on the 38th floor. Carvin French

director of GFP Real Estate.

Jewelers, a custom jeweler, signed a oneyear lease extension for 2,821 square feet on

MTN Capital Partners, an independent pri-

the fi#h floor.

Photo courtesy of GFP

JLL Arranges $387.5M Sale of New York City Multifamily JLL’s Capital Markets Group closed the sale

brought in other syndicated private partners

of a $387.5 million multi-housing community

and procured financing.

comprised of 408 market-rate units and 9,693 square feet of commercial space located at

JLL’s Capital Markets Investment Sales Ad-

685 First Ave.

visory team was led by Senior Managing Directors Rob Hinckley and Jeff Julien, Vice

JLL exclusively represented the seller, Solow

Chairman Scott Panzer, Senior Managing

Building Company, and procured the buyer,

Director Andrew Scandalios, Director Steve

GO Partners, a joint venture between Josh

Rutman, Vice President John Taylor, Associ-

Gotlib and Meyer Orbach. GO Partners

ate Jon Faxon and Analyst Joy Ryoo.

Photo courtesy of JLL

Pacsun Expands Debuts Redesigned San Diego Store Pacsun has unveiled its newest location and

case Pacsun’s new brick-and-mortar vision.

redesigned retail space at Fashion Valley

The 4,277-square-foot space warmly greets

in San Diego. The latest storefront in Pacsun’s

guests with an open-air façade and sizable

home base in South California features a

windows displaying Pacsun’s current styles

modernist look indicative of the new design

and collections. The interior includes new fix-

formula and layout for the youth retailer.

tures and décor that tie into Fashion Valley’s experience as an outdoor center, including

Paying homage to its foundation around mall

updated colors and materials that refine the

culture with a premier upgrade, Pacsun at

way Pacsun presents its products and en-

Fashion Valley is the first location to show-

hance the overall store aesthetic.

30 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Photo via PRNewswire

COMMERCIAL NEWS

Regal Ventures Acquires Hell’s Kitchen Retail Condo Regal Ventures, a real estate investment firm

53rd and 54th Streets on the west side of

headquartered in New York City, has acquired

Eighth Avenue. The property’s retail com-

a 37,165-square-foot, grocery-anchored re-

ponent is 15,893 square feet, with parking

tail and parking condo at 897 Eighth Ave. in

of 21,72 square feet, capped by a 253-unit,

Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

25-story residential condo tower.

Metro Cleaners. It also features Blank Street

The company, formerly known as Regal Acquisitions, purchased the property from

The retail component includes several

Prudential Financial for $35.25 million.

well-established, neighborhood outlets,

The site spans the full block between

Photo courtesy of Regal

Coffee and the Mega Nail Spa.

including the Gristedes supermarket anchor,

Morrison Street Capital provided a portion of

Pick a Bagel, Da Tommaso Ristorante and

the equity.

Applause Takes First NYC Location at Rudin’s 355 Lexington Ave. Digital quality control and testing firm Ap-

Framingham, Massachuse#s-based compa-

plause has signed for its first location in New

ny provides brands with real-world feedback

York City, taking 17,500 square feet at 355

on their digital assets. Ford, Google, Western

Lexington Ave, announced building owner/

Union, Dow Jones and thousands of other

manager Rudin. The company will occu-

brands rely on Applause as a best practice.

py the entire seventh floor of the 270,000 square-foot tower and plans to move in

Applause was represented by Chris Foerch

this month.

of Savills. Robert Steinman, senior vice president at Rudin, represented building owner-

Founded in 2007 by Doron Reuveni, the

ship in the transaction.

Photo courtesy of Rudin

N.Y. Life Insurance Co. subleases 47,000SF at One World Trade Center JLL arranged a transaction to relocate NY Life

229,179 of a total 400,000 square feet on be-

Insurance Company to 47,000 square feet of

half of Advance Magazine Publishers.

office space at One World Trade Center. JLL worked with landlords, the Port Authority of

Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. was rep-

Photo courtesy of JLL

NY/NJ and the Durst Organization to arrange

resented by JLL’s Peter Riguardi, chairman

chan, vice chairman; Nicole Tiger, managing

a 10-year sublease for the entire 39th floor

and president of the New York region; Steven

director; George Gemelos, executive vice

from Advance Magazine Publisher, Inc. NY

Rotter and Joseph Messina, vice chairmen;

president and Kristen Morgan, associate vice

Life plans to relocate in May 2023.

Jessica Berkey and Brett Harvey, managing

president. Eric Engelhardt, senior vice pres-

directors and Andrew Coe, vice president. NY

ident with the Durst Organization, helped

Life was represented by JLL’s Ma#hew Astra-

facilitate the transaction for ownership.

With this transaction, JLL has subleased

32 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

California Association of Retailers Launches Statewide Rental Listing Service The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.)

Real Estate Business Services LLC (REBS) —

has launched the California Rental Listing

the source of essential real estate business ser-

Service, the first statewide database of rental

vices for C.A.R.’s more than 217,000 members. properties sourced from Rental Beast’s

properties servicing the state of California.

Available to C.A.R. members via car.org and

database of owner-sourced rental listings.

Powered by Rental Beast, the rental data and

to California renters soon at rlsca.com, the

California-based MLSs have the option to

rental software solutions provider exclusively

service affords users with a view of availa-

integrate with the service, providing their

recommended by the National Association of

ble rental listings throughout the state, with

subscribers with direct access through their

Realtors, the California Rental Listing Service

search results returning both rental listings

existing systems, to assist rentals as they do

was developed by Rental Beast and C.A.R.’s

represented by C.A.R. members alongside

buying and selling.

Christie’s International Real Estate Returns to Miami Backed by new ownership and offering a

cago-based brokerage and technology

comprehensive technology solution and an

firm, @properties, Christie’s International

enhanced connection to the world-renowned

Real Estate has been updating and expand-

Photo courtesy of Fortune

Christie’s auction house, Christie’s Interna-

ing its global luxury brand — integrating

by President and CEO Edgardo Defortuna.

tional Real Estate has returned to Miami,

@properties’ proprietary pl@tform

Fortune has over 600 agents in 11 Miami

signing one of South Florida’s largest inde-

technology and launching new luxury

offices and will open an office in Fort Lauder-

pendently-owned brokerage firms, Fortune

marketing programs.

dale later this year. Fortune will be Christie’s exclusive affiliate for Miami-Dade and Bro-

International Realty, as its newest affiliate.

Since its acquisition last December by Chi-

Fortune International Realty was founded in

ward counties. The firm will now be known as

1983 by the Defortuna family and is still led

Fortune Christie’s International Real Estate.

United Real Estate Forges New Florida Alliance in National Expansion United Real Estate (United) announced that

ation in the U.S. and a prominent brokerage

determined United is the forward-thinking

a Jacksonville, Florida-based brokerage has

celebrating 15 years in business. United Real

partner who will help us achieve our goals.

joined United’s national network in a merger.

Estate Gallery is currently a top ten market

They are high-energy, quick-moving and

The firm (formerly affiliated with a different

share leader with 400 agents and eight loca-

sharp. They recognize our team’s talent, have

national brokerage) will operate as United

tions throughout Northeast Florida.

the resources required to make the investments in our business to drive agent out-

Real Estate Gallery moving forward and retain all leadership.

“We wanted to grow faster and provide re-

comes and are eager to help,” stated United

sources for our agents to compete in any

Real Estate Gallery CEO Raymond Rivera.

The partnership brings together the seventh

market. A#er an extensive period of due dil-

largest national real estate brokerage oper-

igence considering many paths forward, we

34 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

It is United’s fi#h merger in 2022.

Absolute Electrical Contracting of NY services commercial, industrial, residential and retail clients.

Our construction division has the ability to do any task that is required of an electrical contractor.

Robert Romanoff, President

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

Forbes Global Properties Expands to Cayman Islands Forbes Global Properties has expanded its

er meaningful results.

services to the Cayman Islands, adding the luxury brokerage 1503 Property Group.

The exclusive worldwide residential real estate partner of Forbes, Forbes Global Prop-

1503 Property Group was founded by in-

erties provides branding and marketing ser-

“It is my privilege to welcome 1503 Property

dustry veterans Jill Davison and Ruth Gus-

vices to the world’s premier real estate firms

Group to our global community of respected

tafsson, who draw from more than 30 years

and is now represented by more than 12,600

luxury property experts,” said Michael Jal-

of experience. The firm’s team of real estate

real estate agents across 20 countries in

bert, CEO of Forbes Global Properties. “The

professionals deploys emergent marketing

approximately 400 locations. Forbes has an

Cayman Islands is one of the world’s leading

strategies and technology to drive and deliv-

engaged auidence of 140 million.

financial centers.”

Buyer Demand in Greenwich Market Remains Strong As Limited Inventory of Homes Constrains Sales Buyer demand for homes in the Greenwich,

compared to Q2 2022. In addition, the time it

Connecticut market remained strong in the

took to sell a home tightened to just 58 days

third quarter but a limited inventory of homes

on the market while median prices rose to

for sale continued to constrain market perfor-

more than $2.4M. Overall, it remains an op-

lion-plus market was the only price range

mance, according to the Houlihan Lawrence

portune time to sell a home in Greenwich.

showing an uptick in inventory, with 34 homes for sale compared to 20 a year ago.

Q3 Greenwich Market report.

The $5 million to $6 million price range was Although home sales declined 36% in the

the only price category showing an increase

According to the report, 535 single-family

third quarter versus Q3 2021, sales improved

in sales contracts versus 2021. The $10 mil-

homes have sold in Greenwich this year.

Leasing Launches at Brooklyn’s 540 Waverly The Daten Group has launched leasing at

Designed by Kutnicki Bernstein Architects,

its new luxury residential rental and retail of-

residences at 540 Waverly feature interiors

fering at 540 Waverly Ave., located between

with bright and airy open layout concepts

Atlantic Avenue and Fulton Street in Clinton

complimented with floor-to-ceiling window

Hill, Brooklyn.

fixtures.

Photo courtesy of MNS

With leasing exclusively handled by MNS,

Other notable design elements include

the nine-story, 135-unit rental development

custom two-toned kitchen cabinetry, quartz

offers homes that range in size from studios

countertops, modern chrome finishes ns

A roster of on-site amenities include a fur-

NS one- and two-bedroom apartments, start-

high-end appliance packages in every

nished rooftop terrace with BBQ stations

ing from $3,175 per month.

residence, with in-unit washer and dryer

and a sundeck with private roof cabanas.

36 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

equipped in all one- and two-bedrooms.

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MANAGEMENT NEWS

5G LLC Signs Rooftop Connectivity Deal with UBS 5G LLC, a provider of connectivity technol-

top lease revenue in a high-growth market

ogy solutions for the real estate industry, has signed an exclusive agreement with

and help manage it as a long-term asset,” said Rick Varnell, managing director of 5G

UBS Asset Management’s Real Estate & Private Markets business to connect roof-

LLC. “Demand is growing considerably for rooftop connectivity for 5G and other

tops in commercial properties owned by the business with leading 5G networks in the

emerging real estate property technologies.”

United States.

“Working with 5G LLC will enable us to optimize our rooftop revenue strategies,” said

to rooftop connectivity for our portfolio of properties at scale and manage demand-side

“5G LLC is delighted to be working with UBS in the United States to enable new roof-

Vasilios Diakogeorgiou, head of Strategic Initiatives, UBS Asset Management. “5G LLC

engagement with all major carriers in the United States.”

will manage operational complexity related

BBG Acquires VSI Appraisal Group BBG, the nation’s largest independent commercial real estate services firm, has acquired

offices in the last three years.

VSI Appraisal Group, a Columbus, Ohiobased appraisal firm. Terms of the acquisi-

In addition, BBG appointed VSI Appraisal

tion were not disclosed.

With the VSI Appraisal Group acquisition, BBG will open a new office in Columbus, complementing its existing office in the city by adding a specialty in affordable housing.

The acquisition marks BBG's fifth acquisition this year. The firm has grown significantly to meet client demand, adding 15

Group President David Ross, Jr., MAI, ASA, FRICS, as managing director of the office.

Seven other VSI Appraisal Group professionals also joined the office. With more than two decades in real estate consulting, development and valuation, Ross is an industry leader who possesses a broad range of experience in all types of real estate properties and local knowledge of many markets across the country, the company said.

Dave Ross Photo via PRNewswire

BentallGreenOak to Debut Cultural Program at 685 Third Ave. BentallGreenOak’s (BGO) redesigned lobby at 685 Third Ave. in Manhattan, New York,

by D.K. Johnston.

will feature a new cultural program for the benefit of the tenants, neighbors and guests

The first artist to be featured in the program will be Reisha Perlmutter, whose work is

of the building in early 2023. This program will debut with a series of solo exhibitions

best known for representational imagery of women in water, where she explores the

by six artists, all working in unique mediums, each with a novel approach to connect-

unencumbered relationship between body and nature and expanding conventional

the exhibition.

ing with their audiences. BGO’s focus on social connection to diverse communities is the inspiration behind this activation, produced

beauty norms. A short film of Perlmutter’s work and the stories behind the women

The premiere of Perlmutter’s work and an artist’s reception will coincide with the completion of the building’s redesigned lobby.

she paints will also be screened as part of

38 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Photo courtesy of BentallGreenOak

IT’S OUR BUSINESS TO KNOW YOUR BUSINESS. IDB Bank’s Commercial Lending offers your business the level of attention you deserve and the capital you need to grow.

Find out more about our unique relationships with our remarkable customers at IDBstories.com

IDB Bank® is a registered service mark of Israel Discount Bank of New York.

Member FDIC.

MANAGEMENT NEWS

Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP Adds Turek Roth Grossman LLP Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP has added Turek Roth Grossman LLP to the firm. Turek Roth Grossman, a real estate, business and litigation firm based in New York, will now practice as Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP. The new partners, Allen M. Turek, Jeremy S. Roth, Jason A. Grossman and Gaddi Goren, as well as associate Jeffrey Gibilaro will operate out of SSRGA’s headquarters.

Turek, a partner in SSRGA’s real estate practice, has practiced in all areas of real estate law with a concentration in cooperatives and condominiums. Roth, a partner in SSRGA’s real estate practice, handles all types of commercial real estate transactions.

Grossman, a partner in SSRGA’s real estate and litigation practices, is a litigator and business advisor with over 25 years of experience. Goren, a partner in SSRGA’s real

estate and litigation practices, has significant experience litigating, arbitrating and mediating commercial/business/real estate/employment. Gibilaro is an associate in SSRGA’s transactional department.

Kova Debuts Window Wall System with Patent-Pending Installation Process Building material solutions company Kova has launched a patent-pending Window Wall System to its “Construct” product category. The system can be fully installed from the interior of the building, a process that is easier and safer than others on the market, the company said. Constructed with a non-strutted thermal break, the Window Wall System optimizes a building’s energy performance and efficiency through the thermal separation functionality.

Designed with disassembly in mind, the Window Wall is 100% recyclable due to its non-strutted system, making it easy to take apart the product at the end of its life cycle so that each piece can be fully recycled. The tilt-in installation process allows for seamless project execution with minimal equipment, saving construction timelines from common “crane time” disruptions, the company added. In fact, with the right elevator, the Window Wall System can be installed

Photo courtesy of Kova without the need for any crane at all.

The Window Wall System can be installed in high-rises up to 30 to 40 stories as well as apartment buildings with four to five stories.

Kirei Launches the Wood Collection for Kirei Ink, Customizable Prints for Acoustic Panels Kirei, a provider of eco-friendly design

Dark Walnut, Gray Wash and Dark Oak —

materials for commercial interiors, has launched the Wood Collection for Kirei Ink,

to enjoy the look of natural wood without the harsh sounds of hard surfaces. Kirei Ink

custom-printed acoustic recycled PET acoustic panels and products.

is 100% customizable and printed in-house so that any print can be applied to Kirei’s

Kirei Ink’s Wood Collection brings the

products, including baffles, clouds, wall tiles and more.

cluding Declare Label (Red List Free), HPD

Kirei Ink is printed on PET felt panels made from 60% post-consumer recycled PET with

and Low-VOC. Kirei Ink panels are printed using water-soluble, Greenguard-certified Prographic UV ink. The LED inks contain

numerous environmental certifications, in-

less than .03% volatile organic compounds.

warmth of natural wood inside and combines it with the acoustic performance of PET. The collection features five different types of printed wood — Pine, White Wash,

40 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Photo courtesy of Kirei

Bringing Innovation to

property management Matthew Adam Properties is a long-time leader in bringing innovative ideas and programs to the properties we manage.

Contact us to find out how we can innovate your building to a new level.

Ira Meister, President | 375 Pearl Street - 14th Floor | New York, NY 10038 T: 212.699.8900 F: 212.699.8939 imeister@matthewadam.com | matthewadam.com

TECHTALK

Archer Expands Technology Platform ogy platform, announced that its enhanced

ranked against a user's specific strategy to help them spend their time efficiently.

platform is expanding beyond a multifamily tool: users can now conduct market research for all major commercial property types, in-

The expanded platform includes a Property Details page which lets users view the specif-

cluding multifamily, retail, industrial, office and hotel.

ics of a property they are interested in. Information on sales, financial and rent comps,

Photo via PRNewswire

as well as how well a property matches with a user’s strategy, are all clearly displayed.

properties likely to come to market with

In addition to including all property types, the expanded platform contains deal-specific data and analytics. Users can now identify

Archer's proprietary seller intelligence. The platform ranks properties according to how well they match a specific user’s strategy, allowing Archer’s clients to screen deals.

