Real Finds Podcast: Commercial Real Estate Unfiltered

Hosted by Gordon Lamphere

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Sep 2026

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Real estate is more than just what we can see, touch, taste, and smell. Real estate drives culture. The Real Finds Podcast connects global trends to real estate decisions across Chicago and the Midwest. Hosted by Gordon Lamphere, a fourth-generation commercial real estate broker at Van Vlissingen & Co., each weekly episode explores how macroeconomic shifts in supply chains, interest rates, automation, public policy, and culture drive commercial real estate outcomes. Moreover, Gordon and his guests take high-level insights and apply them to better understand high-transaction markets, including: Chicago (downtown office, adaptive reuse), Elk Grove and O’Hare (industrial/logistics), Kenosha (SE Wisconsin distribution), Oak Brook and Schaumburg (suburban office), Naperville and the I-88 Corridor (flex and R&D), Bolingbrook and the I-55 Corridor (warehouse/fulfillment), and the collar counties: Lake, DuPage, Will, Kane, and McHenry. Guests include developers, investors, operators, and public-sector leaders shaping the built environment across the Greater Chicagoland Area and the Globe. 🎧 New episodes every Wednesday at 3 PM CT. Learn More About The Real Finds Podcast Learn About Our Commercial Real Estate Services , Commercial Real Estate Agents , & Team Of Property Managers .

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November 4, 202643 min

Why Every Commercial Real Estate Rebrand Looks the Same With David Kessler

Why do so many commercial real estate rebrands look exactly the same? David Kessler, founder and CEO of Starfish, the New York brand and creative agency he has led since 2002, has spent more than four decades building brands. Before founding Starfish, he held senior roles at Hill Holliday, FCB, Lowe & Partners, and Griffin Bacal/DDB, and he describes working on the coffee positioning behind America Runs on Dunkin'. He says his agency's real estate work includes THE PENN DISTRICT for Vornado, the Seagram Building, and Moynihan Train Hall. His diagnosis: most real estate brands are interchangeable, and AI is making the problem worse. In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere and David dig into why landlords keep hiring the same agencies and getting the same results, the hand-over-the-logo test that exposes a generic brand, and how to market the return to office by inspiring tenants instead of mandating it. David explains why AI search flattens what your website says into a neutral summary, why AI slop is already triggering a backlash, and why authenticity and "brand soul" will decide which buildings and firms stand out over the next decade. What we cover: • How a call from Vornado about Penn Station launched Starfish's commercial real estate practice • How brand strategy for office buildings has shifted since COVID • Why AI can build a brand strategy, but not a unique one • The biggest branding mistakes landlords and real estate firms make • David's three inputs for true differentiation: internal DNA, customer needs, and competitive uniqueness • The hand-over-the-logo test: can anyone else say this? • The Dunkin' story: why coffee consistency, not donuts, drove the brand • Marketing return to office: why inspiration beats mandates • The "third place" mindset behind today's amenity-driven office buildings • Where hybrid work is landing: three to four days a week • How family offices and multigenerational real estate firms should approach a rebrand • Why buy-in from the family matters more than the idea • Why so many real estate rebrands look identical • Lessons from the Seagram Building and Moynihan Train Hall • Branding for AI search: why David says most B2B searches now run through AI • Consistency across every surface: website, social, review sites, and content • Why AI slop is the start of a pendulum swinging back • What the real estate industry is missing: authenticity and brand soul • Will AI agents replace commercial real estate brokers? • Career advice for young branding professionals New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. Learn more at vvco.com, email info@vvco.com, or call 847-846-6902. The Real Finds Podcast is hosted by Gordon Lamphere, J.D., a fourth-generation commercial real estate broker and Vice President of Sales and Leasing at Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate firm, founded in 1879. Recognized by independent industry publications among the region's top brokers, Gordon and his team close 100+ transactions annually across industrial, office, retail, medical office, land, and investment properties in Greater Chicagoland and Southeastern Wisconsin. Learn more at vvco.com or call 847-846-6902.

