By Nicholas Bienstock ’06

With each shock over the past three decades, New York City has grown and its business base has diversified, allowing it to recover from each crisis faster. When New York hit a recession in the late 1980s/early 1990s, it took nine years for the economy to reach prior employment levels. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it took six years to get to that point. Following the global financial crisis—a crisis that centered around the major banks that formerly dominated NYC’s economy—it only took three years for New York to recover prior employment levels because the city was able to rely on other sectors of the economy to drive job growth. And in the years since the global financial crisis, the city’s continued growth and business diversification have been astonishing.

Why has New York recovered from each crisis faster than the one before? It’s because of the unbelievable scale and diversity of the market.

Here is what your fellow Columbia Business School Real Estate Alumni have been doing recently. If you don’t see your news mentioned, please let us know.

TC Latin America Partners Launches TC Credit Partners
“We established TCCP because of the growing demand from middle market companies across the globe, for lenders who understand their unique needs and can provide longer duration, non-dilutive, flexible credit alternatives,” said Mr. Schneider. “The TCCP platform builds on our long history of successfully providing capital solutions for our partners and we look forward to utilizing our deep experience in emerging markets to partner with differentiated businesses and capitalize on this growing opportunity set.”

What Does Airbnb’s IPO Mean for Travel Real Estate?
To make sense of how Airbnb has managed to go into the IPO with strength despite this year, and what the IPO might mean for travel real estate and commercial real estate as a whole, MPA spoke with Jonathan Wasserstrum, the CEO of commercial real estate platform Squarefoot. He explained how Airbnb was able to navigate this year and what Airbnb’s survival through the pandemic could mean for the balance of travel real estate into the post-pandemic era. “Airbnb, I think fared a lot better than anybody thought they would six months ago,” Wasserstrum said. “They did well with a lot of near travel. This summer travelling looked different, but people are still travelling, and a lot of people used Airbnb.”

Jed Resnick Named CEO at Douglaston Development
Douglaston Development, one of the largest residential and mixed-use developers in New York City, announced that Jed Resnick has been named Chief Executive Officer of the firm. Resnick will oversee all aspects of the company’s development activities, from site acquisition and entitlement to design, financing, and execution; as well as administration of Douglaston’s day-to-day operations, business development, and talent management.  

WPP’s Bruce MacAffer on the Comm Giant’s Real Estate Strategy During and After COVID
Bruce MacAffer, as WPP’s head of group real estate in the Americas, oversees the offices on Fifth and 11th avenues and at the World Trade Center, as well as more than 7 million square feet and 400-plus properties in the Americas. He talked with Commercial Observer the day before Thanksgiving about the heritage of those decisions, as well as what the future has in store for WPP and its real estate. (The short answer is that WPP is whittling its footprint.)

Howard Hughes Corp. Names New Executive Team
Howard Hughes Corp. has appointed its interim CEO, David O’Reilly, as the Houston-based real estate and development company’s permanent chief executive, according to a Tuesday announcement….O’Reilly, who joined Hughes in 2016 as chief financial officer, was promoted to president in June and named interim CEO in September after the departure of former Chief Executive Paul Layne. O’Reilly will continue to serve as CFO until a permanent successor is named.

Despite Challenges, Opportunity Zones Provide Much-Needed Capital
“When we make investments, we look at impact. And in this case, we’re taking an old, 500,000-square-foot abandoned building, giving it a second life, and bringing people into the area,” said Mr. Tillman, whose firm is raising $250 million for its second opportunity zone fund. “We’re also bringing in a school that lost its lease elsewhere. All of that has a positive impact on the community.”

PTM Partners Launches Second Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund
“We decided to launch Fund II to capitalize on attractive opportunities that we have sourced in our pipeline of projects that is north of $2 billion,” said Tillman, co-founder and chief executive officer of PTM. Tillman continued, “At the onset of the pandemic and prior to launching Fund II, we ensured that our business plans for Fund I were updated to reflect an economic contraction and that sufficient capital was reserved in case it may be needed. With growing interest in the opportunity zone sector and the amplified need for private dollars to provide investment and stimulus in these geographic areas, we felt now was the right time to launch a second investment vehicle.”

Madison International Makes $100M Life Sciences Play
“The rapidly-growing life sciences sector has evolved as one of the most dynamic in the new normal of the post-pandemic economy.  We are very excited to partner with the highly experienced team at IQHQ, which is pursuing real estate life sciences projects in prime biotech hubs throughout the country,” said Ron Dickerman, founder and president of Madison International Realty. 

“Global capital investment into life science and related R&D has grown for decades, exponentially increasing in recent years.  We are enthusiastic about the timing of our investment in IQHQ, led by a highly experienced team, and are eager to expand our partnership with them,” said Kyle Torpey, of Madison’s US Investments team.

Hines Starts Work on Hudson River Apartment Building
“Today marks an exciting milestone for our Edge-on-Hudson project and we are thrilled to expand our multifamily portfolio in Sleepy Hollow with the addition of NorthLight at Edge-on-Hudson. With its excellent amenities and irreplaceable location, NorthLight will set a new standard for living in the area,” said Tommy Craig, Hines Senior Managing Director.

SL Green Closes $1.25 Billion Construction Loan for One Madison Avenue
“With the commencement of construction on One Madison Avenue, the SL Green-Hines team will deliver another leading-edge project, both accessible to the density surrounding Grand Central Station as New York’s major transportation hub, as well as the openness of facing one of the city’s most beloved parks. This is a natural follow up to our success together at One Vanderbilt,” said Tommy Craig, Hines senior managing director and head of New York’s tri-state office.

Beacon Real Estate Group Completes Acquisition of 200-Unit Beach Club Apartment Community in Northwest Tampa, Florida
“Our investment strategy revolves around following where the jobs are going,” Beacon Managing Partner Carlos E. Imery said. “The Tampa area has benefitted from substantial job creation in technology, finance and healthcare.”

WeWork Property Could Host Austin’s First ‘Supertall’ Tower
According to newly released information, a prime spot of downtown Austin real estate owned by coworking space company WeWork could become home to the tallest skyscraper planned for Austin yet. WeWork purchased the 4.7-acre site, often referred to as Waller Park Place, in December 2018 from McCourt Global. At the time of the sale, McCourt representative Jordan Lang said the buyer "will make the Waller Creek development a crown jewel in Austin’s future."

West Philly’s International House to be Renovated by ‘Co-Living’ Investment Group
CSC will increase that unit count by converting its second-story office space to apartments after their current occupants leave in 2028, JLL said. Its ground floor will be made available to office or retail tenants, the firm said. Another section of the 1.3-acre property on which the tower stands could accommodate an additional 150,000 square feet of development without impacting the building, JLL said. CSC, led by investors Sal and Alberto Smeke, focuses on projects in which residents live in near dorm-like conditions, with small bedrooms and shared bathrooms, cooking and dining spaces, and lounges.