Archer, an AI-powered real estate technol-

Archer's enhanced platform allows users to view on-market, off-market and recently sold properties. Seller propensity markers inform users which off-market deals may be likely to transact shortly. Properties are

Reitrades Launches Invitation-Only Commercial Real Estate Trading Platform With a goal of building the future of real estate investment sales, Reitrades officially launched its boutique digital trading plat-

“We created Reitrades to bring the real estate industry into the 21st century,” said Artur Muller, founder. “Right now, member-

form offering real estate investors an easy high-tech marketplace to trade assets priced

ship on Reitrades is by invitation only, but interested investors and buyers are welcome

above $10 million. Reitrades covers commercial real estate investment properties

to apply, gaining access to the exclusive acquisition opportunities only offered here.”

of all asset classes across the United States.

Sellers list their properties for free, paying

With a target client base that includes pri-

only a single 0.1% platform fee for each transaction closed.

vate equity firms, family offices, real estate investment trusts (REITs), institutions, asset

Artur Muller Photo via PRNewswire and investment managers, high net worth individuals and more, the platform requires investors to have at least $50 million in assets under management or have recent transaction history above $10 million.

MRI Software Acquires Springboard MRI Software, a provider of real estate software solutions, announced the acquisition of UK-based Springboard, a provider of shopper traffic counting and artificial intelligence

ered algorithms, the Springboard solution provides real-time data and actionable

(AI)-powered analytics to retailers, landlords and government bodies. In acquiring Spring-

both individual retail locations and retail destinations, the company said. The solution continuously measures visitor activity.

board, MRI will expand its MRI @Work for Retail solutions suite, which currently serves more than 500 retailers and retail property owners and operators globally.

Leveraging plug-and-play software, existing camera networks and proprietary AI-pow-

insights, enabling retail stakeholders to optimize operations and improve outcomes for

via a comprehensive reporting platform.

The solution continuously measures visitor activity, capturing anonymized demographic and sentiment information while identifying behavior patterns — such as movement and dwell time — and presents this information

42 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Founded in 2002, Springboard services more than 450 clients across 3,000-plus sites. It will continue to serve its clients without interruption.

VISION has become

Availabilities from 12,712 RSF - 30,289 RSF Bold New Entrances & Retail Storefronts New Turnstiles for Touchless Entry Newly Renovated Lobby with Sleek Modern Design State-of-the-Art Facial Recognition at Select Turnstiles New Grab & Go

& Lounge Area

New Touchless Elevators to Maximize Service Transformation as it Unfolds Peter S. Duncan I 212.481.1137 I pduncan@gcomfort.com Matt Coudert I 212.542.2121 I mcoudert@gcomfort.com Andrew F. Conrad I 212.542.2101 I aconrad@gcomfort.com

TECHTALK

Bridgeton Capital Relaunches as Erithmitic Private investment firm and development group Bridgeton Holdings LLC has rebranded its non-bank lending platform Bridgeton Capital to Erithmitic to highlight the company as a tech-enabled lender that is modernizing commercial real estate lending, ensuring process efficiencies to underwrite deals with more speed and accuracy.

The company also announced it has closed a $6 million seed round led by AlleyCorp along with Tishman Speyer Ventures.

Other investors include Unpopular Ven-

tures, founders of NuBank, Capsule and

top talent with experience from Goldman

La Haus as well as partners from venture capital firms Ribbit Capital and Camber Creek. Erithmitic will use the seed funding to build the next-generation commercial real estate investment platform to originate,

Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Microsoft. Leveraging a variety of public and private data sources and machine learning techniques, Erithmitic can generate new and useful insights in evaluating the unique risks and op-

underwrite, close and service one- to fiveyear commercial mortgage loans nationwide between $5 million and $150 million and across all property types.

portunities of each CRE transaction, allowing for better and more accurate pricing, the company said. In addition, borrowers will be able to interact with the platform post-

The company’s new brand identity as Erithmitic includes a new website and team of

close to service and view performance data of their property, neighborhood or region in a single intuitive experience.

Local Logic and Black Commercial Real Estate Network Partner to Reimagine CRE Tech Local Logic, a location intelligence provider that quantifies location at scale to shape smarter developments and more sustainable cities, announced a partnership with the Black Commercial Real Estate Network (BCREN). Through this alliance, BCREN members will have access to Local Logic’s location data expertise, which leverages 75 billion data points, the largest dataset in the industry, as well as countless proprietary insights.

BCREN is composed of commercial real estate industry leaders who are instrumental in bringing groundbreaking data solutions to market through their experience and expertise. With Local Logic’s support, the BCREN network will be able to better uncover commercial real estate use cases ripe for disruption, the announcement said.

mentorship for Black members of the commercial real estate industry to increase their

BCREN’s mission is to provide a community of connection, idea sharing, support and

youth with an awareness of the real estate field and professional opportunities.

voice and presence. It connects with schools and youth organizations to provide Black

Parity Closes $8M CAD from Strategic Investors Parity Inc., the proptech solution optimizing HVAC operations in mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings and hotels, has closed $8 million CAD in financing. With the support of Wyse, RET Ventures and other investors, Parity plans to scale its Canadian operations and expand the reach of its SaaS HVAC control technology throughout the United States.

Parity’s technology platform is designed to transform the operations and energy management of mid-rise and high-rise

apartment buildings and hotels with a capital-light, non-intrusive model that can be integrated into any property’s existing operating system. Once connected, Parity optimizes HVAC equipment performance and minimizes energy waste, decreasing capital investment costs and offering building management teams opportunities to take tangible steps towards their ESG goals and targets.

Parity-enabled buildings reduce their annual carbon emissions by 30% to 50%.

44 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

The Parity platform was founded in 2016.

After growing to 150 assets nationwide in Canada, Parity entered the U.S. market in 2020, launching with over two dozen New York-based apartment buildings in partnership with key industry leaders.

Fried Frank Where major real estate transactions happen “An extremely talented real estate group with an impressively deep bench: the team is ideal for handling the most complex matters.”

— Chambers USA

HUDSON YARDS Counsel to Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group in connection with the development of and all leasing activities at the 26-acre Hudson Yards on the West Side, the largest private development in Manhattan since Rockefeller Center.

CHELSEA MARKET Counsel to Google in connection with its US$2.4 billion acquisition of Chelsea Market in New York City.

BLACKROCK HEADQUARTERS Counsel to BlackRock in its 850,000square-foot lease for its planned headquarters relocation to 50 Hudson Yards.

MANHATTAN WEST Counsel to Brookfield Property Partners on all aspects of the development of Manhattan West in the Hudson Yards District, including its recent lease to the National Hockey League.

PENN STATION Counsel to Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies on the redevelopment of Penn Station, including the redevelopment of the James A. Farley building and construction of Moynihan Train Hall.

CENTRAL PARK TOWER Counsel to J.P. Morgan, as lead lender, in its US$900 million construction loan syndication to Extell Development for the development of Central Park Tower.

New York | Washington, DC | London | Frankfurt | friedfrank.com Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

ONE VANDERBILT Counsel to SL Green Realty Corp., including all zoning approvals, in connection with the development and leasing of One Vanderbilt Avenue, an iconic 1,401-foot tall, 1.7 million square foot office tower being constructed on the full block to the west of Grand Central Terminal.

20 TIMES SQUARE Counsel to Maefield Development in its approximately US$1.5 billion acquisition of the EDITION hotel, retail, and signage project known as 20 Times Square.

JP MORGAN CHASE HEADQUARTERS Counsel to JP Morgan Chase in connection with various aspects of its planned 2.5-million-square-foot headquarters redevelopment at its 270 Park Avenue location.

BREAKING NEWS

3D Printed Housing Company Launches Equity Crowdfunding Apis Cor, the construction technology com-

as part of its Reg A+ as of September 1.

pany known for its World Record building in Dubai, announced a milestone in its

Apis Cor has completed projects in Tex-

crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine:

as and Missouri and has pre-contracts with

over $200,000 raised within less than a week.

two companies to develop and 3D print

the country.

affordable houses in New Orleans, LouisiWith a vision to build homes that are acces-

ana and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Apis Cor has designed 3D-printed walls that comply with international building codes and

sible, affordable and durable, Apis Cor is already backed by At One Ventures and has

In addition, Apis Cor has 117 letters of in-

has received broad regulatory approval for its

raised over $1.1 million from retail investors

tent from construction companies across

method and material in Montana.

Madison Estates Sotheby’s International Realty Merges with Weichert Realtors The Franzese Group Brooklyn, New York brokerage Madison

located in the Dyker Heights neighborhood at

Estates Sotheby’s International Realty

1524 86th St., enhancing the team’s capacity

has merged with Weichert Realtors The

to support client needs . tates Sotheby’s International Realty.

Franzese Group.

“I am very happy to be working with Anthony, The Franzese Group is headed by Anthony

Vince and the entire Franzese Group. We

Madison Estates Sotheby’s International Real-

Franzese and Vincent Blandino, real estate

have always admired their business acumen

ty has added 50 real estate professionals and

brokers with a combined 50 years of experi-

and appreciate their excellent reputation,”

has grown exponentially since its affiliation

ence in the industry. The company’s office is

said Gerard Longo, principal of Madison Es-

with Sotheby’s International Realty in 2021.

Convene Launches “Quorum” Premium Meetings & Events Venue Upscale co-working space company Con-

in-person meetings and events, there has

vene has announced “Quorum by Convene,”

been a flight to quality, with companies willing

an ultra-premium meetings and events venue

to spend more for an elevated and thoughtful

at 1221 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown

experience,” said Amy Pooser, president and

Manha#an. Quorum by Convene will occupy

chief operating officer of Convene.

approximately 40,000 square feet on the sec-

Photo courtesy of Convene

ond floor of the 51-story building and offer ful-

Quorum by Convene will comprise six unique

social events, and more. Its centerpiece room,

ly produced and managed event experiences.

meeting rooms that can be configured to ac-

the Grand Hall Forum, can accommodate up

commodate various event types — from town

to 360 people theater-style and features a

halls to classroom-style learning, corporate

270-degree digital screen.

“In an effort to attract employees back for

46 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

y

S

Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Real Estate Group

TRUSTED ADVISERS ON DEALS THAT DEFINE THE MARKET COMPLETING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TRANSACTIONS ANNUALLY FOR MANY OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PARTICIPANTS IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP New York | Washington DC | London www.srz.com The contents of these materials may constitute attorney advertising under the regulations of various jurisdictions.

BREAKING NEWS

Select Portfolio Servicing Acquires Rushmore Loan Management Services Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (SPS) has en-

fourth quarter of 2022. Rushmore will operate

tered into a definitive asset purchase agree-

as a division within SPS, led by President of

ment with Rushmore Loan Management

Rushmore Servicing Jocelyn Martin-Leano,

“We believe that this combination ... will create

Services LLC (Rushmore) to acquire certain

who will report to SPS CEO Randhir Gandhi.

a stonger company,” Ghandi said.

servicing personnel and assuming Rushmore

This combination will create a strong value

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor.

residential mortgage servicing contracts.

proposition to the residential mortgage loan

Mayer Brown served as legal advisor to Rush-

servicing industry, the companies said. SPS

more. Alston & Bird served as legal advisor

will employ over 1,600 associates to service

to SPS.

approximately 1.4 million loans.

Rushmore assets, including hiring Rushmore

The transaction is expected to close in the

Liechtenstein Group Partners with Greensoil PropTech Ventures (GSPV) The Liechtenstein Group, an investment

and food, forestry, renewable energy and

group owned by the Princely House of Liech-

real estate.

tenstein, has invested in Greensoil PropTech Ventures Fund II.

“The Liechtenstein Group rarely invests in venture capital funds,” said Prince Constan-

Stephan Langer (le!) of the Liechtenstein Group and Greensoil’s Gideon Soesman (Photo via PRNewswire)

Headquartered in Vienna, with real estate

tin of Liechtenstein, CEO and managing part-

holdings in the United States and Europe, the

ner of the Liechtenstein Group. “We chose

Liechtenstein Group manages a portfolio of

Greensoil PropTech Ventures because its

vision to make real estate more sustainable

companies, operating globally in agriculture

goals align with the Liechtenstein Group’s

through cu"ing-edge technologies.”

Mango Continues U.S. Expansion with Miami Opening Spanish apparel brand Mango is continu-

the United States, one of the most important

ing to expand in the United States with the

fashion markets in the world,” said Daniel

opening of a new 4,600-square-foot store at

López, Mango’s global expansion director.

Photo via PRNewswire

1036 Lincoln Rd. in Miami.

With the opening of this new store, which

expansion plan over in the next few months,

“The opening of this new store marks a start-

stocks both the men’s and women’s lines,

in order to consolidate its brand in Flori-

ing point for Mango’s expansion in the state

Mango presents its menswear line for the first

da. Mango plans to open three new stores,

of Florida and a major step forward in our

time to its customers in the state of Florida.

which will be located in Florida’s main shopping centers, for at least 10 stores in the Unit-

strategic goals for international expansion and consolidating our brand presence in

The opening marks a starting point for the

48 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

ed States by yearend.

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COVER STORY

The Property Management Paradigm Shift: From Facility Caretaker to Strategic Building Partner

A

Aerial view of 53 West 53 in Manhattan (Courtesy of Hines)

decade of increasingly complex building reg-

Property management companies are responsible for a litany of critical tasks that

These expert services often include risk mitigation and insurance, financial management,

ulations, rising costs

impact resident safety and satisfaction, as well as a building’s finances, legal standing,

project management for large-scale capital improvements and energy consultation as

public reputation and market value.

sustainable design has slowly graduated from a hashtag to a city-enforced initiative

The most successful management companies employ teams of in-house experts and main-

with fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the biggest offenders.

tain a network of affiliates who can triage the most sensitive issues among boards, owners and developers.

For developers, these consultants are tasked with illustrating the future in dollars and

and inflation has shifted the needs of condominium and cooperative boards, building owners and developers in New York City. Property managers have been forced to evolve and expand their traditional services to help their clients navigate a tumultuous marketplace, where the unexpected has become the norm.

52 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

COVER STORY Aerial view of Madison House at 15 East 30th St. (Courtesy of DBOX)

a challenging insurance market and rising costs have introduced even greater hurdles for boards and building owners, who turn to their managing agent for solutions and support.”

Property management is a complex business in New York City, where there are roughly 2.5 million apartments and intense competition to fill vacant units. In a crowded industry, FirstService Residential, New York City’s largest residential property manager, has proven that bigger is better when charged with navigating a myriad of new regulations and maximizing returns on in-

experts in multifamily housing law, among other specialists.

Dan Wurtzel, president of FirstService Residential New York (©FirstService Residential)

Co-op Division. “But over the past decade, increasingly complex and costly local laws,

vestment amid periods of inflation.

“The ‘Heart of House’ teams are a resource returns on investment for new building construction and commercial-to-residential conversion projects.

“Property managers have always been responsible for coordinating building maintenance, rent collection, communicating with residents, budget guidance and monitoring compliance with local regulations,” explained Christina Forbes, president of FirstService Residential’s Manhattan Condo/

Today, FirstService Residential manages more than 600 condo, co-op and multifami-

for our property managers and support our clients by providing guidance and expertise

ly rental buildings in New York City, with a market share of nearly 90,000 residential

that is typically out of purview for a property manager,” said Dan Wurtzel, president of

units. These clients are served by a team of more than 200 property managers and

FirstService Residential New York. “These associates help our managers navigate situ-

are supported by subject matter experts who oversee an additional 300 "Heart of

ations that require more specific expertise, and alleviate some of the administrative

House"associates. The latter includes building code and compliance experts, accountants, applications and closings teams and

duties that prevent a manager from interfacing live and in-person with the boards and residents at the property.”

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 53

COVER STORY

According to Wurtzel, these resources have real-world benefits for clients.

In September 2022, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates an additional 0.75 percentage points to help temper inflation. As a result, borrowing money became more expensive.

Today, boards and building owners looking to refinance a mortgage or acquire a loan to finance a capital improvement, or other large expenses, will pay more to access those funds.

On the flipside, boards and owners saw greater returns on savings and money market accounts and strong yields on CDs. To help clients invest reserve funds, refinance mortgages or borrow money for capital projects, buildings managed by FirstService Residential have access to FirstService Financial, the company’s in-house banking and lending affiliate. With billions in deposits placed at commercial banks serving the real estate sector, the affiliate team is able to negotiate loans with lower interest rates and better terms than buildings can typically obtain on their own.

“In the last year, we closed more than 50 loans totaling $250 million for clients,” said Drew Ahrensdorf, FirstService Financial’s vice president for cash management and lending.

“Based on the size of FirstService Residential’s portfolio, we’ve been able to negotiate interest rates about 0.5% below the industry average, which has saved our clients more than $1.5 million in annual interest payments.”

For clients looking to generate additional interest through strategic savings and investment vehicles, FirstService Financial routinely analyzes building reserve funds to identify more valuable banking strategies or to reallocate funds to higher-yielding banks.

Beyond interest rates, absorption and property values are a major concern for building owners across all asset types.

Unlike the commercial properties, the average price per square foot for multifamily properties continues to rebound beyond pre-pandemic valuations. Rental properties, however, are outpacing all segments of the marketplace by leaps and bounds.

Douglas Elliman’s May 2022 Residential Market Report shows the average monthly rental price per square foot in Manhattan studio apartments at $70.91, one-bedrooms at $77.09, and two-bedroom apartments at $78.45. Three-bedroom units are valued on average at an impressive $84.61 per square foot. In this same period, Manhattan office buildings across all neighborhoods saw a much cooler average price per square foot of $71.64.