September 9, 202647 min

State Of The Market Chicagoland 2026 - Q3

Last quarter, the Chicagoland commercial real estate market stopped waiting. This quarter, it picked sides. A law firm committed to anchor a new downtown office tower in the most expensive construction environment Chicago has ever seen. Institutional capital is back on multifamily bid sheets. And farmland that traded for $15,000 an acre 18 months ago is being underwritten for gigawatts. Gordon Lamphere, J.D., delivers the Q3 2026 State of the Chicagoland Commercial Real Estate Market across office, industrial, multifamily, retail, and, for the first time as its own segment, land.Depending on which report you pulled this quarter, Chicagoland industrial vacancy was 4.8%, 5.3%, or 6.1%. Gordon explains why the published numbers disagree and how the RFP Index at rfp.vvco.com aggregates them into a single defensible read. From there: why the industrial "slowest year since the Great Recession" headline lasted two quarters, why Chicago structurally cannot oversupply apartments, why there are two Chicago retail markets separated by a 25-point vacancy spread, and why a utility will-serve letter may be the most valuable document in the region.What we cover:• Why three sources report three different industrial vacancy rates• Construction costs, the trades, and the moat for what is already built• Sidley Austin anchoring 968,000 square feet at 725 West Randolph• CBD direct absorption positive for the first time since 2023• Industrial absorption up 146% and 21.8 million square feet of leasing• Power before rent: reshoring converts to leases• Fewer than 4,000 apartment deliveries, the smallest pipeline since 2012• Grocery-anchored strength versus the Loop at roughly 30% vacancy• Tract's one gigawatt in Morris and Joliet's 1.8 gigawatt annexation• Entitlement risk, the state incentive pause, and the halo play• The five numbers that matter for the next 12 to 18 monthsNew episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.Learn more at vvco.com, email info@vvco.com, or call 847-846-6902.The Real Finds Podcast is hosted by Gordon Lamphere, J.D., a fourth-generation commercial real estate broker and Vice President of Sales and Leasing at Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate firm, founded in 1879. Recognized by independent industry publications among the region's top brokers, Gordon and his team close 100+ transactions annually across industrial, office, retail, medical office, land, and investment properties in Greater Chicagoland and Southeastern Wisconsin. Learn more at vvco.com or call 847-846-6902.Connect with Gordon and the RFP Index:Website: https://vvco.comRFP Chicagoland Commercial Real Estate Index: https://rfp.vvco.comX: @Gordon_CREInstagram: @Gordon_CRETikTok: @Gordon_CRETimestamps:0:00 The market picked sides0:41 Why the data disagrees5:33 The backdrop8:01 Office16:15 Industrial24:00 Multifamily30:30 Retail37:15 Land42:30 The five numbers that matter46:46 Close#ChicagoCommercialRealEstate #ChicagolandCRE #CommercialRealEstate #IndustrialRealEstate #OfficeMarket #Multifamily #DataCenters #RealFindsPodcast #Chicago

July 29, 2026Episode 10953 min

Why Everything You Believe About Trade Deficits Is Wrong With Michael Klein

Ask a room of economists almost any policy question and you get an argument. Ask whether broad based tariffs benefit a country and you get something rarer: near unanimity, left leaning and right leaning alike. Michael Klein has spent a decade building the site that puts findings like that in front of people who do not read journal articles, and in this conversation he walks through what the evidence actually says. On this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Professor Michael W. Klein, the William L. Clayton Professor of International Economic Affairs at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, former Chief Economist in the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Treasury, and founder of EconoFact. Exchange rates, trade deficits, dollar dominance, Fed independence, affordability, and what all of it means for commercial real estate. What we cover: Why Milton Friedman called the exchange rate the most important price in an economy The iPhone counted as a $300 import from China while China added $5 of value Why a bilateral trade deficit resembles your relationship with your grocery store The student loan versus the Ferrari: when borrowing is a problem and when it is not Rare earths, semiconductors, and aluminum, where security concerns are legitimate One steel producing job, 80 steel using jobs, and the arithmetic of a tariff Whether dollar dominance is eroding, and why the Treasury market matters more Fed independence and what Kevin Warsh's first FOMC meeting signaled Housing supply, zoning, and why Western drought is about to hit food prices Why Klein thinks office to residential conversion mostly does not work Private credit as the opacity risk nobody has fully priced New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. Learn more at vvco.com, email info@vvco.com , or call 847-846-6902. The Real Finds Podcast is hosted by Gordon Lamphere, J.D., a fourth-generation commercial real estate broker and Vice President of Sales and Leasing at Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate firm, founded in 1879. Recognized by independent industry publications among the region's top brokers, Gordon and his team close 100+ transactions annually across industrial, office, retail, medical office, land, and investment properties in Greater Chicagoland and Southeastern Wisconsin. Learn more at vvco.com or call 847-846-6902. Connect with Michael Klein: Website: https://econofact.org Podcast: EconoFact Chats, https://econofact.org/podcast Faculty page: https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/faculty/michael-klein LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-klein-59794310/ Email: contact@econofact.org Timestamps: 00:00 Introducing Professor Michael Klein00:58 A tannery, a Shakespeare class, and comparative advantage02:29 Why EconoFact exists05:24 The most important price in an economy07:42 What exchange rates mean for builders and investors10:23 Strong dollar or weak dollar12:10 Churning: hiring and firing at the same time13:56 The biggest misconception about trade deficits18:44 Aluminum, semiconductors, and rare earths21:45 Why tariffs did not move the trade deficit26:16 Are tariffs ever good policy28:32 Is dollar dominance actually at risk32:44 Federal Reserve independence and why it exists38:49 Affordability, inflation, and housing supply42:33 Real Finds Final Four43:31 What CRE is not talking about enough45:51 Ten years out and the limits of forecasting49:20 One minute of career advice50:18 Who should be our next guest51:46 How to reach Michael Klein52:46 Close #CommercialRealEstate #Economics #Tariffs #TradeDeficit #ExchangeRates #FederalReserve #Inflation #Housing #EconoFact #CRE #RealEstatePodcast #Chicagoland #VanVlissingen #TheRealFindsPodcast

