On Wednesday, Promote Insiders got the scoop on which Chinese investors are still writing equity checks in US CRE. Good timing, b/c the same day it dropped news broke that billionaire Zhang Xin is stepping into the ground-up game w/ a condo project at a former distressed HFZ joint. If this sounds like your jam, you can sign up for premium on a 2 week free trial and read it here.

“If this were a normal family in the business, I don't know if this deal would have got rescued. But an improbable turn of events in the White House completely changed the dynamic.”
“When the ducks are quacking, you gotta feed them. Everyone's incentivized to have these deals closed. Everyone eats. And that includes the appraisers.” 🦆

This week, we have a special episode diving deep into the skyscraper that’s an emblem of our political and financial age: 666 660 Fifth Avenue. This tower brings together a dizzying array of characters – from Jared and Charlie Kushner to the former finance minister of Qatar and an imprisoned Chinese mogul – and has everything: cocky scions, insane appraisals, overheated CMBS, hardball pref, media wars, White House wildcards, and so much more. We trace the history of the building from the disastrous Kushner era to the Brookfield bailout and ultimate redemption. Next, we look at a botched condo buyout in Miami and the opportunities and dangers of that playbook. And finally, we examine how Banco Santander is playing rough with borrowers it inherited from Signature Bank.

Listen on Spotify here, YouTube here or Apple Podcasts here. A shout-out to our sponsor, Bullpen, a talent shop solely dedicated to the CRE industry. Bullpen can recruit trusted CRE pros at all levels and can fill both fractional and full-time positions. Check them out at bullpenre.com to get started - Promote listeners get $1,000 OFF their first search.

We’ve devoted much ink to Manhattan’s single-malt buildings, ™ the coveted Plaza District office towers that have their pick of tenants and are commanding record rents. But w/ Manhattan net absorption at quarter-century highs, that frenzy is bound to translate into increased activity in other nabes, too. Take 28 Liberty Street, which has just signed payments behemoth Stripe (headed by the Brothers Collison 👨‍🦱 👨‍🦱 ) to a 140K sf direct deal, per CO. Stripe had already subleased 147K sf from AIG when it first moved from 199 Water last year, so its total footprint at the tower is now ≈ 286K sf. Asking rents for its direct space were $75-80 psf. The deal’s notable not just for the size, but also the tenant’s prestige – Stripe is the most valuable privately held fintech co. in 🇺🇸 , so it should give Downtown brokers plenty of fuel for months to come 🍀

Bit on the landlord: The 2.2M sf, 60-story joint is owned by Fosun International, the CRE arm of Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang. Fosun bought it in ‘13 from JPMorgan Chase for $725M, or about $330/ 🦶, and embarked on a $500M+ facelift 💄 (this ‘19 “Going my Wei” 😅 interview w/ Guangchang’s NYC lieutenant is quite revealing). In ‘17, Fosun landed an $800M refi on the tower, and the following year went on the hunt for an equity partner at a $1.6B valuation. Now, it’s finalizing a $900M, 6% CMBS refi from JPM/DB/GS at a $1.4B valuation, per an S&P Global presale report. Important to note this is a cash-in refi - Fosun was required to kick in $78M in add’l equity.

It ain’t what they call you. It’s what you answer to. - W.C. Fields

CRE crowdfunding has taken some reputational shellacking as of late: We had Elie Schwartz, who pilfered tens of millions of dollars he raised on CrowdStreet - instead of buying deals, he bought himself handcrafted Dutch timepieces. We also had Yieldstreet, subject of a devastating CNBC investigation that revealed a pattern of losses for retail investors. CrowdStreet, which failed to hold the Schwartz funds in escrow, has since overhauled its C-suite and been on a reputational rehab tour. Yieldstreet, though, has opted to skip all that legwork: It is dropping the Yieldstreet name entirely and shall henceforth be known as Willow Wealth 👏 It explained its decision by saying it had expanded its reach x asset classes in the private markets, and “these innovations require a name that reflects our broader mission.” Left unsaid was how the 3rd hit on Google for “Yieldstreet” is the damning CNBC piece, and how much of its search footprint is investor concerns and litigation (incl. a marine loan book gone bad).

CO confirms The Promote’s Sept. reporting that the Durst Org. is selling 205 E 42nd St. for $165M to 601W Cos. The publication adds that 🐐 🐺 David Werner is in the mix here and is leading the acquisition, which makes sense – 601W and Werner are frequent partners, and we had heard of potential Werner involvement here. However, CO also reports that Werner has the majority stake here, and that 601W Cos is just a minority partner – this seems more unlikely, given that Werner specializes in sewing up deals, flipping the contract to another buyer at a mark-up, and rolling in some of that flip profit as equity in the deal. He’s not known to stay in deals as the primary equity on a long-term basis; he’s more hunter than farmer 🏹 Though w/ an office-resi play being teased, it’s possible that another equity partner’s name (potentials: Nathan Berman? The Brothers Smeke? - both already have action on the block) will be added to the final tally. A TOE closing is set for EoM, per sources. Newmark brokering.

One of SoCal’s most prominent retail assets has been seized by its lender. Debt fund TerraCotta foreclosed on Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks, controlled by a group of prominent Tehrangelenos. Worth diving in 👇