Aerial view of 200 Amsterdam (Courtesy of Elkus Manfredi) 54 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

COVER STORY

These figures illustrate a goldmine of potential for developers considering a conversion of their commercial properties for residential use, especially in Manhattan, where land is

deliver a property that can compete against similar asset classes and maximize returns

Behind the scenes, the company has also diversified to include an in-house insurance

on investment.

brokerage, a construction project management affiliate and FirstService Energy, its

becoming a scarce commodity. FirstService Residential’s New Development Group helps developers and investors determine the viability of a residential conversion, poten-

Once a building is completed, the team focuses on transitioning the property from sponsor to board control, and delivers a

national energy advisory affiliate based in the New York City office.

projection of operating costs based on anticipated utilities, staffing, compliance and

In New York, FirstService Energy secured

tial returns on investment and how to position the conversion to succeed in a highly competitive market.

“Before any shovels hit the ground, owners and developers begin with a feasibility study to determine if a conversion is physically possible,” said Marc Kotler, president of FirstService Residential’s New Development Group. “Modern office buildings, for example, often feature large, column-free floor spans surrounding the building’s core where elevators and bathrooms are typically located. This layout may not lend itself to a residential floor plan, because areas closest to the center of the building will receive much less natural light.”

administrative fees, management costs and routine maintenance programs. For highend condominium properties, Kotler’s division offers hospitality coaching programs to help building staff create a 24/7/365 luxury experience.

The redevelopments of the Le Parker Meridien Hotel and Waldorf Astoria are two ultra-luxury, hotel-to-residential projects the group is currently consulting.

“We’re in the unique position of having 40 years of experience managing the high-

nearly $17 million in energy incentives for its clients on projects ranging from the installation of electric vehicle charging stations and LED lighting retrofits, to steam trap replacements and elevator upgrades. Led

by President Kelly Dougherty, the affiliate also helps boards and building owners navigate the city’s Climate Mobilization Act, a package of laws aimed at reducing the city’s reliance on fossil fuels and curbing carbon emissions. Buildings that do not comply with strict emissions caps established by Local Law 97, the centerpiece of the act, will be subject to large annual fines in 2024.

est-end properties in the city,” said Kotler.

“Our decades of hindsight are 20/20 and

“Since the Climate Mobilization Act was introduced, FirstService Energy has led edu-

our consulting services build off lessons learned to provide recommendations that

cation programs for our property managers, board members and building owners to help

ment Group has become the industry’s leading consultant for multifamily rental and

bring each developer’s vision to life.”

unpack the legislation,” said Dougherty.

“The more informed our clients are about

condominium developers in New York City.

Their work begins in the pre-development phases of a project, when architectural and

According to Kotler, their recommendations

their building's environmental impact, the more empowered they are to improve it and avoid costly fines that will impact their

construction drawings are still in production. This includes a design drawing review

enhance the overall resident experience. This year, the division’s portfolio includes 30 pro-

building’s annual budget.”

and amenity consulting to help developers

jects that are expected to yield more than 2,500 units, representing over $2 billion of private investment.

“Our Heart of House departments and our affiliate companies are not only value-add resources for our clients, but also a game

Under Kotler’s leadership, the New Develop-

can save clients millions of dollars and inform attractive operational improvements that

From left: Marc Kotler, New Development Group president; Calynne Oyolokor, Multifamily Rental Division senior vice president; Christina Forbes, Manhattan Condo/Co-op Division president (© FirstService Residential)

In addition to ongoing commercial-to-residential conversions, the group has consulted a growing number of high-rise and supertall properties in Manhattan including, 53 West 53, 432 Park, New York by Gehry, Madison House and 200 Amsterdam.

changer for our property managers whose responsibilities have increased significantly during the pandemic,” said Wurtzel. “What sets us apart is our investment in diversified subject experts, rather than expecting a small group of people to be jacks of all trades.”

To Wurtzel’s claim, the company’s focus on providing in-house resources and turnkey solutions, and its continued growth despite a turbulent economy, serves as proof that “bigger” is indeed better for FirstService Residential clients.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 55

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FEATURES

Time Is on Real Estate’s Side

By Debra Hazel

A

fter nearly three years of coping with a pandemic, supply issues and changing

demographics, and current economic woes, many sectors of real estate are returning to a new normal, according to the just-released 2023 edition of “Emerging Trends in Real Estate,” the annual survey by PwC and the Urban Land Institute.

“Interest rates are rising, economic clouds are darkening and real estate deal flows are sinking because buyers and sellers cannot agree on pricing,” the report said. “But for all that, most commercial real estate professionals we interviewed for this year’s Emerging Trends remain reasonably upbeat about longer-term prospects.”

Why? Because real estate is an industry built for (pun intended) and based on longterm thinking. The report notes that it takes time to develop and build an asset, and even to sell, typically after a long holding time.

That’s why respondents to the annual survey are staying calm — for now.

Concerns about a recession are being moderated by strong job growth, record home prices and rents and continued consumer spending. A greater concern is inflation, which one respondent said, “is going to be a little stickier than people think.”

Most respondents expect any recession that might result to be relatively short.

In fact, the years since COVID-19 locked

“Reflecting the view of several CRE leaders we interviewed, a senior executive with a

showing strong returns, rent growth and price appreciation.

global development and investment firm said, ‘My gut says we’re going to have a

Some sectors, such as hotels and offices,

recession, but it’s going to be relatively mild compared to some of the more severe reces-

struggled, as well as gateway markets including New York City and San Francisco.

sions we’ve had. I don’t see anything like the 2008 economic downturn going on,’” the

But overall, property markets performed surprisingly well during the pandemic. Now,

report noted.

however, investors are seeing a return to

60 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

down the U.S. have proven real estate’s resiliency, with commercial property markets

COMMERCIAL

normalcy and a more historical rate of re-

health-related features and smart home tech-

turn and profits.

nologies as builders and managers improve the customer experience.

Housing Blame the Fed, but what the report calls “an extraordinary 12-year run since bottoming

Industrial

out in the summer of 2010” for the housing market is starting to slow as interest rates

after several years of unprecedented demand growth and rent gains that have pushed

rose. Both for-sale and rental markets have been decelerating, and new home prices

rents far above prior records. Growth in e-commerce is slowing and giving back some

peaked in April 2022. Apartment rents continue to rise, but at a slower pace.

of the market share it captured from physical retailers during the pandemic. Amazon,

“This is not to say that we’re in a housing

the largest warehouse user in the United States, has delayed occupying numerous

recession — far from it. Homes are still selling at a healthy rate by historical levels, and

completed projects, trying to sublet many, as it slows its physical growth. Other major

home prices remain near record levels,” the report said. “And while multifamily vacan-

retailers also have been cutting back their distribution expansion plans.

The industrial market also seems set to cool

pipelines. Higher-barrier locations, on the

cies are at their lowest level in four decades and rents continue to log new records every

But there is still a need for space, as consum-

month, the rates of increase have been slowing and are expected to decelerate further,

ers’ insistence on quick deliveries will continue to boost e-commerce and supply chain

according to many experts we interviewed.”

issues that delayed construction. “For now, delays in new supply and elevated pre-leasing

Office

On the multifamily side, a shortage will continue to help investors, as pandemic-re-

are keeping oversupply risk in check. Markets with high levels of construction include

office sector, as it has become increasingly clear that people like working from home,

lated tailwinds have been growing — many generations are choosing to rent or are com-

Dallas, Atlanta, the Inland Empire, Indianapolis and Phoenix. As supply begins to come

at least some of the time. Survey respondents noted that the “new normal” has yet to

pelled to because of affordability. Look for more insistence on indoor/outdoor living,

online, rent growth is expected to decelerate — first, in untested submarkets with elevated

be determined.

other hand, may sustain higher rent growth for longer,” the report said.

One of the real question marks remains the

“Into the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we should have clarity about the direction of the future workplace. However, what replaces the daily office grind remains murky and will not be resolved soon,” the report observed.

Right now, the sector’s traditional long-term leases are allowing companies to experiment with scheduling and how much space they need.

“The future of work is hybrid. Surveys indicate that the average office employee will work in person three to 3.5 days a week, reflecting the tug-of-war between employers and employees,” the report said, even as some companies are increasingly insisting on a full-time return to the office.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 61

FEATURES

Since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. office vacancy rate has increased by 200 to 300 basis points and sublease space has increased another 100 to 150 basis points, according to the report. Nationally, net absorption returned to positive levels in 2022.

What could make a difference is a recession — workers may not be as insistent if unemployment rises.

Retail Retail, however, is seeing signs of rebirth, with respondents showing “wary optimism,” depending on the economy.

and grocery continues to grow rapidly. On the downside, theaters, retail banking and drug stores are reducing store counts.

report said. “Some people traveling for work have taken advantage of their newfound flexibility and now consider adding a few days, or even weeks, to their business trips to further

“But 2021 saw the lowest number of retail chain closures since 2018. Announced

explore a given destination, whether it be on their own, with a significant other, or with family. Similarly, workers with the ability to work entirely remotely may choose to stay in a destination for an extended period and work from there. This may end up helping to offset

closure plans for 2022 (if they hold) could account for the lowest numbers in a decade. New store openings have significantly outpaced closures since 2021 (the market recorded its strongest occupancy growth numbers in five years and this pattern should hold through the remainder of 2022),” the report said.

Hotels, too, have made a strong comeback, with healthy year-over-year improvements

as though retail’s historic ability to adapt quickly to changing consumer needs could be helping, even as the sector comes down

in revenue per available room (RevPAR), as leisure and business travel resume. Increasingly, the line between the two is blurring.

“To date, remote work has reduced the frequency of traditional business travel; howev-

ness clubs/gyms, grocery, hobby stores, home furnishings, off-price apparel, pet concepts, shoe stores (athletic) and sporting goods cat-

er, it has also blurred the lines between work and personal life, which, in turn, has blurred the lines between business and leisure travel.

This has driven an increase in a unique guest

egories have all accelerated expansion plans,

demographic — the ‘bleisure’ traveler,” the

Automotive, convenience stores, cosmetics, fit-

A key to future success may be specialization in a particular subsector.

Hotels

Pre-pandemic concerns about oversupply of space and e-commerce remain, but it seems

to earth after pent-up demand and stimulus monies boosted sales in 2021.

any potentially permanent fallout from traditional business travel demand.”

62 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

“Beyond the major property types, 2023 may be known as the year that ‘niche’ property types came into their own. Five of the six highest-rated property subtypes would be considered niche, led by workforce housing and data centers, as well as life-sciences facilities, medical office and single-family rental housing,” the report said. “These sectors generally command greater returns than traditional product types due to higher cap rates. But investors also value the strong demographic tailwinds supporting these niche sectors at a time of expectations of cyclical market challenges.”

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SL Green, Caesars Entertainment Pursue New York Gaming License for World-Famous

Times Square

COMMERCIAL

The redevelopment of Times Square in recent

is passionate about New York itself. Caesars is

In addition to major economic benefits to all

finally have its own casino? Now, it may.

Empire State."

improvements as part of their proposal, which would boost Mayor Eric Adams' and the NYPD's

decades has resulted in the location often being compared to Las Vegas — so why shouldn’t it

also deeply invested in New York-based restaurant groups, chefs and entertainers from across the

SL Green Realty Corp. (SL Green) and Caesars Entertainment (Caesars) are teaming to redevelop 1515 Broadway as an entertainment and gaming

Caesars Palace Times Square will include a Broadway theater for “The Lion King.” The development will also bring Caesars Entertainment's

at Aqueduct in Queens.

“The proposal from the developer for a Times Square Casino would be a game changer that

destination in the heart of Times Square. The casino would be the first in Manhattan and the second in New York City, joining Resorts World

"We believe that Times Square offers the best location for a new resort casino that can attract tourists and benefit local businesses. We're excited

to pursue this license with Caesars and our many local partners. Our approach will ensure that under-represented communities benefit both in terms of employment and investment opportunities," said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green. "A casino in Times Square is in keeping with existing uses in the area. Times Square is the center of the entertainment universe. Because we are proposing a renovation, once the license is issued, we can open quicker than other facilities, which require entirely new construction, changes in law and will be disruptive to their local communities."

50-plus years of experience in entertainment, food and beverage and gaming to New York.

boosts security and safety in the Times Square neighborhood with increased security staff, more sanitation equipment and new cameras,” said Actors’ Equity. “We applaud the developer's commitment to make the neighborhood safer for arts workers and audience members alike.”

"Carmine’s has been in business in Times Square for over 30 years, and the public-private investments that were made in the late '90s and early

2000s literally transformed Midtown,” said Jeffrey Bank, president and CEO of the Alicart Restaurant Group, which operates Carmine’s and Virgil’s BBQ. “It is time for us to reinvest again — Times Square is the beating heart of New York, but

The history of gaming in New York has been a gradual legalization of what was often taking

everyone in Times Square is still hurting from the pandemic. The Caesars Palace proposal is the key to bringing tourists back, making Times Square

legalize Las Vegas-style casinos in 2013, extending the licensing beyond Native American lands.

The four commercial casinos in the state are all

"A successful bid will provide a much-needed boost to area theaters, hotels, restaurants and businesses and commit to fund a wide range of

"Caesars is thrilled to partner with SL Green in connection with a five-star project that will meet and exceed New Yorkers’ expectations for world-

pedestrian-friendly entertainment district in the world," said Michael Prohaska, business manager of Laborers’ Local 79. "This would mean bringing

place behind closed doors. Off-track betting was legalized in 1970, and racinos — racetracks that also offer casino games — were permitted by the New York Legislature in 2001. The state agreed to

located upstate.

class entertainment, immediately enhancing New

York City's tourism engine and elevating this one-of-a-kind global destination to new heights," said Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars. "As one of the

largest mobile sports books in New York, Caesars

safer, and is exactly the economic driver we need to not only recover but continue to grow and create more jobs."

neighborhood initiatives and improvements to make Times Square the safest, cleanest and most

thousands of good union jobs to Midtown and enabling innovative new training and apprenticeship programs — initiatives that will provide disadvantaged community members with pathways to sustainable employment.”

Times Square stakeholders, SL Green and Caesars are proposing significant security and traffic

efforts in Times Square, the companies said.

These efforts will make visitors feel safer, improve mass transit, encourage pedestrian travel and mitigate vehicle congestion in the area, pursuant to a proposed traffic plan to be included as part of the project.

"We know how to bring crime rates down in

Times Square because we’ve done it before. With better security infrastructure and 24/7 monitoring, we can anticipate and prevent crime — we just

need the financial and political willpower to do so,” said former New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton. “SL Green and Caesars’ proposal for Times Square goes beyond routine, in-house security and would invest millions in a new public-private safety initiative. This investment will ensure Times Square is safe for years to come.”

Caesars is the largest North American gaming operator with more than 50 casino properties across its portfolio, retail and/or mobile sports betting in 27 jurisdictions and iGaming in five jurisdictions. Caesars Palace Times Square will be 100% privately funded. Caesars will license its brand and manage the operations under a longterm management contract.

Caesars Palace Times Square will not only pro-

vide billions in tax revenue to New York City and State, it will also accelerate New York's economic recovery through strategic partnerships with area businesses utilizing its industry-leading loyalty program Caesars Rewards, home to more than 65 million members, the companies said.

Caesars Rewards members will be able to use

credits at Broadway shows, local hotels, restau-

rants, retail stores, comedy clubs, entertainment venues and more, driving more tourists to area businesses and creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs in and around Times Square.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 65

FEATURES

Bringing the

New to the Ancient World:

Lamda Launches The Ellinikon The smart park will be the first in Greece

By Debra Hazel

I

The Experience Centre is an immersive showcase.

t shouldn’t be too surprising that Athens, Greece, the birthplace of Western culture, also will be home to one of the largest, most ambitious urban regeneration pro-

jects in Europe — The Ellinikon, a city within a 24-hour live/work/play city to be built adjacent to central Athens and close to Piraeus Port and the International Airport.

Encompassing residential, office, retail and hospitality uses around a massive core park, the Ellinikon is the largest private development in Greek history, building a smart city on the site of Athen’s former international airport.

“Marking a new era in Greek and Athenian history, The Ellinikon will become a leading marketplace for ideas that change the world,” said Odisseas Athanasiou, chief executive officer of Lamda Development, a holding company specializing in the development, investment and management of real estate, which is building The Ellinikon. “Delivering innovative spaces designed to empower dynamic, shared experiences is the path forward for both local and global development.

The Ellinikon, at the crossroads of the world, will serve as a new model for achieving this ambition in a way that is both growth-oriented and sustainable. Visitors will become part of Athens’ unique new story, uniting historical landmarks of the past and pioneering plans for the future.”

66 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

The Coastal Front connects the beach and park

The literal and figurative core of the property will be The Ellinikon Park, the coastal park at the heart of The Ellinikon and a showcase for sustainability, the company said. Lamda Development has assembled leading urban planners, architects and engineers to drive a new global era of sustainability in the park. With Sasaki at the design helm and an international team working on the development’s other aspects, the Ellinikon Park will be Europe’s largest coastal park at 600 acres, with a goal of setting a global precedent for environmentally conscious design. The first phase of The Ellinikon Park is now open to the public with seasonal programming and more than 50 kilometers of cyclist and pedestrian pathways. Once complete, this will be the first smart park in Greece, incorporating seamless connectivity, AR navigation, technology’s leading transportation systems and smart energy systems.