July 15, 2026Episode 10849 min

Why Institutional Capital Is Wrong About Workforce Housing With Jon Siegel

Most multifamily investors are chasing brand new, low-risk product. Jon Siegel thinks that herd mentality is exactly why the biggest opportunity in apartments is sitting in plain sight. As Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of RailField Partners, a Bethesda-based multifamily investment firm operating across the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Texas, and now the Midwest, Jon spent years inside Fannie Mae's multifamily group before advising on billions in transactions and ultimately buying institutional-grade apartments himself. His take: the value-add playbook that made everyone look like a genius in 2021 is dead, and the investors still waiting for that market to come back are going to keep waiting. In this conversation, Jon breaks down why so many bridge-loan-era deals are stuck with no equity left, what savvy investors are actually waiting for before jumping back in, why institutional capital refuses to touch 1970s and 1980s vintage workforce housing even when it is 95 percent occupied in supply-constrained submarkets, and why that reluctance creates real opportunity for disciplined buyers. He also gets candid about political risk, rent control, and why the multifamily industry keeps losing the public narrative. What we cover:- Why "extend and pretend" has clogged the multifamily market for four years- The 2021 syndicator playbook: bridge loans, kitchen renovations, and the math that broke- What a good multifamily deal actually looks like in 2026- Real lease trade-outs: the signal savvy investors are waiting for- Oversupply in the Sun Belt vs. steady rent growth in Midwest markets like Indianapolis- The workforce housing opportunity institutional capital won't touch- Red flags in older vintage product, and why submarkets matter more than markets- Seller psychology: the seven stages of grief before a deal gets done- Rent control, algorithmic pricing, and the political risk multifamily isn't taking seriously- Patience and persistence: the two traits behind long real estate careers New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. The Real Finds Podcast is hosted by Gordon Lamphere, J.D., a fourth-generation commercial real estate broker and Vice President of Sales and Leasing at Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate firm, founded in 1879. Recognized by independent industry publications among the region's top brokers, Gordon and his team close 100+ transactions annually across industrial, office, retail, medical office, land, and investment properties in Greater Chicagoland and Southeastern Wisconsin. Learn more at vvco.com or call 847-846-6902. Connect with Jon Siegel:Website: https://www.railfieldrealty.comEmail: jsiegel@railfieldrealty.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonsiegel1/ Timestamps:0:00 - The 2021 syndicator playbook that broke1:27 - Why real estate: from radio station to Fannie Mae2:20 - How the capital stack has been rebuilt after 20226:10 - Bridge loan distress and why the market is stuck13:00 - What everyone is waiting for and what a good deal looks like now17:20 - Oversupply, development pipelines, and pivoting to the Midwest22:49 - The workforce housing opportunity institutions won't touch26:27 - Red flags in older vintage product30:07 - Discipline, seller psychology, and getting deals closed34:06 - What we're not talking enough about: regulatory and political risk38:02 - What changes most in CRE over the next 10 years41:46 - One minute of advice: patience and persistence45:33 - Who should be on the podcast next47:34 - How to reach Jon #CommercialRealEstate #Multifamily #WorkforceHousing #RealEstateInvesting #MultifamilyInvesting #ApartmentInvesting #CREPodcast #RealFindsPodcast