COMMERCIAL

The mixed-use tower

Some 70% of the park will use natural areas management techniques to demonstrate Greek landscape restoration, with the remaining 30% focusing on high interaction areas. It will include over 31,000 new trees from 86 different tree species, as well as over one million plants – 70% of which are native to the region and therefore do not require additional irrigation. All plant materials are sourced directly within Greece.

The Park is targeting carbon neutrality within 35 years of completion and will be entirely self-sufficient with respect to irrigation and electricity, covering its own needs and completely offsetting its carbon footprint.

It will connect to the retail district and other areas of The Ellinikon through a network of 50 kilometers of walkways, 30 kilometers of cycle lanes and EV facilities that serve the entire development, and will host cultural events, sports Ellinikon's commercial hub

and recreation.

Surrounding the park will be various residences, including the Marina Tower (designed by Foster + Partners, and the first high-rise residential tower in Greece), beachfront villas, residences in the hotels and luxury private villas wrapped in advanced, biophilic design.

The Cove Residences are centered on open, communal greens and furnished with shared amenities such as a fitness area and playground — offering ideal access to the sea, the sun and the style of The Ellinikon. Positioned around The Ellinikon Park will be an array of fine apartment buildings.

Two new office towers will create a new sustainable The Experience Centre

business hub, with Lamda targeting the highest LEED international green standards. The high-rise office tower

will be the tallest in the country, while a mixed-use tower will combine Grade A+ offices, targeted to be accredited with LEED and Well credentials, a 200-key business hotel, including conference facilities and other leisure services, essential retail and client-friendly food and beverage settings. The buildings will connect to the rest of the city by two new metro stations and a new tram line.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 67

Three hotels — the Marina Hotel, the Beach Hotel, as well as the Hotel in the Vouliagmenis Mixed-Use Tower — will house separate collections of one- to four-bedroom apartments, branded and managed by the selected international hotel operators.

Along the coastline, Lamda will locate retail, attractions, a 400-berth arena and a new beach along a waterfront promenade that will connect the beach with the park. The A luxury residence

Marina Galleria will house global brands in 22,000 square meters of retail, leisure and food beneath a dramatic canopy. A 130,000-square-meter commercial hub will host lifestyle retail in a green development. The adjacent Retail Park will offer a collection of large-scale “big box” retail units.

Bioclimatic, indoor-outdoor hybrid architecture and green facades provide thermal insulation, carbon dioxide reduction and air purification. Coastline resilience is aided through environmentally engineered sensors to prevent flooding along the scenic coast.

To promote the property, Lamda has opened The Ellinikon Experience Centre, an immersive showcase located in a former airplane hangar. The center offers five thematic zones and 22 exhibits detailing the history of The

The Ellinikon Park

The Experience Park

Ellinikon, from its use as an airport and air force base to the current development plans.

Using virtual and augmented reality, adventurous guests can cruise the coastline and see The Ellinikon Riviera aboard a simulated speedboat. Visitors can experience the panoramic views of the park and sea from a flagship residential tower or head to the Botanical Library to stop and smell the flowers with a display of the prevailing flora of the park while the Night Garden Dome imitates the park’s nightlife through light strips, sounds and scents as real as the world outside.

Visitors are also welcome to take in the project’s grand scope through the largest miniature model ever created in Greece, including 22,000 individual pieces at 1:625 scale.

“At The Ellinikon Experience Centre, the sheer scale and ambition for the development comes to life before the eyes of guests from every corner of the globe,” said Athanasiou. “Visitors can touch, hear and even smell what’s to come at The Ellinikon today through a fully immersive and experiential journey.

The best part is that The Ellinikon is already here. The voyage we’re offering is truly unmatched and unprecedented in Greece, Europe and the world.”

Photos by George Fakaros The Experience Centre overs a broad view.

68 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

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FEATURES

Know When to Shift to a Property Manager for Your Short-Term Rental

Pam Knudsen executive of lodging at Avalara

By Pam Knudsen, executive of lodging at Avalara

W

hen you first started rent-

handling rentals in markets that are newly

ties, including handling lodging tax compli-

ing out your home away

competitive, utilizing the right technologies

ance, STR licensing, registrations and legal

from home, you may

aimed at maximizing marketing and profit po-

issues that may arise.

have thought it would be

tential and, significantly, being in close phys-

a fun way to create a new income stream while

ical proximity to the property, many hosts will

2. Your STR is now in a competitive mar-

helping others enjoy their stay and managing a

reach a point where it makes sense to check

ket. As small towns and rural destinations

vacation rental in a destination you love. How-

these critical boxes and engage with a PM.

rise in popularity, your STR may now be facing greater local competition. If you find that

ever, you may now own and manage more than one property, are noticing that you are not mak-

Here are four signs that it is time to shi" to a

your STR is no longer consistently booked, or

ing as much revenue as you once were or are

property manager for your short-term rental:

that you are not ge#ing top dollar, it might be because the competition in your area has in-

feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of navigating regulatory and compliance changes. In

1. You are faced with newly implemented

creased. Property managers utilize the latest

fact, you may be considering hiring a manager

restrictions, regulations and compliance

technology, including dynamic pricing tools

to help you run your property.

burdens. As state, county and city govern-

to manage shifting consumer demands, re-

ments wrestle with rules and regulations in

booking after last-minute cancellations and

Avalara, in collaboration with Phocuswright,

the short-term rental space, hosts can find

adjusting pricing to ensure that the proper-

recently produced a white paper, "The Pro-

themselves grappling with changing STR

ties they manage have higher occupancy

fessionalization of U.S. Short-Term Rentals,”

regulations and ordinances, as well as

rates and a competitive edge.

which surveyed over 442 U.S. short-term

compulsory tax requirements. It can be over-

rental (STR) hosts, and 90 short-term rental

whelming, but the desire to be in compliance

3. You are looking to maximize profits.

property managers (PMs). The study uncov-

is strong, with 86% of hosts reporting that

Along with more competition in the area from

ered insights into the evolving role of PMs in

they care about complying with local regula-

other STRs comes the challenge of mak-

the STR ecosystem including the top reasons

tions and being viewed as good neighbors.

ing sure that guests can find your property

hosts opt to involve a professional in the

PMs can help hosts fulfill this desire to stay

to rent. This means starting or increasing

management of their short-term rental. From

on top of regulatory changes as they have

your digital marketing efforts, which can be

staying on top of new local STR restrictions,

the expertise and experience to navigate

time-consuming as well as challenging if you

mandates and lodging tax compliance, to

changes and ensure compliance for proper-

are unfamiliar with digital marketing tools,

72 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

MANAGEMENT

and because of the broad array of digital

A property manager is another type of

and promoting the property by integrating

marketplaces and sites available today. Of

third-party service, but one that can help

digital marketing, and taking care of the day-

the hosts surveyed, a majority said that in-

manage most other vendors or even pro-

to-day operation of the property are all things

creasing profitability was their core business

vides some services themselves. From over-

that property managers can do in excellence.

goal. From their industry and technology

seeing guest turnover to hiring vendors for

If any of these four signs ring true for you

knowledge to their efficient procedures,

any maintenance or fixes in-between, there is

when it comes to running your STR, it could

savvy PMs simply know how to promote

a tangible relief to entrusting your short-term

be time to consider shi"ing to a professional

properties across channels and platforms to

rental to a local property manager who can

property manager.

bring in the bookings at optimal prices and

quickly address any concerns that guests

manage all other aspects of your STR.

may have.

4. Your short-term rental is at a distance.

K n o w t h e S i g n s a n d Yo u r O p t i o n s

leading multi-tax teams including Lodging,

Perhaps you have moved or invested in a

Many hosts have already decided to entrust

Beverage Alcohol, Telecommunications and

destination you love to visit and managing

their business to a property manager, and it is

Sales & Use Tax. She serves as a leading

your STR remotely has become difficult.

easy to see why. Navigating new regulations

voice in vacation rental tax compliance and

Hosts normally rely on third-party vendors

and ensuring compliance, being competitive

regulation, in addition to bringing in-depth

including cleaning services, landscapers,

in your market by implementing technology

experience across so!ware/SaaS technolo-

accountants/bookkeepers and more.

tools to increase revenue, maximize profits,

gy as well as ERP systems.

Pam Knudsen is an executive at Avalara,

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 73

FEATURES

ALTA Policies: Christmas for Title Pros

By Joe Powell

Joe Powell Vice president/managing underwriting counsel, National Commercial Services

D

id you hear the one about the new

the language in the 2021 forms. Dra%ing them

to the extent there is a recorded PACA/PASA

ALTA Forms?

was not a unilateral decision.

(Packers and Stockyard Act) lien, and the policy does not accept that recorded lien.

If you’re in real estate, you’ve

The changes encompass several things:

It’s excluded to the extent it is a standard

purchased title insurance. As the

aligning the updated language of the 2016

PACA/PASA lien and not recorded outside

insured under the title policy, you might like

Commitment to the Policy Forms, moving

the federal statute creating the inchoate lien.

to know the American Land Title Association

some exceptions that became commonplace

In other words, the insurer has no liability for

(ALTA) approved new forms of Commit-

to the jacket as Exclusions, punctuation

PACA/PASA Trust liens unless there is ac-

ment, Owner’s Policy and Loan Policy that

and grammatical refinements, amendments

tually a recorded document evidencing the

were effective July 1, 2021. Due to the time

based on how courts have treated the prior

lien. In that case, the insurer will specifically

necessary among all the title insurers and

policy language and some fresh coverages

accept the ma#er. If it gets missed and there

states to adopt these forms (and load them

and exclusions for both the insured and

is a loss, that will fall on the insurer to resolve.

into software and production systems), real

insurer. Overwhelmingly, the changes are

implementation took place through 2022.

improvements to coverage for the insured.

A new twist on the defined term “insured”

These have been in discussion for a number

Below are some of the highlights.

will allow coverage under the Owner’s Policy

of years and represent the first wholesale update in 15 years.

to continue when the land is conveyed to an The ALTA 39 Electronic Policy/Signature en-

affiliate, even when money changes hands.

dorsement will become obsolete. The cover-

Under the 2006 Owner’s Policy definition, the

If you’re a real estate and title nerd this is like

ages of that endorsement are now included in

coverage would only continue if there was

Christmas! But seriously, these policies don’t

the Policy Jacket, which should result in one

no consideration paid. This is a benefit to

just churn themselves out. The ALTA Forms

less page for final policies. Electronic issu-

Insureds and one less technicality to haggle

Committee has literally worked for years

ance (without paper) became commonplace

over. So, if the affiliate entity receiving the

on the language. If there’s one thing I know

since the last forms were published in 2006.

land is a parent, sibling, or child of the gran-

as a lawyer, it is this: words have meaning.

The policies now even state a lack of signature

tor entity, it’s covered.

The words of title insurance policies mean

won’t void the coverage (subject, of course, to

something. Every single word was chosen in-

any state requirement for the same).

tentionally and a%er vigorous debate as to its

Remote Online Notarization (RON) made it into the new policies just under the wire. This

effect on coverages. And this effort was not

The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act

is now part of the Covered Risk 2(a) just as

just among title insiders; mortgage bankers,

(PACA) exception won’t be a fight anymore.

traditional in-person notarization is. RON has

real estate lawyers, industry partners and as-

The 7/1/2021 ALTA Policies treat this both as a

become ubiquitous (almost) especially a%er

sociations all had a part to play in arriving at

Covered Risk and an Exception. It’s covered

COVID-19 lockdowns started.

74 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

MANAGEMENT

More space saved: you won’t see standard exceptions to illegal covenants anymore because there is a standard exclusion for that now pre-printed in Schedule B. So, even when a document of record is expected to, the policy doesn’t then have to disclaim the parts that violate law (the 2016 Commitment forms already had this feature, in case it sounds familiar).

Several court decisions criticized the Loan Policy following the great recession because the policy does not specify when a loss should be valued. The result was valuing losses when it best suited an Insured, even if the time for valuing made li#le sense. The 2021 Policy addresses the problem by adding a new condition that gives an Insured a choice of valuing a loss at either the date a A new defined term is introduced: “Enforce-

is still one of the most difficult coverages for

ment Notice.” This is a document affecting

title insurers to underwrite).

the Title, recorded in the Public Records at Date of Policy that describes any part of the

Because the Uniform Voidable Transactions

Land and identifies a violation or enforcement

Act refers to a “voidable transfer” instead

of a law, ordinance, permit or governmental

of “fraudulent transfer,” those terms are re-

regulation, exercise of a power or enforce-

freshed throughout the 2021 forms.

or the date of a foreclosure sale.

You may find a lot of other interesting things as you review the new forms. ALTA will continue rolling out the forms with discussion in print, online and via video. I’m sure all the underwriters will do the same. For detailed

ment of a PACA-PSA Trust. Basically, it is a lien but governmental in nature. This terminology

Have you ever seen an exception to a legal

appears throughout the new policies.

description that recites acreage? Probably so.

Not anymore! Exclusion 9 of the Loan Policy

The Loan Policy’s Covered Risk 10 adds a lot

and Exclusion 7 of the Owner’s Policy exclude

of language to basically clarify and confirm

liability for the quantity of area, square foot-

for lenders that the coverage is for certain

age or acreage described in the land (if any).

enumerated components of the Indebted-

Hopefully this ma#er is off the table for good.

ness (another defined term that experienced

No specific exception is needed, and the

a lot of updates).

acreage references can remain in Schedule A if preferred by the insured, especially when

Perhaps your favorite and mine — Covered

notice of claim was received by the Company

there is an acreage reference in the deed.

Risk 11 on Mechanics Liens — confirms that the coverage relates to services and equip-

The Transaction Identification Data that has

ment in addition to labor and materials. This

been a part of ALTA Commitments since 2016

is consistent with the ALTA 32 coverages.

is now forma#ed into Schedule A of the new

There are no other fun tweaks to mechanic's

Policies as well for consistency. It is made

lien coverage this time around (except that it

clear this information is not insured.

red-line charts showing all the changes from 2006 to 2021, side-by-side with explanatory comments, visit.alta.org/policy-forms.

It is anticipated ALTA will de-certify the 2006 policy forms and the 2016 commitment form as soon as December 31, 2022. All states that use ALTA forms for title insurance should be fully ramped up and using the 2021 forms as 2023 begins.

Joe Powell is managing underwriting counsel for the National Commercial Services Southeast operation of Fidelity National Title Group.

He has been with the Fidelity family for over 11 years and was in private real estate practice as an agent for Chicago Title Insurance Company prior to joining the company full-time.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 75

FEATURES

Project REAP Launches Advanced Learning Program with University of Colorado Boulder

R

Manikka Bowman, Executive Director Project REAP

EAP (Real Estate Associate

veloped real estate courses, in the Leeds

framework to fortify and expand the nonprofit

Program), the initiative for ad-

School of Business at CU Boulder’s executive

organization for the future. REAP will usher in

vancing diversity in commercial

education program, formed in response to

a new group of fellows each spring through

real estate (CRE) nationwide

a growing demand for CRE education. The

the REAP Academy. The Academy, which

for nearly 25 years, has launched its inaugural

professional-level hybrid program, offered

was in-person pre-pandemic and virtual from

Advanced Learning program this fall in part-

in fall 2022 and the start of 2023 to REAP

2020 onward, will become hybrid in Spring

nership with the Leeds School of Business at

alumni, industry professionals and graduate

2023. It consists of seven weeks of synchro-

the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). CU

students, will consist of online courses on

nous remote instruction and three weeks of

Boulder, ranked in the top 3% among world

Fundamentals of Real Estate Finance for

in-person learning including local site tours

universities, is one of a select group of U.S.

Non-Finance Professionals (which launch-

and presentations provided by sponsors

universities renowned as research institutions.

es November 1) and Real Estate Law for

in REAP markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas,

The Leeds School of Business is ranked No.

Non-Lawyers. Classes are being taught by

Cleveland, Columbus, New York City, Los

20 among all public undergraduate business

CU Boulder faculty and CRE industry experts;

Angeles and Washington D.C. A virtual-only

programs by U.S. News & World Report.

the legal course is presented in conjunction

option will be available in non-REAP markets.

with the University of Colorado Law School.

The remaining components are networking events and thought leadership. REAP local

The Advanced Learning program was created by REAP Executive Director Manikka

“The Leeds Executive Education program

planning directors and sponsors will be key

Bowman and spearheaded by REAP Board

will build upon REAP’s well-established

in the restructured model.

Member Michael Kercheval, the Sherman

career-launch training platform,” Kerchev-

R. Miller executive director of the CU Real

al said. “As a center and a school, we are

The new framework allows REAP fellows and

Estate Center Leeds School of Business. The

pleased to make this investment in REAP as

alumni to follow an interconnected and inter-

school has reserved 50 seats for the pro-

part of our concerted efforts to both bring

active continuum to lead to expanding career

gram, according to its website.

more diversity to the real estate industry and

opportunities for REAP alumni.

to advance the professional capacity of indi“The program will support the professional

viduals working in that industry.”

“In 1998, approaching the millennium, REAP took a giant leap forward in bridging the

growth and business capacity of the 1700 REAP alumni currently working in CRE

The Advanced Learning program was de-

gap between talent and opportunity in what

throughout the U.S. in the corporate sector

signed to build and reinforce connections

has traditionally been a non-diverse, legacy

and in entrepreneurial ventures and will

within REAP’s alumni community. Classes are

industry,” Bowman said. “Now, well into the

help to establish these accomplished pro-

being held one night each week a"er hours

21st century, it is time to equally address

fessionals as they advance their careers,”

to allow working professionals to a#end.

the needs of those who have succeeded in entering the CRE space through REAP to

Bowman said.

The pilot offering will consist of newly de-

The Advanced Learning pilot program is part

further their development in a way that best

of the four pillars reshaping a bold new REAP

serves their growth and the industry at large.”

76 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

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FEATURES

A Blueprint for Proptech’s Future

By Debra Hazel

It was bound to happen: proptech investment

The lack of any global standards is also

the company in 2009 and for three years

is growing up, moving from the go-go days

slowing investment.

wrote every line of the software’s code it-

when backers funded a bit of everything in

self. “The only way to buy a portfolio was

the hope of one big strike to taking a strate-

“There is no global data standard for the real

one at a time, with people knocking on

gic view for the long term, according to inter-

estate market. This holds the tech back,”

doors. We used to call them roadrunners.”

views conducted at the Blueprint conference

said Peter Bredthauer, CEO and co-founder

in Las Vegas in September.

of U.K.-based PRODA, which automates

Instead, Coyote built a CRM for property,

rent roll data. Rent information submitted in

creating a research database that asset man-

“The funding environment has completely

multiple ways can require hours of time and

agement clients (which range from niche or-

changed,” said Oliver Farago, CEO of Coyote,

increased chances of error.

ganizations to large global funds) can access

an asset management database company.

to determine what deals could work for them.

“In 2020, valuations were crazy; there was so

Practicality also extends to technology tar-

Right now, 95% of the database is in the U.K.,

much competition that VCs [venture capital-

geting the construction site.

but plans call for expansion into North Ameri-

ists) were fighting to get into deals. As public markets began to correct, that’s gone down.”

ca — growth was supposed to begin in 2020 “We’re seeing a big push on the robotics

but was delayed by the pandemic.

front on the construction front,” said Zander Decision-making is still slow for investors,

Geronimos, head of strategic partnerships

Integrated solutions are the key, accord-

which affects proptech decisions, said

and business development at MetaProp,

ing to Wayne Berger, managing partner at

Marcus Mouffarige, founder and CEO of

a major investor in proptech companies.

iShack Ventures, a Johannesburg, South Af-

Illity, a software-as-a-service platform that

“Though you still need someone on the job

rica-based holding company that incubates

allows office landlords to manage services.

site to manage the crew, [technology] is just

tech companies including those focusing on

augmenting and ge"ing the job done faster

Smart Building, which enables tenant com-

in a safe manner.”

munication and facilities management via a

“There is still a lot of uncertainty,” he said, adding that normalization could take up to

smart data portal.

five years as the industry resizes. “Will the

Tech has even spread to asset management,

industry be as big? Uncertainty isn’t just

with U.K.-based Coyote Software seeking

“It will set up the preventive maintenance and

limited to the office. It’s across the real es-

to systematize portfolio availability, just as

remind you,” he said.

tate sector. There is now a flight to quality in

CRMs revolutionized individual relationships.

multifamily, office and probably retail as well.

Eilon Shalev, CEO of Elphi, a software plat-

I’m definitely losing sleep in the commercial

“We took industrial RE and turned it into an

form for mortgage lenders to optimize their

office sector.”

institutional class,” Farago said. He founded

operations by offering a built-in audit trail,

80 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

TECHNOLOGY

contractor I knew — let’s call him Vinnie,” recalled Renno founder and CEO Khalief Brown, a former executive at OpenDoor. “It didn’t go well.”

Because of long lead times, a job that should have taken four weeks took four months and was significantly over budget.

“We built a solution to solve this problem,” Brown said. “Homeowners can come on the website and see how different materials work together.”

But growth was limited — how often does someone renovate a house? That’s what has led them to refocus on the contractor.

“We built it for my in-laws,” Brown said. “We should have built it for Vinnie.”

COVID-19 did push tech developers to focus smart checklists and customization.

renovations need practical planning, said

on the customer experience.

Ian Jaffrey, co-founder of Skipp Renovation, “The problem is that all of the providers built

which has created a system to allow home-

“COVID-19 was a massive accelerator,” said

their companies in the 1980s and 1990s,”

owners and their contractors to plan kitchen

Alex Israel, co-founder and CEO of Metrop-

Shalev said. “Due to the evolution of the

renovations that make sense for their budget.

olis, which focuses on modernizing parking.

“It’s drive-in/drive-out technology similar to

mortgage industry a#er the 2008 collapse, it didn’t make sense to reinvent the program.

Mobile scans allow shoppers to make 3D

Amazon Go for parking. Our tech recognizes

Instead, it was patch upon patches.”

measures (digital twins) of the space and

your vehicle.”

get accurate material quotes and estimates.

Instead, Elphi allows loans that once

Plans call for the firm to work with national

The solution lowers operating costs and cre-

took 45 days to close in as few as 15

retailers to expand its services to thousands

ates a seamless experience for the consum-

days. That’s particularly critical now as

of kitchens.

er, he said.

“People can get all of this professional-level

Clearly, a maturing industry is now looking to

design at their fingertips,” Jaffrey said.

become more useful, both in the short and,

rising mortgage rates are affecting demand. Certainty is key, he continued.

especially, the long term. In contrast to tak-

“The party is over,” Shalev said. “Lenders need to scale down operations. Before, they

Another home renovation technology, Ren-

ing several big gambles for one big reward,

had to scale up.”

no, a B2B marketplace for renovation mate-

Investors want real, provable results.

rials, originally was created for consumers, Other new technologies are more focused

but now is being marketed to contractors.

“I look for folks who have that committed, long-term vision,” MetaProp’s Geronimos

on the practical aspects of real estate. Especially in a time when budgets are as tight

“A few years ago, my in-laws wanted to ren-

said. “If you are not innovating for the next 10

as supply chains, those looking to do home

ovate their home. I recommended the best

years, you won’t be competitive.”

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 81

FEATURES

Living Well:

Life Time Reveals New Luxury Residences Near Las Vegas

L

ife Time, the luxury fitness chain, is doing more than teaching people how to be

healthier — it’s literally going to help people live well, by debuting luxury leased residences, Life Time Living, in Henderson, Nevada.

Located in Henderson’s affluent Green Valley neighborhood — just 15 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip — the 149-unit residential midrise tower shares a campus with Life Time Athletic Resort and Spa, creating a 16.5-acre village for residents and members to live healthy lifestyles.

It "was envisioned to foster a healthy, socially connected and environmentally conscious lifestyle with our luxury residences and our athletic resorts and spas as part of

Life Time Living in Henderson, Nevada Living is the Resident Concierge programming, which connects residents’ at-home and in-club lifestyles. The concierge team

ing from home, hosting special events and lounging by the pool. Building highlights include: a grand staircase inside the main

assists residents with:

entrance, leading to 8,000 square feet of amenities and entertainment on the second floor; an enhanced work lounge featuring a

•

one vibrant campus,” said Eric Padget, vice president, property development.

The seven-story residential midrise provides community spaces and residences, comprising 105 one-bedroom and 44 two-bedroom units ranging from 914 to 1,727 square feet.

Prices start at $2,980; residences come with full-access memberships to the adjacent Life Time Green Valley — and all of Life Time’s destinations across North America.

•

•

• Life Time isn’t the first wellness company to build residences. Canyon Ranch developed Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach, consisting of condo residences, around a spa, more than a decade ago. But unique to Life Time

Weekly meal prep from the LifeCafe, including deliveries to residences or Life Time Living’s refrigerated package room. Meals can be tailored to meet individual goals.

Personal training session and group fitness or studio class bookings, as well as personal wake-up calls and reminders.

Appointments with Life Time's nutrition coaches for grocery shopping with residents. Life Time's chefs are available to cook for parties or for dinners at home.

Recommending and scheduling treatments with LifeSpa estheticians and massage therapists for personalized treatments and at-home consultations.

Community spaces can accommodate work-

coffee bar; reservable private dining room with a full catering kitchen and indoor and outdoor bar areas and an entertainment area furnished with leathercraft sofas and seating areas, along with games and entertainment including a pool table, oversized Scrabble game and shuffleboard.

Life Time Living residents will have full access to the adjacent 171,000-square-foot Life Time athletic country club experience with a pool deck, lap pools, waterslides, bistro and tennis and pickleball courts and an wellness experience inside with studios for classes, indoor pools, tennis court, full-service spa and salon, fast-casual restaurant, Kids Academy, regulation-size basketball courts and more.

Photo via PRNewswire

82 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

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ARTICLES

Condo-Co-op Helpline:

Cooperative and Condominium Boards – The Need for Full Disclosure

By Carol A. Sigmond, partner, Greenspoon Marder LLP

New York City condominium unit owners and cooperative shareholders are facing massive capital calls regarding FISP (Façade Inspection Safety Program) and other projects in this uncertain period of inflation and supply chain disruptions. The reason for this is likely due to the aftermath of the Champlain Tower South collapse in Surfside, Florida and the resulting deaths of 98 people. Attorneys and design professionals are more aggressive in demanding that essential repairs be done.

The capital demands are being exacerbated by the current inflation cycle (including the increasing price of petroleum and petroleum-based products), the labor shortage and general supply chain issues.

It is ironic that after 10 years of relatively stable construction costs (when work could have been spaced out and financed at low interest rates), these projects are now being initiated and done in a high-interest rate environment, all at once, with many buildings competing for scarce resources. Additionally, the longer the owner waits to address many repairs, the more damage is being done and the more extensive and costly the required repairs become.

To make matters worse, condominium and cooperative buildings, by their respective unit owners and shareholders who already pay a disproportionate amount of the city’s property taxes, face penalties of up to $2 per foot unless these buildings make major reductions in energy usage. Buildings with “C” ratings or lower need to make major reductions in the use of power, gas, water, electricity, steam and oth-

er utilities. These changes will require electrical re-circuiting, plumbing upgrades, insulation and even removing gas stoves from kitchens.

Windows must be replaced with energy-efficient models. This issue has been extant for approximately five years, but many buildings have not even given this a passing thought.

and shareholders for failing to perform basic maintenance such as roof replacement, valve replacements and related work when individual units are damaged. There should be no defense based on the business judgment rule (discussed last month) for omitting to perform necessary maintenance.

Why is this gross lack of planning happening?

Individual board members and managing agents should be required to pay attorney fees to unit owners or shareholders who must retain counsel to gain access to building records, including benchmark and FISP reports. This information belongs to all of the unit owners or shareholders.

First, managing agents are not motivated to plan for major capital work. That costs money, and the primary pressure on managing agents is to lower costs. Second, boards of managers and boards of directors, too, are not motivated to plan or execute capital work. Board members only want to be re-elected, and capital spending makes one unpopular. Therefore, all current incentives appear to favor concealing and avoiding problems as long as possible.

Changing the motivation of the managing agents and boards is crucial. One obvious way forward is to require boards and managing agents to make fuller disclosures to unit owners and shareholders. These disclosures should include mandatory annual distributions of: 1) the most recent FISP report; 2) the most recent benchmarking report with projected penalties per unit or share if the reductions in energy use are not made; 3) estimates of future costs if work is delayed and 4) estimates of savings from energy reduction measures.

Boards and managing agents should be required to disclose how costs are accumulated.

In addition, managing agents and boards should be liable for damages to unit owners

86 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Finally, there may be buildings where the maintenance requirements are such that it is no longer practical to maintain the building — essentially, the building needs to be demolished and replaced. Unit owners and shareholders must accept this reality and consider all options.

Meanwhile, if you own shares in a cooperative apartment building or unit(s) in a condominium, you need to prepare for five to seven years of heavy capital outlay. But the time to start dealing with these issues is now.

This column presents a general discussion. This column does not provide legal advice. Please consult your attorney for legal advice.

Carol A. Sigmond Greenspoon Marder LLP 590 Madison Ave., Suite 1800 New York, NY 10022 carol.sigmond@gmlaw.com (212)524-5074

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The Entrepreneurial Bank Helping Our Clients Build and Sustain Wealth, One Client at a Time.

For more than 20 years, our bankers have worked alongside middle-market and small business owners during the good times as well as the not so good – tailoring our traditional and innovative banking products and services to meet the challenges and seize opportunities in front of our clients.

Laura Capra, Executive Vice President LCapra@MCBankNY.com, 212 659-0606 Manhattan | 99 Park Avenue • 212 365-6700 | 16 West 46th Street • 212 938-0770 | 1359 Broadway • 212 643-6981 | 1270 Lexington Avenue • 646 930-3386 Brooklyn 5101 13th Avenue • 718 851-2105 | Great Neck 111 Great Neck Road • 516 441-5232 © 2020 Metropolitan Commercial Bank Metropolitan Commercial Bank is a registered trademark of Metropolitan Commercial Bank.

ARTICLES

Addressing Employee Hiring & Retention in the Real Estate Industry

By Frank DeLucia, senior vice president, Hub International Northeast

As businesses continue on the road to recovery from the residual impact of the pandemic, a labor shortage stands in the way. While the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors were hardest hit and lost more workers than any other during this time, employee hiring and retention is a serious issue that all employers are still facing today, including those within the real estate industry. To keep up, employers should adjust their perspective of employee needs and deliver benefits accordingly.

When it comes to attracting and keeping the talent that keeps your operations running, employee benefits, health insurance and retirement benefits in particular, are a useful strategy for real estate businesses when it comes to attracting and retaining employees.

Consider the following when you are designing your plan: • Understand employees, and what they want and need from benefits.

Employers can start helping their recruiting and retention by rethinking the employee value proposition, which reflects the organization’s rewards, values and ways the company recognizes employees.

The key to reevaluating the employee value proposition is the fact employees have a different vision of work and rewards than in the past. Persona analyses geared specifically to the real estate industry provide insight into employees, helping customize benefits that will energize recruitment and retention.

• The times call for a different context.

One way that employers will need to compete is a new way of looking at benefits: instead of one-size-fits-all, organizations will

•

•

•

•

need to personalize benefits while taking an active role in in helping deliver them.

Today, according to industry publication HR Today, 82% of employees want to be seen as individuals, not workers, and for employers to support them in the entirety of their lives, be it at work or home.

Offer value. Because limited medical plans are voluntary, employees won’t bite if there’s no value in the plan. A limited medical plan needs to offer access, cover preventative services like mental health and address gaps in care.

Emphasize employee communications. A third-party vendor can handle administrative tasks like integrating plan management with payroll systems and managing COBRA, but not necessarily employee communications. Employers need to make sure their vendor offers strong communication and education capabilities, so employees will know the value in the limited medical plan and will actually sign up.

Keep in mind that retirement plans are important to retention and financial wellness. Retirement benefits like the 401(k) are important drivers of recruitment and employee retention because they uniquely incentivize long-term employment — especially when offered with an employer match.

When employees know that their company takes an interest in securing their financial futures, they’re more likely to stick around and put in their best work. A 401(k) retirement plan helps recruit and retain quality employees. It enriches the organization’s benefits offering and represents the employer’s interest in helping employees take control of their re-

88 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

tirement. Tax-deferred growth for savings also makes 401(k) plans an efficient way for employers and employees alike to invest for retirement.

• Focus on a quality employee experience (QEX). Strong financial wellness programs from employers can help alleviate workers’ emotional and financial health, leading to greater happiness and productivity. Perhaps more important, a strong offering to support money and financial security concerns is essential to ensuring a quality employee experience (QEX).

A QEX approach entails fashioning the experience employees will have with compensation and benefits, and workers who have quality experiences are far more likely to be loyal to their organization and create an organization that is highly attractive to potential employees. Money and financial security is at the center of QEX. It’s not just that employees need to feel secure financially through adequate and appropriate compensation, but that they often need help for things beyond a wage and health benefits. That’s where money and security, financial wellness and QEX intersect.

Benefits can help manage the labor gap and attract long-term staff. Work with your insurance advisor to offer a strategic and competitive package and consider retirement planning when it comes to long-term retention.

Frank DeLucia Hub International Northeast Woodbury, NY frank.delucia@hubinternational.com (212)338-2395

New York’s Full Service Real Estate Firm.

Romer Debbas, LLP is a boutique law firm located in midtown Manhattan specializing in the areas of real estate, banking/private banking, general corporate law, real estate and commercial litigation, business/personal immigration, trust and estates and taxation.

The firm represents a wide array of clients including buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate, sponsors and developers, prominent lending institutions, landlords and tenants, foreign and domestic investors, cooperative and condominium boards, and small to Fortune 500 businesses.

New York (Main Office) 275 Madison Avenue, Suite 801• New York, NY 10016 Phone (212) 888-3100 • Fax (212) 888-3201 www.romerdebbas.com

ARTICLES

Backyarding: A Year in Review

By Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) and the TurfMutt Foundation

“Backyarding” — the trend to move indoor activities outdoors that was made popular during the pandemic — is a way of life now.

Homeowners spent lots of time, money and effort over the last couple of years improving their backyards to make them an extension of their homes. Now they work, cook, exercise and even vacation (or “staycation”) in their own backyards.

More than three quarters of Americans who have a yard (76%) say the family yard space is one of the most important parts of their home, according to a poll commissioned by the TurfMutt Foundation and conducted online by The Harris Poll. Nearly three-quarters of Americans overall (72%) say a spacious yard would be at the top of their wish list if they were looking for a new home.