July 8, 2026Episode 10734 min

Why Family Real Estate Portfolios Collapse With Dr. Carey Chronis

Dr. Carey Chronis has spent more than 25 years running a pediatric practice in Ventura, California, and somewhere in the middle of it he discovered that the skill of connecting with a four-year-old, a defiant teenager, and a frustrated employee is fundamentally the same skill. His forthcoming book, Connection Rethink: Team Culture from Home to Boardroom, argues that the leaders who win at work and lose at home are usually making one mistake in both places: they jump in to solve instead of stopping to listen. In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Dr. Chronis to unpack why connection is infrastructure, not an afterthought, and why the biggest threat to a multi-generational real estate portfolio is rarely the market. It's the family. We get into the discipline of listening without solving, the trap of micromanaging heirs and employees alike, and the "take two" technique for defusing conflict before it hardens. Most importantly for our audience, we dig into why family offices and multi-generational real estate families see portfolios collapse not from bad deals, but from family stress and misalignment, and what the family dinner table has to teach the boardroom. What we cover: - Why the connection you build with a team and the connection you build with a family run on identical skills - Listening without solving, and how high performers quietly train their people to stop coming to them - Connection as infrastructure: the daily huddle, the weeknight family dinner, and why rituals beat intentions - The micromanaging trap, from the helicopter parent to the founder who won't let an heir deploy capital - Building daily trust by asking what the system got wrong, not who's to blame - The "take two" technique for resetting a conversation that came out wrong - Grading stress across home, work, and friends on a zero-to-ten scale, and knowing when to bring in help- Why family offices and multi -generational real estate families lose portfolios to misalignment, not markets - Phones, screens, and self-discipline: protecting mealtime and the hour before bed - His ten-year view: the built environment shifting from efficiency toward spaces designed for human connection New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. The Real Finds Podcast is hosted by Gordon Lamphere, J.D., a fourth-generation commercial real estate broker and Vice President of Sales and Leasing at Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate firm, founded in 1879. Recognized by independent industry publications among the region's top brokers, Gordon and his team close 100+ transactions annually across industrial, office, retail, medical office, land, and investment properties in Greater Chicagoland and Southeastern Wisconsin. Learn more at vvco.com or call 847-846-6902. Connect with Dr. Carey Chronis: Website: www.CareyChronisMD.com Book: Connection Rethink: Team Culture from Home to Boardroom LinkedIn: Carey Chronis, MD #CommercialRealEstate #FamilyOffice #RealEstateInvesting #FamilyBusiness #Leadership #TeamCulture #CRE #SuccessionPlanning #MultiGenerationalWealth #RealFindsPodcast

July 1, 2026Episode 10652 min

Why Smart Investors Are Buying Dirt With Ron Rohde

On today's episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Ron Rohde, a commercial real estate attorney, active investor, and one of the most recognizable voices in the industrial outdoor storage (IOS) space. Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Ron runs the Law Office of Ronald Rohde, PLLC, where he advises clients across industrial, retail, office, and multifamily transactions. He is also a direct owner and operator of industrial NNN properties, general counsel to a major retail shopping center platform, the author of a practical guide to industrial real estate investing, and the creator of a widely followed YouTube channel covering deals and commercial real estate law. Few people can speak to IOS from the investor, broker, and attorney seats all at once, which makes this conversation a genuine masterclass.Ron and Gordon dig into why industrial outdoor storage became one of the hottest asset classes of the last five years, how to underwrite a deal on rent per acre rather than price per foot, and why the building on an IOS site still matters more than most investors assume. Ron walks through the class A, B, and C surface tiers, the zoning and neighborhood-objection risks that can quietly wreck a deal, the real cost of landscaping and screening compliance, and how to think about tenant quality, decision speed, and lease execution across company sizes. He also shares candid advice on hiring the right real estate attorney, his view on retail's resilience after Amazon, and where AI is heading in the transaction workflow.What we cover:- What industrial outdoor storage actually is and why it trades differently from traditional warehouse- How to underwrite IOS on rent per usable acre plus triple net- The class A, B, and C surface tiers from dirt to gravel to concrete- Why the building still matters and what tenants now demand- Zoning, by-right use, and neighborhood objection as the biggest red flags- The hidden cost of landscaping, screening, irrigation, and site plan compliance- Financing IOS and how lenders now underwrite yard income- Finding a competitive edge in a crowded, institutional market- How to identify and keep a great commercial real estate attorney- Retail, big box, and irreplaceability as an investment thesis- Decision speed and bureaucracy across small, middle market, and institutional tenants- Where AI fits into the future of commercial real estateThe Real Finds Podcast is brought to you by Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate brokerage, founded in 1879 and serving Greater Chicago, Wisconsin, and the broader Midwest. Learn more at vvco.com, email info@vvco.com, or call 847-846-6902.New episodes of The Real Finds Podcast publish every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, and wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, leave a five-star rating, and drop a comment. Your support helps us keep booking quality guests.Connect with Ron Rohde on YouTube and follow his content on industrial outdoor storage, retail, and commercial real estate law.