This desire reflects a culture shift in how Americans view their yards. The pandemic proved how valuable our backyards are to us, and throughout 2022 people continued to “backyard more.” It’s something the TurfMutt Foundation expects to continue into the New Year and beyond.

Here’s a closer look at the backyarding trends from 2022: Officing outdoors. No need to turn to technology to create a virtual backdrop for video calls. The natural setting created by your yard’s living landscape — trees, flowers, bushes and other plants — is the best video call background, bar none. Outdoor offices offer a way

for workers to remain productive, successfully share space with others working and learning from home and to de-stress and enjoy nature while focusing on tasks at hand. They are embracing the healing power of nature, just a few steps away.

Homeowners have learned that they could access nature right outside their back doors to de-stress, unwind and relax. From swinging in a hammock to simply clearing your mind for a moment with a few breaths of fresh air, we all now know that the best “green” spa is the one in your own backyard.

Learning outdoors. Parents at the head of the class know that their backyard or community park is a living laboratory for learning. Kids can do homework at a patio or picnic table or brush up on STEM education by planting and studying flowers, bug hunting and weather watching. Even when school isn’t in session, families have discovered that their yards and community green spaces can and do support outdoor learning.

Vacationing at home. Families turned to their own backyards for their family “getaways” to safely spend time with their family and build memories to last a lifetime. Parents learned the tricks to excite their families about a staycation: make it fun for everyone and even involve them in the planning process. Put together a schedule with a mixture of activities that everyone will enjoy like camping, playing games and dining. Count down the days to build excitement about spending time togeth-

90 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

er in your family yard.

Using the backyard as a five-star event space. During the pandemic, people recognized the backyard as a better way to gather.

Think of the events that were hosted. Graduation parties. Family reunions. Birthday celebrations. Holiday gatherings. Reconnecting with friends. The family yard and community parks are five-star event spaces that are always easy — and free! — to book.

One final and important note to backyarders: creating a yard that supports every aspect of your family’s outdoor lifestyle means identifying your backyard personality type and then taking stock of what you might need to create and care for your outdoor space. Take an inventory of your space, outdoor power equipment and supplies to make sure you are prepared. Then, get out there and create your canvas for even more backyard memory-making in the coming year.

Sign up for Mutt Mail, a monthly e-newsletter with backyarding tips and all the news from the TurfMutt Foundation. To learn more about creating the yard of your dreams, visit turfmutt.com.

Kris Kiser Outdoor Power Equipment Institute 1605 King Street Alexandria, VA 22314 turfmutt.com opei.org (703)549-7600

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Scott Galin, Principal/CEO sgalin@handler-re.com

The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed reliable. While we do not doubt its accuracy, we make no guarantee, warranty or representation about it. The prospective tenant should carefully verify each item, and all other information herein.

815200978- HRE - Mann Report - 561 7th - 20th Floor-Ad-2022_V5.indd 1

1/19/22 1:37 PM

ARTICLES

Deb’s Retail Dish and Deals:

Happy Holidays?

By Debra Hazel, president of Debra Hazel Communications

As September turns from late summer into early fall, the retail calendar also takes a turn, as industry experts offer their predictions for the upcoming holiday sales season.

But is it really upcoming? Odds are that shoppers are already making at least some of their holiday purchases. A Gartner survey of more than 300 consumers conducted in July found that nearly half (48%) planned to start shopping in October or November, with 16% now shopping year-round for holiday gifts.

This bodes well for what many observers say will be a solid selling season, despite inflation.

Bain forecasts 7.5% nominal growth in U.S. holiday retail sales, well above the 5% 10-year average. But look for more promotions to get people in the stores.

Holiday retail sales are likely to increase between 4% and 6% in 2022, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast. Overall, Deloitte’s retail and consumer products practice projects holiday sales will total $1.45 trillion to $1.47 trillion during the November to January timeframe. In 2021, holiday sales grew by 15.1% in the same period.

Deloitte also forecasts that e-commerce sales will grow by 12.8% to 14.3%, year-over-year, during the 2022-2023 holiday season. This will likely result in e-commerce holiday sales reaching between $260 billion and $264 billion for this season.

“The lower projected growth for the 2022 holiday season reflects the slowdown in the economy this year. Retail sales are likely to be further affected by declining demand for durable consumer goods, which had been the centerpiece of pandemic spending. However, we anticipate

more spending on consumer services, such as restaurants, as the effects of the pandemic continue to wane,” said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte’s U.S. economic forecaster. “Inflation will also help to raise dollar sales, although retailers will see less growth in sales volume.”

The Mastercard SpendingPulse annual holiday forecast is predicting that U.S. retail sales will increase 7.1% year over year, excluding automotive sales.

“This holiday season, consumers may find themselves looking for ways to navigate the inflationary environment — from searching for deals to making trade-offs that allow for extra room in their gift-giving budgets,” said Michelle Meyer, U.S. chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute. “New job creation, rising wages and lingering savings should have many consumers ready and able to spend.”

The senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and Chairman of Saks Incorporated Steve Sadove added, “This holiday retail season is bound to be far more promotional than the last. Easing supply chain issues coupled with the rapid shift in consumer spending trends and over-ordering inventory have left retailers in an interesting position ahead of the holidays.

Retailers that were able to clear past merchandise and accurately forecast inventory needs will be the best positioned for growth.”

The ICSC’s Annual Holiday Shopping Intentions Survey reported that shoppers expect to increase their spending in the 2022 holiday season by 6.7%, driven by an increased focus on deals and promotions, an earlier start to the holiday season and inflation. The trade association is also forecasting an increase of 9.9% on dining, bringing the total spending for

92 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

the season to $1.56 trillion.

The survey also found that 90% percent of adults intend to make holiday-related purchases this year. Overall, 75% of shoppers noted that they plan to start earlier, identifying product availability (48%) and early deals and promotions (43%) among the primary drivers for their decision, with the top three gift categories being gift cards (62%), apparel/accessories (57%) and toys/games (50%).

Don’t break out the champagne yet, however.

Our friends at The NPD Group (which recently merged with Information Resources Inc.) are a bit more cautious — its holiday purchase intentions consumer survey saw 29% of respondents say they were thinking about spending less this season. As a result, it predicts spending on par with 2021 levels is expected during the traditional November and December holiday shopping season, with the potential of 0.5% to 2.5% growth when the season is expanded to include October and January.

“Consumers are ready to get out and celebrate over the 2022 holiday season, but last year’s optimism has taken a beating as financial concerns have them feeling a bit more grinchy this year,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD. “Despite economic challenges, consumers still have just as many friends and family members to shop for during the holidays, they will just be spending differently.”

We’ll know what happens in due course.

Happy holidays!

Debra Hazel Debra Hazel Communications North Las Vegas, NV (201)618-5247

SERVING COMMUNITIES AND HONORING THE VALUE OF THEIR INVESTMENTS SINCE 1955 We serve a large community of luxury multifamily, residential and mixed-use cooperatives, condominiums and rental properties throughout New York City. Our services include: • Comprehensive Residential Property Management • Back Office Accounting Services • Risk Management

• Energy Consulting • Commercial Leasing • Residential Brokerage and Sales • Project Management Consulting

156 WEST 56TH STREET, 6TH FLOOR | NEW YORK, NY 10019 (212) 247-2603 | ORSIDNY.COM

ARTICLES

Energy Efficient Tax Incentives Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

By Michael Coones, senior tax associate, Marcum LLP

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) significantly expanded tax incentives related to energy efficiency for real estate owners and designers, including the Section 179D tax deduction and Section 45L tax credit.

Section 179D Tax Deduction Prior to the passage of the IRA, the Section 179D tax deduction was available to commercial building owners and designers of buildings owned by government entities. The IRA extends the deduction to designers of commercial buildings owned by tax-exempt entities, which can allocate the 179D deduction to architects, engineers and designers for designing a building’s energy-efficient systems.

The IRA lowers the qualification threshold for the 179D deduction from 50% to a 25% reduction in total annual energy and power costs, which is determined using an Applicable Dollar Value (ADV) multiplication factor. The initial value and eventual cap for the ADV varies depending on whether prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are satisfied.

Laborers and mechanics employed by the taxpayer and all contractors or subcontractors must be paid wages at least at the locality’s prevailing rates for five years beginning when the project is placed into service. To satisfy the apprenticeship requirement, a certain percentage of the labor must be performed by people employed through registered programs.

The IRA also increases the 179D deduction per square foot using a sliding scale, for energy-efficient commercial buildings four stories or taller. Previously, the deduction ranged from 63 cents per square foot for each of the three

eligible systems (HVAC and hot water, interior lighting and building envelope) to a maximum of $1.88 per square foot.

Under the IRA, projects that do not meet the prevailing wage requirements but which achieve a 25% energy cost savings are eligible for a base deduction of 50 cents per square foot. The deduction is increased for each percentage point above 25% that energy usage is reduced, capped at $1.00 per square foot.

For projects that do meet the prevailing wage requirements and achieve an energy cost saving of at least 25%, the 179D deduction is equal to $2.50 per square foot. With each additional percentage point of energy usage reduction, the bonus deduction is increased to a maximum of $5.00 per square foot for 50% energy cost savings or higher.

Section 45L Tax Credit The Section 45L tax credit incentivizes residential homebuilders and multifamily developers to reduce energy usage in newly constructed residences. The IRA extends the current credit through 2022 and modifies it beginning in 2023 though 2032.

New Homes Programs will be eligible for a $2,500 tax credit if the units are sold or rented after December 31, 2022. The credit increases to $5,000 if the new housing units are certified under the Zero Energy Ready Homes Program.

Dwellings certified under the Energy Star Multifamily New Construction National Program will also be eligible for these benefits, including high-rise projects, though the amount of the credit will be reduced if prevailing wage requirements are not met. These credits will remain in effect through 2032.

Contractors and subcontractors must pay laborers and mechanics employed under the contract no less than locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area.

A benefit of the change to align with DOE programs: building height is no longer restricted, making all residential developments eligible.

Through the end of 2022, 45L provides a maximum credit of $2,000 per unit. For years 2023–2032, the maximum credit will increase to $5,000 per unit for both single-family and multifamily developments.

The Section 45L tax credit can now be used in conjunction with the Section 179D tax deduction for multifamily projects four stories or taller. With these changes to existing energy efficient tax incentives, Congress intends to make a greater effort to combat climate change. These expansive updates can provide significant relief to property owners, developers, investors, homebuilders, architects, engineers, designers and more.

The energy-efficient criteria and testing requirements for the Section 45L credit have been changed. New homes certified under the Department of Energy’s Star Residential New Construction or Energy Star Manufactured

Michael Coones Marcum LLP 1 Canal Plaza — 4th Floor Portland, ME 04101 michael.coones@marucmllp.com

94 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

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Office & Retail Leasing • Investments • Advisory • Capital Markets • Property Management For Leasing Information on Our Properties or to Learn More About Our Services, Contact: 212.400.6060 - www.absre.com All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors or omissions of any magnitude, withdrawal from market, or changes in terms, all without notice.

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ARTICLES

The State of Sustainable Architecture in NYC

By David West, founding partner of Hill West Architects

Until recently, cutting-edge, sustainable design was mainly reserved for flagship corporate, institutional and civic projects, while market-rate residential projects were generally designed strictly to code. Now, with tenants and property owners becoming more sensitive to building performance, sustainable design is becoming the norm across all building typologies in New York, for the reasons outlined below.

Stricter Building Codes Over the last decade, city and state baseline codes have become significantly more stringent. Buildings built to “code minimum” now have far more efficient exterior envelope insulation, for example, than even just a few years ago. Developers have embraced zoning incentives that encourage greater efficiency in return for modest floor area increases, resulting in a crop of buildings that are well ahead of the sustainability curve.

New Technologies Sustainable design also continues to evolve through advances in technology. For example, new residential buildings are far more likely to employ electric HVAC systems than in previous years, relying less on fossil fuel. This will pay dividends in the future as the grid becomes more and more renewable.

More sophisticated strategies such as Passive House, a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, are making inroads as well.

These strategies, which require much tighter envelopes, have so far mainly been employed in the public and non-profit sectors for affordable housing and civic projects. As real estate developers are generally risk averse and shy away from new unproven technologies, the

not-for-profit sector has created a pool of builders and consultants familiar with the Passive House methodologies. Due to the availability of components, the premium for Passive House has come down significantly. Today, more residential Passive House projects are popping up in New York, including Hill West’s 202 East 23rd St., a luxury rental development..

Government Mandates Government mandates are playing a major role in advancing sustainability, with New York City at the forefront. Local Law 97, which will measure actual energy performance and require near net zero energy use over the course of the next several decades, is already making an impact. Another mandate includes Local Law 154, which bans fossil fuel use in new buildings and will phase in over the next five years.

Rather than fighting these mandates, many building developers are embracing them, seeing marketing opportunities, energy savings and improved tenant satisfaction as incentives. Tangible benefits include better indoor air quality, reduced noise and lower utility costs. Soon, it seems likely that having an inefficient building will become a liability and having a Passive House (or something similar) will become a highly marketable feature. Plus, a verifiable, “envelope-first” approach to energy reduction (such as Passive House) offers certainty in a landscape where the cleanliness of the grid remains uncertain.

Sustainable Materials Since approximately 70% of the emissions caused by buildings can be attributed to their operational energy, it makes sense to prioritize building envelope and operations efficiency.

96 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

However, the embodied energy in construction materials makes up the other 30% of emissions, and has become a hot topic among builders, developers and designers. Concrete and steel are carbon-intensive to produce.

Mass timber construction — a more sustainable option — has been employed in some regions, but has yet to make a dent in New York City. I expect that NYC codes will evolve to permit some version of mass timber, at least in mid-rise structures, hopefully beyond the typical usage of heavy timber in floor framing.

Renewable Energy Developers can maximize renewable energy easily since rooftops are natural places for solar panels. Though codes and zonings are slowly catching up to these newer technologies, battery storage for solar energy has remained a sticking point due to still outdated building codes that don’t properly address risks and hazards. Advanced research and activism are in progress to help define what is safe and encourage even greater use of renewable energy and accompanying storage systems.

In summary, there have been two types of real estate developers in the past: those who choose to do the minimum mandated by code, and a few lonely crusaders who have reached beyond. Going forward, I predict these will merge and sustainability will become mainstream. Not only will it help save our planet, but it will also be the wisest business decision.

David West Hill West Architects 11 Broadway - 17th floor New York, NY 10004 (212)213-8007

ARTICLES

Rebranding Your Property

By Elise Rosemarin, senior vice president, Akam

Managers of residential properties such as condos/co-ops are often looking for ways to evaluate, maintain or elevate property values.

Renovating individual apartments is a relatively straightforward process. But how do you give a full building a facelift? One such approach gaining popularity is rebranding — a strategy that allows established properties to elevate their overall perception and maintain or increase value significantly.

Why Rebrand a Property?

There are many reasons for rebranding, ranging from simple updates to more comprehensive overhauls. Changes can include refreshing the general perception of a property following major physical improvements or presenting a new identity altogether.

In addition to the value-add, other factors that can motivate a rebranding is the desire to create a fresh identity that better aligns with the community as it evolves over time.

Properties may also plan for a brand refresh as a way to distinguish the building from the rest and appeal to different buyers. Taking these steps can also be a great way to remind the marketplace of a building’s longstanding history and revive its iconic status.

What Does Rebranding Involve?

If you are considering rebranding as an option for your property, the first step is to engage your community and ensure that residents are aligned with the vision. Surveying residents and seeking their input is a crucial part of the rebranding strategy for any property. Taking the time to gather this input will provide insight into what residents truly want. Boards will also want to check their building’s by-laws to

confirm what changes can be made.

With this information, buildings and boards can tailor the rebranding approach while you begin to explore your options. As property managers, we work closely with boards and associations during this phase to hone in on the building’s priorities, such as cosmetic updates, renovations, staffing, service additions and beyond.

Many boards will also want to determine what makes sense from a marketing and investment perspective, while aligning with the property’s budget and the feedback from the community.

The scale and scope of rebranding can vary, as it depends on the overall goals, property size, budget and timeline, among other variables.

As the saying goes, a little bit can go a long way. Perhaps your property wishes to rebrand completely with a new name, logo, brand identity, brand guidelines, trademark, color scheme, signage and more. While this requires a long-term commitment, there are also legal aspects and property bylaws to consider. If a building is not ready to make a long-term commitment, there are other minor updates that can be made and are just as impactful in the short term, such as updated photography and minimal aesthetic enhancements.

COVID-19 also shifted the rebranding landscape due to residents spending more time at home. Many buildings have already reimagined their communal spaces, such as the lobby, gym, children’s playroom and beyond to accommodate hybrid work models.

Managing a Successful Rebrand For a rebrand of any level, you want to ensure you are being mindful of your real estate assets every step of the way. The variations in

98 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

scale and scope involve various levels of approval from unit owners, and may also require legal and administrative considerations, as well as certain financial implications. With any large-scale project, it is advisable to work with professionals from the start. An experienced property management team, with a proven track record for branding initiatives, access to key resources you will need along the way and in-depth market knowledge, will ensure the most successful outcome.

When rebranding is pursued specifically for marketing purposes and repositioning a property within the marketplace, the building’s managing agent can be a key player. At Akam, we curate the rebranding experience to align with the individual property’s needs.

As the competitive landscape of real estate expands, the demand to rebrand or remarket a property continues to rise. This, in turn, requires the time and commitment of not only the managing agent, but also the board and, ideally, a designated rebranding committee.