June 24, 2026Episode 10541 min

Why Blackstone Is Pouring Billions Into Net Leases With Sean Hostert

Sean Hostert is a principal, investor, advisor, and founder of Net Lease Observer, widely regarded as the net lease industry's leading independent analyst. A finance major out of the University of Illinois who started his career advising mortgage servicers at PwC after the 2008 crisis, Sean found his way into net lease in 2013 at Cole Capital, a non-traded REIT platform in Phoenix. From the FP&A side of the business, he developed a deep understanding of what makes single tenant net lease a unique animal: an asset class defined not by property type, but by lease structure, sitting at the intersection of fixed income, tenant credit, and real estate.In this episode, Sean and Gordon take a practitioner's tour of the entire net lease universe, from Dollar General outparcels and FedEx distribution centers to the single tenant ownership structures behind Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand. Sean breaks down how to underwrite these deals across tenant credit, real estate fundamentals, and lease structure, why sale leasebacks have become a private equity favorite, and what's actually driving the institutional capital surge from names like Blackstone. If you own real estate, advise owners, or are thinking about your first triple net acquisition, this conversation is essential listening.What we cover:- Why net lease is defined by lease structure, not property type, and how it differs from traditional CRE- The three core ways to buy net lease: sale leasebacks, assuming existing leases, and development financing- How to underwrite a deal across tenant credit, real estate fundamentals, and lease structure- Absolute triple net explained: taxes, insurance, and maintenance responsibilities- Why sale leasebacks appeal to private equity, and the valuation gap that makes them work- Rent escalation norms, cap rate ranges, and what to look for in a typical OM- Who's actually buying: public REITs, private funds, and the fragmented private capital market- Why institutional players are surging into net lease, and the demographic tailwinds behind it- Sean's take on the underwatched middle of the yield curve and self-driving cars' fat-tailed impact on real estateThe Real Finds Podcast drops new episodes every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify. If you enjoyed this conversation, please give us a like, a five-star rating, and a review. Your comments, interactions, and subscriptions truly matter and help us bring on quality guests. Brought to you by Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest private commercial real estate brokerage, serving Greater Chicago, Wisconsin, and the broader Midwest since 1879. Chicago's Top Commercial Real Estate Agents Website: vvco.comPhone: 847-846-6902Email: info@vvco.comConnect with Sean Hostert: Net Lease Observer at netleaseobserver.com Find us on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes & more!Timestamps:00:00 Why net lease returns 10-11% annually00:46 Introducing Sean Hostert, Net Lease Observer01:13 Why real estate? From PwC to Cole Capital02:20 What drew Sean to net lease specifically03:37 The unique financial flavor of net lease03:53 Net lease defined: structure, not property type05:23 How an investor should approach net lease08:05 Underwriting: matching your goals to the asset10:10 Common lease structures and absolute triple net13:14 Sale leasebacks in the post-2020 market14:01 The three ways to buy net lease deals16:14 Why private equity loves sale leasebacks19:32 Rent bumps, escalations, and cap rate ranges23:06 Who's actually buying net lease26:18 Acknowledging data and availability bias26:48 The Blackstone effect and institutional surge30:03 Final Four: what we're not talking about enough32:18 What changes most in CRE over ten years32:42 Self-driving cars and the fat-tailed future36:10 Best career advice: lock down the right partner37:35 Who should come on the podcast next39:44 How to reach Sean and Net Lease Observer