The effects of a rebranding can be astounding and go beyond what the eye can see — enhancing a building both visually and from an emotional perspective. It also can revitalize the community within it, foster new connections and make residents feel truly at home. It is no easy feat, but if executed properly, it can have incredibly powerful results that redefine the image of a property and, as such, its overall value.

Elise Rosemarin Akam 260 Madison Ave., 12th Floor New York, NY 10016 (212)986-0001

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ARTICLES

The Top Issues for Cultural Institution Capital Plans in 2022

By Kris Collins, managing director, MGAC

The pandemic brought black swan revenue challenges to cultural institutions across the United States, while remote communications, social media and the increasing importance of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) is creating new needs that need to be addressed in an environment of constrained capital and greater scrutiny. Museums, libraries, performance centers and other cultural organizations increasingly need to restrategize for a post-COVID-19 world in which inflation, higher interest rates and logistics and labor issues persist. Below are some of the top issues capital plan leaders need to consider.

proven records of delivering successful projects on time and within budget.

Fierce Competition A study by the American Association of Museums reported there was a 6% drop in museum attendance between 2017 and 2020 — and this was before the pandemic. With travel back on the table for many, attendance is picking back up from the depths of the pandemic, but the reality remains that there is fiercer competition for in-person experiences.

Philanthropic funding was also affected. When the pandemic hit, charitable donations across the U.S., particularly for organizations working towards social and environmental justice, increased by about 4%, according to the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

The arts, however, saw a significant decrease in giving, almost 9%. This drop, combined with a total lack of admissions income in recent years has placed historic financial strains on cultural institutions. As a result, there is pressure to update museums to be more social media-friendly and thus more in demand from new audiences across channels. This typically requires at least minor capital projects—and architects, designers and contractors with

According to the Q1 2022 RICS Construction Monitor, more than 87% of construction industry professionals say that cost of materials is an issue, while more than 76% say the same about availability of materials. Additionally, more than three quarters see skilled labor and overall labor shortages as a critical issue.

Amid financial strains, cost management and predictable budgets is then a must. Change orders and overruns are not so easily absorbed in 2022. Understanding and preparing for dynamics within the construction supply and labor ecosystems is paramount.

Predicting Supply Chain and Labor As cultural institutions not only reopen their doors but embark on ambitious new programming, capital projects and endeavors that require public approvals, proper project management and real-world financial forecasting that takes into consideration contemporary conditions like market volatility, mass health concerns, social inequities and regular supply chain and inflation issues will be paramount to those projects’ success.

Project schedules require realistic planning based on increased long-lead times for materials, technology and specialty features of any design. Fast-tracking cultural projects can be a major challenge, especially when overlapping fundraising capacity is compared to cash flow needs. Partnering with seasoned owner’s representatives and project managers is one of the most crucial steps cultural institutions can take in this regard, as they know the project landscape and the AEC ecosystem.

100 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Community Engagement Is a Must Organizations across the societal landscape have to demonstrate their purpose and value to the community. This impacts everything from global banks and private equity firms to non-profits. Investors, lenders and philanthropists alike need to see demonstrable commitment to diversity, wellness, safety, sustainability and organizational responsibility even to consider committing capital and resources. And this applies to their contractors and vendors.

Additionally, while compliance with various state and municipal laws goes without saying, communities and neighbors are paying attention to who’s working on projects. Engaging MWBEs is becoming more of an imperative, while workforces overall should mirror the diversity of the communities that cultural institutions serve as much as possible. Aside from being the right thing to do, turning a blind eye to equity and inclusion will result in a difficult path forward as stakeholders and partners increasingly hold projects and their owners accountable. Organizations should fortify their commitments to be good stewards on ESG issues and offer regular outlets for feedback and forums to engender community buy-in and goodwill.

Thorough project planning and financial management that takes each of these key, contemporary issues into consideration can help to prepare cultural institutions to pursue largescale projects, as the U.S. works to emerge from these challenging times.

Kris Collins MGAC Washington, D.C.

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Luxe Living in Little Saigon: Completing the Bolsa Row Apartments

T

ELEMENTS REFLECT PRE-WAR VIETNAM.

he vibrant Little Saigon District, home to

completion of this development returns a favor to the community – one that’s pro-

Vietnam. Future development phases include a key community focal point that closely

the largest Vietnamese-American popula-

vided so much to those who had so little,” said Jaimie Nguyen, IP Westminster’s COO.

resembles the Ben Thành Market clock tower — an iconic landmark of Vietnam’s

tion in the U.S., now has a new gateway: the just-completed Bolsa Row Apartments in

R.D. Olson served as general contractor and KTGY designed the project.

former capital.

To celebrate Little Saigon’s rich history,

“We’re honored to partner with the Pham family and IP Westminster to bring to life

Located at 15100 Brookhurst St. in Westminster, a few miles from The Disneyland

KTGY planned and designed the structure to reflect architectural elements from pre-

their vision of a mixed-use project that pays homage to their heritage and invests in the

Resort, the 234,234-square-foot, five-story mixed-use building includes 200 luxury

war Vietnam, borrowing heavily from French colonial architecture. Arches, iron-

local community,” said Bill Wilhelm, president of R.D. Olson Construction. “RDOC is

for-rent units consisting of 20 studio apartments, 114 one-bedroom units, 61 two-bed-

work and a cool and inviting color palette resemble mid-century structures common in

proud to lend its expertise of building memorable destinations to bring Westminster a

Westminster, California.

room units, five three-bedroom units and over 6,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The one-, two- and three-bedroom spaces each include a personal balcony. Onsite amenities include a 944-squarefoot pool, barbecues, spa facility, recreation areas, event clubhouse, pet washroom, leasing center, trash butler service, secured parcel lockers, an open-air garden courtyard and fully equipped fitness center. IP Westminster LLC, founded by Joann and Bac Pham, acted as the sole developer of the Bolsa Row Apartments.

“My parents (Joann and Bac Pham) arrived in Westminster as refugees in the 70’s following the Vietnam War. In their eyes, the AN OPEN-AIR COURTYARD LINKS THE COMMUNITY.

104 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

A.E.C

first-of-its-kind ‘live-work-play’ community that will help foster economic growth and highlight Vietnamese-American culture for years to come.”

KTGY handled project design, entitlements, urban design, retail and residential architecture for this project. The firm worked closely with the City of Westminster and the Pham family to design a development that evoked the architectural elegance of pre1970s Vietnam.

“KTGY is committed to creating culturally-rich communities with timeless design elements that provide lasting benefits to residents,” said David Obitz, principal, KTGY. “We were thrilled to be able to work with our partners and city officials early on in EACH APARTMENT HAS A BALCONY.

the design and entitlement process through architectural design and completion. This ensured the final product reflects the vision of our clients and celebrates the project as a gateway to the existing Little Saigon community,” said Ken Ryan, principal in charge of KTGY’s CPUD studio.

RDOC and KTGY also collaborated with TRC Parkitects on the 7.5-story parking structure adjoining the Bolsa Row Apartments. Additional partners include VCA Structural Engineering and MJS Landscape Architecture.

The Bolsa Row Apartments will be managed and operated by Aspire Property Management, LLC.

Photos courtesy of KTGY

AMENITIES INCLUDE A POOL AND BARBECUE FACILITY.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 105

A.E.C

The Office of the Future?

SGA Designs Spec Suite for Oxford Properties

W

hile the pandemic upended traditional norms of working and living, it also served as a disruptor, presenting a new opportunity to re-imagine the workplace. With the idea that

the pre-COVID-19 office does not support the workstyle of the future, Oxford Properties tapped Boston-based design firm SGA to create a space that provides what companies and individuals need from the workplace that the home does not provide: dynamic and flexible spaces that are safe, comfortable, adaptable and that foster a sense of community.

Catering to a new era of office workers, SGA designed a speculative suite on the fourth floor of Oxford’s 22-story, LEED Gold certified office tower, 125 Summer St. in Boston.

The firm closely collaborated with Workflow, a serviceoriented commercial furniture dealer, to address the wide spectrum of personal, team, spatial and technological needs of today’s workers while future-proofing the space.

“We are witnessing an ongoing transformation in workplace culture in which amenities have become a top driver for businesses, and the demand for move-in ready spaces that address this cultural shift is higher than ever,” said Matt Polhemus, director, head of leasing at Oxford Properties Group. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with SGA to design a space that captures the flexible, scalable, and hospitality-focused office environment of the future, and we’re confident the result will drive forward customer occupancy at 125 Summer St.” The suite is designed around four work modes — Meet, IdeTHE RECEPTION AREA AND LOUNGE

ate, Connect and Retreat — to appeal to a variety of tenants and support the workstyle of the future. “Moving forward, organizations have an exciting opportunity to redefine what

106 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

MINIMAL TOUCHPOINTS

A.E.C

COLLABORATIVE SPACES

in scalable neighborhoods and feature mobile workstations to adapt to a variety of team settings. To facilitate in-person collaboration, a team zone is equipped with flexible furniture, wireless presentation capabilities and acoustic materials while lounge zones spill outside of meeting rooms to support informal conversations. At the far corner, a quiet commons area offers a respite from

THE SPACE HAS FOUR SEPARATE ZONES. the office is for, and how it can best support their employees and the four work modes by understanding what employees and teams need to accomplish from their in-office experiences,” said Amy Hill, principal and workplace strategist at Workflow. “We see a future where the office experience will evolve more toward a place of connection and ideation than the place where individual work gets done.”

typical work zones and provides alternative seating options for individual heads-down work. Smaller meet and focus rooms support the need for a more traditional private office space for focused work or in-person private meetings.

“We’re reimagining how space is used to support the future of hybrid work, which itself is continually evolving,” said Gable Clarke, IIDA, LEED AP and partner at SGA. “Since people have learned to work from anywhere, the office needs to be a flexible destination to aid the type of in-person idea exchanges and collaborations that cannot be achieved on digital platforms.”

To reduce the number of physical touchpoints, SGA divided the floor plan into distinct zones that enable employees to easily migrate to areas that are the best fit depending on the task at hand. At the center of the space, an elevator bank and restrooms are enveloped by a supply amenity zone that has locker storage, pantries, sanitizing stations and office equipment, as well as the main circulation path.

Around the perimeter, a series of open spaces and closed rooms facilitate each of the four work modes. A reception area and lounge, located off the main entryway, takes on many functions: greeting visitors, supporting employee tech needs, providing a full pantry and enabling informal collaboration through the use of flexible furniture. Adjacent to this, a more traditional boardroom provides easy access to visitors and can be fully opened to the lounge to accommodate a large, all-hands meeting or event. Meanwhile, a series of video conferencing rooms are designed to support small- and large-scale meetings and are equipped with appropriate face lighting, backdrops, acoustics and wireless sharing capabilities for hybrid work and virtual collaboration.

For focused work, open office areas are placed throughout the space

Photos by Ari Burling

A BOARDROOM OPENS TO A LOUNGE AREA.

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 107

A.E.C

Connecting the Park: Western Specialty Contractors Waterproofs Massive Concrete Vehicular Tunnels in Houston

Land bridges sit above tunnels.

F

The tunnels consist of 300 precast segments.

or over 50 years, Memorial Park in Houston, Texas has been di-

vided in half by Memorial Drive and its busy traffic; but all that has changed. Humans and animal traffic alike now enjoy a seamless and safe way to enjoy both sides of the 1,500-acre park with the construction of land bridges over recently completed vehicular tunnels.

Western Specialty Contractors’ Houston Branch was tasked with waterproofing the project’s two sets of 25-foot-tall, 54-foot-wide concrete traffic tunnels that replace Memorial Drive and provide for land bridges across their tops. In August 2020, Construction Manager at Risk Tellepsen Builders started moving dirt to facilitate the erection of 300, six-foot-wide precast segments that would become the new tunnels.

108 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

A.E.C

The walls are 25 feet tall.

Bentonite clay was used to waterproof.

Waterproofing work started five months later in January upon arrival of the first set of precast panels. Western’s experts applied approximately 160,000 square feet of the specified bentonite clay waterproofing with drain mat to the tunnels’ exterior walls. Bentonite is an absorbent swelling clay that is durable, long-lasting and environmentally friendly. The waterproofing sequencing followed installation of the precast panels, and the entire process took about 15 months to complete.

“We are so proud to have been able to play a role in this innovative project for the Memorial Park Conservancy. And while it may have been a small part of this expansive project, waterproofing plays a critical role in maintaining the longevity of the concrete structures.

The Bentonite clay waterproofing we applied will mitigate the risk of water intrusion and small planting roots from penetrating into the tunnel through the soil backfill. Utilizing the right type of waterproofing system is vital to protecting the integrity of these underground tunnels long term,” said Brian Dolezal, Western Specialty Contractors branch manager.

The two tunnels were covered with dirt.

The two sets of waterproofed tunnels were then each covered with 35-foot-tall dirt mounds that became a land bridge with a network of trails for pedestrians that overlooks the park with views of the city, and a greenspace covered with trees and grass for birds and other wildlife.

Waterproofing was critical.

The new eastbound vehicle tunnels opened to traffic in March 2022, with the westbound tunnels opening in May 2022. The architect on the project was Gunda Corporation, with Walter P. Moore and Henderson Rodgers serving as the structural engineers.

Photos courtesy of Western

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 109

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COLLEGES

Fordham Discusses the Sustainability Shift in Real Estate

From left: Stephen Ceurvorst, Rajeev Ranade and Alexandra Cooley

T

op minds in the commercial real estate industry discussed the changes surrounding energy-efficient projects at a conference hosted by the Fordham Real Estate Institute (REI).

Business and industry professionals attended “Sustaining the Future of Real Estate” at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center cam-

pus in October, both in-person and virtually.

The first panel, “Sustainable Design, Architecture and Construction,” was moderated

by Serge Reda, chair of the REI Curriculum Committee and director of development and construction at Cedar Realty Trust.

The panel featured Chris Ernst, AIA, LEED AP and principal at Perkins Eastman; Rob

114 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Willis, head of construction at MAG Partners; James Lin, P.E., LEED AP, CPHD and associate partner at Jaros, Baum & Bolles and Frances Graham, RA, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP, senior managing director-project manager for the Northeast Region at Newmark.

Ernst remarked that a project’s efficiency

COLLEGES

cial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing is for attendees.

“C-PACE is a very senior assessment on a piece of real property that simplifies the standardized credit equation to finance energy, efficiency and solar in commercial real estate,” Cooley defined.

“The ESG (environmental, social and governance investing) movement will continue to grow C-PACE’s popularity, because we impact investors and can show that we’re financing energy efficiency to deliver better buildings to our society,” said Ceurvorst.

Serge Reda

is now a measure of design quality but it’s important to remember that “we’re being graded on a curve that keeps changing.”

The panel spent time discussing some common misconceptions.

Steve Ceurvorst

“However, the majority of operating costs are utilities so if you’re able to ratchet the energy usage down, you not only decrease the fines — you make the building less expensive to operate overall,” Lin added.

portant across our industry.”

“Smart property owners should review

Willis agreed, “Despite economic pressures and tension in terms of cost, it’s better to

the building’s performance annually,” said Willis. “Once we design, construct and do initial commissioning, we turn it over and

pivot from conventional ways to make sure buildings won’t be obsolete in five years.”

it's up to the operator and it’s their responsibility from there.”

Local Law 97 in New York City has made it so there is “more accountability on everyone involved in a project,” including eventual end users, Graham said. “It’s important to educate tenants on energy use so that there is a lesser burden of fines passed on

The second panel, “Sustainable Lending and Investing,” was moderated by Melissa Reagen, managing director and portfolio manager at Nuveen LLC. The panel featured Stephen Ceurvorst, CEO and managing partner at Lord Capital and LordCap Green; Alexandra Cooley, CIO and co-founder at Nuveen Green Capital and Rajeev Ranade, partner at Climate Core Capital LLC.

Fines are significant, totaling one to two percent of total annual operating costs, Lin observed.

mezzanine financing, that’s a very different conversation as someone who sees it as a special assessment for the improvement of the building’s long-term viability. We see it in the latter bucket.”

He predicted “an understanding of building performance will become increasingly im-

to them.”

“The education on C-PACE is very fragmented,” Ranade said. “As a user of this financing, if you’re going to get a senior loan and the lender sees C-PACE as equivalent to

Cooley explained what C-PACE (Commer-

Ceurvorst set the record straight and explained, “C-PACE is a public-private partnership that allows our private capital to partner with local tax authorities in the form of a property tax on the special assessment so that we’re not taking all the risk of a commercial mortgage provider. We are the kind of taxes that everybody loves because we’re voluntary, and we have data to support exactly what we’re financing.”

The event included an introduction from Neil Madsen, principal at Madsen Advisors, and part of the Real Estate Institute’s Executive Advisory Committee.

Photos courtesy of Fordham University

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 115

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EXECUTIVE CHANGES

Goodwin Joins Ambiq as Chief Financial Officer

intelligence’ journey.”

Scott Goodwin Ultra-low-power semiconductor solutions provider Ambiq has named Scott Goodwin has as chief financial officer. In his role, Goodwin will primarily oversee Ambiq’s accounting and finance teams, among other corporate functions.

Goodwin has more than 20 years of experience in accounting and finance roles, from

his time at Deloitte to, most recently, CFO positions at publicly-traded and private equity-backed organizations.

“It’s my absolute pleasure to announce that Scott has joined Ambiq as our chief financial officer,” said Fumihide Esaka, chairman and CEO at Ambiq. “His expertise will catapult Ambiq to the next chapter of our ‘endpoint

Photo courtesy of Ambiq

a wellness practice. Before PayPal, Avelluto held senior-level human resources positions at Huntington National Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.

ebrate Their People Will Triumph,” about what makes an unparalleled employee expe-

Jill Popelka

Avelluto, based in Ohio, was most recently the global head of talent development at PayPal, where she built and fostered a culture of learning and growth, performance development and feedback and people an-

manufacturers worldwide develop products that run for weeks (rather than days) on a single charge, while delivering a maximum feature set in compact industrial designs.

as president of SAP Success Factors, leading strategic direction, customer success and business health for SAP’s largest cloud line of business. Popelka’s international work focuses around driving client centricity, supporting growth and creating value in new markets. She recently published a book, “Experience, Inc.: Why Companies that Uncover Purpose, Create Connection, and Cel-

MRI Software Appoints Global Chief People Officer Proptech firm MRI Software has appointed Susan Avelluto to the role of chief people officer.

Ambiq creates solutions based on the proprietary and patented Subthreshold Power Optimized Technology (SPOT) platform.

SPOT provides a multi-fold improvement in energy efficiency for end customers’ electronic products. Ambiq has helped leading

Susan Avelluto

alytics. She also created and implemented

rience, and how companies can create it.

Additionally, it announced that long-time business executive and author Jill Popelka is joining its board of eirectors. Popelka served

Photo courtesy of MRI Software

Shawn Lewinski

accounting experience, having previously worked for large privately held firms, public companies and Big Four audit and tax firms.

He has a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

MSA to vice president of finance & control-

Lewinski and Schwane both joined KAI in December 2021. In their new positions, Lewinski and Schwane will oversee the finance and accounting functions for both KAI and UPCO.

Schwane has nearly 12 years of accounting experience. Prior to KAI, she held accounting positions at Scottrade Inc., MasterCard International, Centene Corporation and EGA America Inc. She has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a minor in accounting from the University of Missouri-

ler. They will also be serving in these roles for sister firm The UP Companies (UPCO).

Lewinski has nearly 25 years of finance and

St. Louis and a master’s in accounting from Maryville University.

KAI Enterprises, The UP Companies Promote Two Finance Executives National design/build firm KAI Enterprises has promoted Vice President of Finance Shawn Lewinski, CPA to chief financial officer and KAI Controller Amanda Schwane,

118 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

Amanda Schwane

EXECUTIVE CHANGES compliance and real estate. In her new role, Wahlgren is responsible for the company’s operational excellence and ensuring the

ArborWorks Names Wahlgren VP of Corporate Operations Karla Wahlgren Vegetation management firm ArborWorks LLC has named Karla Wahlgren to the position of vice president of corporate operations, effective immediately.

area spans the U.S., from the West Coast, including Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Nevada, expanding to the

Technical College in Columbia, South Carolina. She is currently an executive board member for Chrysalis, a non-profit domestic

Wahlgren is a 19-year veteran of the construction rental industry and has held various senior positions in operations, sales,

violence shelter based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Xome Appoints Chief Technology Officer James Curl Xome, an asset management company and auction platform providing mortgage servicers end-to-end asset marketing and disposition strategies, has appointed James Curl as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Curl brings more than 15 years of experience leading technology and innovation teams at major organizations such as

T-Mobile and Deloitte, where he oversaw large-scale digital transformation initiatives.

Prior to joining Xome, Curl served as vice president of enterprise and emerging technology at T-Mobile, where he led cross-functional teams of product managers and engineers to deliver technology products in-

Realtor.com Appoints Bhatt as Chief Product Officer Mausam Bhatt Realtor.com has named Mausam Bhatt as its chief product officer. In his role, Bhatt is responsible for Realtor.com’s product and design strategy and roadmap, leading and scaling the team and collaborating closely with the tech and growth teams.

Bhatt is a seasoned product executive who

She holds dual degrees in business management and business marketing from Midlands

southeast, including Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.

The company specializes in line clearance, wildfire hazard mitigation, emergency response and commercial vegetation management using specialized equipment. Its service

development of efficient and cost-effective systems to meet the current and future needs of the company.

has helped companies scale globally and built several market-leading products from the ground up. Before venturing out on his own, he led Google’s commerce initiatives, where his team developed and accelerated transaction growth on the Google Shopping platform, serving billions of users and global merchants ranging from Fortune 500

Photo courtesy of Business Wire

cluding T-Mobile’s consumer home internet.

Curl also led the technology shared service functions at T-Mobile including enterprise architecture, portfolio management and solution delivery.

Prior to his time at T-Mobile, Curl worked at Deloitte Consulting in the technology strategy and architecture service area, where he led major technology implementations for clients.

Curl holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Texas A&M University.

Photo courtesy of Business Wire

retailers to micro direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Prior to Google, he was chief product officer for RetailMeNot, leading teams that diversified the company’s product line to a modern offering with cash-back wallet, credit card-linked offers, prescription healthcare savings and gift cards marketplace.

Bhatt will be based in Santa Clara, California. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Arizona.

Photo courtesy of PR Newswire

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 119

EXECUTIVE CHANGES

Newmark Names Leccese Chief Marketing Officer Angie Leccesse Veteran real estate marketing executive Angie Leccese has joined Newmark Group as chief marketing officer. As the head of Newmark’s marketing team, Leccese will be responsible for overseeing the planning, development and execution of Newmark’s marketing and business development strategy, with a focus on driving growth through content marketing and

sales enablement. She will report to Roger Anscher, Newmark’s chief administrative officer.

“Angie’s decades of experience in marketing and commercial real estate make her ideal to lead the strategic direction of Newmark’s marketing,” said Newmark Chief Executive Officer Barry Gosin. “Her expertise support-

Michael Goldman

based out of the New York City office.

Goldman has leased more than 20 million square feet of commercial office space to corporations, foreign banks, investment

banks, financial services companies, law firms, and technology and media companies.

Prior to joining Cresa, Goldman was a founding partner at boutique commercial real estate firm Attentiv RE. Before that, he

Harry Delany

In his new role, Delany will be a senior member of the firm's global corporate services division where he will oversee account management and transaction management

for assigned occupier services clients. This includes leading Fortune 500 companies that have entrusted the management of their industrial, office, retail and healthcare real estate to Mohr Partners.

He will be part of Mohr’s Strategy & Growth team under industry veteran Misti Meggs, who oversees portfolio strategy, site

120 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

marketing at CBRE.

Photo courtesy of Newmark

vice president for 17 years at Insignia ESG).

He has represented multinational companies such as Sirius XM, Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Hilton Hotels and Bulgari, among others.

Goldman is a licensed broker and member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

Photo courtesy of Cresa

selection, business incentives and change management for Mohr Partners’ large-cap enterprise clients.

Mohr Partners Expands in New York with Delany Global corporate real estate services firm Mohr Partners announced that industry veteran Harry Delany has joined the firm in New York.

Leccese has served in leadership roles across commercial real estate companies for the last 20 years, most recently as a vice president of business development, Americas advisory

was executive vice president at Savills for more than 15 years. He served as executive

Cresa Brings Goldman to New York Office as Principal Tenant representative veteran Michael Goldman has joined Cresa Global as a principal,

ing sales professionals and leading content and business development on a global scale will serve us as we continue to grow our footprint both in the United States and across the world’s major financial and business centers.”

Previously, Delany served as a senior member of Colliers’ global corporate services division, responsible for supervising transaction and account management for the firm's occupier clients. He began his corporate real estate career as a transaction manager for AT&T Global Real Estate where he oversaw $1.5 billion in transactions.

Photo courtesy of PRNewswire

EXECUTIVE CHANGES

equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality affordable rental housing across America,” said Michael J. Heid, chairman of Fannie Mae's board.

Almodovar Named Chief Executive Officer of Fannie Mae Priscilla Almodovar Fannie Mae has appointed Priscilla Almodovar as chief executive officer (CEO) and member of the board of directors, effective December 5. Almodovar will succeed David C. Benson, who has served as interim CEO and a member of the board since May 2022. Benson will continue in his role as president.

Almodovar brings more than 30 years of experience in finance, real estate and community development across a number of institu-

Nelson Worldwide Expands with McVicker, Dharanipalan Architecture, design and strategy firm Nelson Worldwide continues to grow, welcoming Kyle McVicker as account director and studio leader in New York and Radhika Dharanipalan as senior project manager based out of the Alpharetta, Georgia, office.

Previously, Almodovar worked for nearly

tions and organizations. Since 2019, she has served as president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, a national organization focused on increasing the supply of

a decade at JPMorgan Chase and led two of the firm’s national real estate businesses.

Earlier in her career, she was president and CEO at New York State Housing Finance

affordable housing, advancing racial equity and supporting residents and communities.

Agency, State of New York Mortgage Agency, and Affordable Housing Corporation.

“Priscilla’s vast experience in large, complex businesses and her commitment to affordable housing makes her an ideal choice to

She started her career at White & Case LLP, where she was named an equity partner.

Photo courtesy of PRNewswire

further Fannie Mae's mission to facilitate

working collaboratively with both in-house and consultant teams on multiple projects through all stages of design.

Kyle McVicker

Radhika Dharanipalan

As a professional architect, Dharanipalan leverages 16 years of experience in education, transit, hospitality and high-rise mixed-

Baltimore, McVicker entered the design and

use developments, applying her knowledge to monitoring project schedules and budgets

With 10-plus years of experience in operations, project, and program management, McVicker will oversee projects from start to finish, manage the complex aspects of a build-out and deliver tangible, innovative results, the firm said.

architecture industry. Under his leadership as project manager for a WeWork PxWe product, his team delivered over one million square feet of commercial interiors for enterprise clients such as Amazon, Google, UBS, Bank of America, Toast, eZcater and Bombas. More recently, he served as the senior project manager of global workplace and Real Estate at Rockstar Games. McVicker was responsible for building out and delivering the real estate and workplace project management team in this role.

After receiving a bachelor of business ad-

Dharanipalan will lead the development and

ministration degree from the University of

coordination of civic education projects —

as determined by the client.

She previously held roles as senior project manager at KAI Enterprises and as a project manager in facility design and construction services at Kennesaw State University. She later earned her bachelor of architecture from Anna University in Chennai, India.

From there, she earned a master of architecture and a master of science in construction management from The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Photos courtesy of Nelson Worldwide

NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022 | MANN REPORT 121

RSA is the largest real estate trade that has one priority: Housing New York Since 1983, the Rent Stabilization Association has worked for property owners in good times and bad. Now, during a public health crisis that is straining the economics of our industry, we are working hard to keep tenants in their homes and ensure that owners can continue providing safe and adequate housing.

RSA represents over 25,000 members with more than one million apartments. We provide cost effective and practical solutions to help owners run their buildings. In Albany and at City Hall, we are a forceful and consistent voice for the common sense needs of property owners. Our membership is deeply diverse and in every neighborhood. Though government and policy is unbalanced now, we’ve fought back through tough times before. And we’re doing it now.

We advocate for programs and funding. unfairly target the industry.

We provide services to help our members comply with all laws and regulations.

Our counselors help members with any problems or government agency issues that come up.

Our monthly RSA Reporter is an industry must-read, always providing information necessary to keep owners up to date on compliance issues and other policies. We have weekly email blasts, policy action alerts, and updates on political and legal issues.

owners and their tenants.

123 William Street, New York, NY 10038 · 212-214-9200 · WWW.RSANYC.ORG

LANGSAM PROPERTY SERVICES CORP., AMO Langsam Property Services Corp. is a Bronx-based real estate management company. These buildings are located in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and lower Westchester County.

Langsam is designated as an Accredited Management Organization (AMO), a standard of excellence in management conferred by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).

1601 Bronxdale Avenue Bronx, New York 10462 Tel: 718. 518. 8000 Fax: 718.518. 8585

Mark Engel, CEO

www.langsampropertyservices.com www.langsampropertyservices.com

Matt Engel, President

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Diversity and More

By Myles Mellor

Across

Down

1 Downtown Los Angeles development planned as

1 Massachuse!s-based digital quality and testing

a symbol for recovery from COVID-19 and show a new way of economic inclusion, 2 words 8 New Senior VP, head of commercial office for Rudin, Mehul ____ 10 Island nation in the West Indies, 2 words 11 Curator of real estate nationwide data for land

Solution can be found online at: bit.ly/November22Crossword

3 Laughter on the internet, abbr.

4 Tenants 5 Major insurance company that subleased 47,000 SF at One World Trade Center, 2 words

and property, which has integrated the MLS and

6 Money earned

NMLS loan originator data

7 Increasingly popular trend for a different kind

14 Santa’s helper

vacation experience

15 GPS display

9 Bigheadedness

16 Period just before

12 Following the progress of

17 Least available

13 Prefix with economics

19 Popular

18 Managed

20 ___-pool

21 Offer

23 Men’s apparel company that focuses on custom

22 AI-powered real estate technology platform

menswear: recently signed a lease for 19 West 24th St., _____Standard

that has now expanded its research offering to include all major commercial property types

24 Chelsea _____

24 Prized

26 Hotel unit

25 Recipe instruction, abbr.

28 Creator of mobile real-estate payment solutions

26 Prime opera-house seating

and easy earnest money transfers, 2 words

27 Top cards

32 Fashionable

29 Cry of contentment

33 ____ Harbor

30 Sloppy digs

34 Posh eveningwear

31 Color

35 Actor’s come-on

32 Wrigley Field player

36 Acidity factor

35 Copper symbol

37 Vote of approval 38 Exaggerated pride

124 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

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COMMERCIAL CORNER

Ken Wellar Ken Wellar Founder and Managing Partner, Ri!enhouse Realty Advisors

K

en Wellar, founder and managing

How did you get started?

which we sold for $17 million to a develop-

partner at Ri"enhouse Realty Ad-

When I graduated from college, I was bar-

er. The site had the potential to build 233

visors, has 18-plus years of expe-

tending and using the money I made to buy

apartment units. Once the project was fully

rience in the multifamily housing

and eventually sell single-family rentals. I

stabilized, we sold the property to an owner/

industry, specializing in the purchase, sale

really enjoyed it and decided to start my bro-

operator for $88 million.

and financing of multifamily investments. In

kerage career at Marcus and Millichap.

What recent deal are you most proud of?

this role, he brings his clients first-hand experience in many aspects of the real estate in-

Why did you form your own company?

I’m very proud of the deal I just mentioned,

dustry including brokerage services, financ-

My business partner, Corey Lonberger, and

along with another deal we sold in University

ing, property management and development

I were working together at a national bro-

City called Hamilton Court. We sold the site to

experience. Throughout his career, Wellar

kerage firm. We saw a niche serving middle

a developer and worked with them to come

has brokered the sale of over 33,000 units

market investors, an investor group that

up with a business plan for this underutilized

totaling north of $3 billion in consideration.

wasn’t well served by the national brokerage

site.

firms. We decided to open Rittenhouse ReWellar is a member of the National Mul-

alty Advisors (RRA) to cater to these groups

They executed that plan with great success

tifamily Housing Council and the Jewish

through the Mid-Atlantic and to provide

and RRA was able to sell the revitalized pro-

Federation Real Estate Group, as well as the

individualized service based on our clients’

ject for a total of $87 million, or $800,000 per

Pennsylvania Apartment Association, the

specific investment strategies.

unit, a record sale price for Philadelphia.

What differentiates Rittenhouse Realty

Who inspires you?

from other companies?

My young son inspires me every day to work

He is also a member of the Urban Land Insti-

Another reason we started RRA was to spe-

hard and push myself.

tute and on the board of the Young Leaders

cialize in the sale of development and rede-

of the ULI. He is an active member of the

velopment sites. Our firm has the ability to

What pushes you to the next level?

Building Industry Association as well as the

understand zoning to determine a property’s

I always strive to push myself to the next

Young Presidents Organization. He recently

highest and best use, and to provide our cli-

level. I wake up at 4 a.m. to start working and

earned his Pennsylvania broker’s license.

ents with a value for a fully stabilized project

go to networking events every day. Putting

to see a site’s full potential.

deals together and working through them is

New Jersey Apartment Association and the Delaware Apartment Association.

How long have you been in the industry?

a challenge I enjoy and seeing my clients be

I’ve been in the real estate iindustry for

One example of this is the sale of a develop-

successful with their projects gives me a lot

18 years.

ment site in University City in Philadelphia,

of satisfaction.

126 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

LEASING | MANAGEMENT | INVESTMENTS

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BY THE NUMBERS

LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Just as the real estate industry was breathing a sigh of relief after mostly coming through the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation kicked in and interest rates were raised. The result is that predictions for 2023 are, overall, cautiously optimistic, as we can see by the numbers.

9.8%

4%

The forecast year-over-year price increase for a home in 2022

Projected year-over-year home-price growth in 2022 (Freddie Mac)

(Mortgage Bankers Association)

48%

$22.77

The percentage of responding global real estate leaders who expect to see revenues decrease in 2023; 40% expect revenues to increase.

Asking price per square foot for retail space nationally in 3Q 2022, up 5.1% year over year (Cushman & Wakefield Retail Marketbeat Q3 2022)

(Deloitte 2023 Commercial Real Estate Outlook)

16%

500 million

Predicted national office vacancy rate by year-end 2022

The number of industrial square feet in the construction pipeline, nearly all to be complete in 2023

(Marcus & Millichap)

(Newmark, The Future of Industrial Real Estate: Trends for 2022 and Beyond)

Your Square Footage and Dollar Values, Delivered.

128 MANN REPORT | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2022

A new perspective opens a world of possibility.