June 17, 2026Episode 10441 min

The AI Real Estate Goldmine Everyone's Missing With Bruce Garrison

Fiber connectivity has quietly become one of the most decisive factors in data center site selection, and the AI buildout is about to make it far more complex. In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Bruce Garrison, CEO of BIG Fiber, one of the leading names in metro dark fiber infrastructure serving the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Portland, and Greater Atlanta.Bruce brings more than 20 years in the fiber infrastructure industry, including leadership roles at Kansas Fiber Network and GTS Central Europe. BIG Fiber operates a 100% underground network spanning hundreds of route miles and connecting dozens of on-net data centers across its markets.In this conversation, we cover:- Why fiber rings exist and how redundancy underpins data center uptime SLAs- How hyperscaler campuses now demand three to four diverse routes back to interconnect- Why AI inference could multiply data center endpoints tenfold and reshape the map- The shift from a few large campuses to high-volume, distributed, smaller compute sites- Why fiber is the hardest problem to solve once you move outside the urban core- How modular data centers, cell towers, and enterprise buildings become AI infrastructure- What developers, brokers, and communities should understand about the long-term tax and economic case for data centersFor site selectors, developers, and commercial property owners, this is a clear-eyed look at the infrastructure layer most of the market overlooks until it becomes a dealbreaker.Bruce Garrison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucegarrisonNew episodes of The Real Finds Podcast drop every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify.Van Vlissingen and Co., Chicagoland's oldest commercial real estate brokerage (founded 1879)Web: https://www.vvco.comPhone: 847-846-6902Email: info@vvco.com#CommercialRealEstate #DataCenters #DarkFiber #AIInfrastructure #SiteSelection #CRE #DigitalInfrastructure #Hyperscaler

June 10, 2026Episode 10356 min

Pulling Off The Largest Office-to-Residential Conversion In History With Eugene Flotteron

Everyone said 25 Water Street was unconvertible. Too big. Too deep. Too much building. Eugene Flotteron converted it anyway, and it became the largest completed office-to-residential conversion in American history: 1.1 million square feet of vacant Manhattan office space transformed into 1,320 apartments, with two courtyards carved out of the building's core and a 10-story addition stacked on top.On this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Eugene Flotteron, AIA, Principal and Director of Architecture at CetraRuddy, where over the past 24 years he has become one of the industry's foremost leaders in adaptive reuse. Eugene walks us through exactly how 25 Water Street got done: the structural negotiations that capped the overbuild at 10 stories, the facade surgery required to deliver light and air, the 467-M tax program that converted a fully market-rate plan into 25 percent affordability without changing a single floor plan, and the 100,000 square foot amenity package that reignited the amenity wars.Then we go deeper into the conversion playbook itself: what makes a building a candidate, why overbuilt FAR is your best friend, the 80 percent floor efficiency target, why 1970s curtain wall modules are the hardest puzzle in the business, and how the conversion wave is now spreading from New York to Dallas, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte.If you want to understand how distressed office buildings actually become housing, this is the masterclass.What we cover:- How 25 Water Street became the largest completed office-to-residential conversion in the US- Cutting courtyards, replacing facades, and adding 10 stories to make the deal pencil- New York's 467-M tax abatement and why developers are racing its June 2026 reduction- How City of Yes threw gasoline on the adaptive reuse market- The studio home office: the unit type beating one-bedroom comps by $500 to $600 a month- The amenity wars: pools, pickleball, bowling alleys, and 100,000 square feet of found space- Eugene's conversion checklist: overbuilt FAR, light exposure, floor depth, and efficiency targets- Which building eras have good bones and which are traps- Why conversions are going national and what other cities must fix to compete- Public-private partnerships and the future of urban redevelopmentTimestamps:00:00 Cold open: The amenity wars are back01:34 How Eugene got into adaptive reuse03:18 From small conversions to the biggest one ever attempted05:50 Inside 25 Water Street: 1.1M SF into 1,320 apartments10:21 Office distress: is there still opportunity left?13:12 The 467-M program and City of Yes15:32 Conversions go national: Texas, DC, Pittsburgh, Charlotte19:24 What renters demand in 202622:10 100,000 square feet of amenities and the amenity arms race27:44 The conversion playbook: what makes good bones34:10 Which building eras convert best36:10 The hardest conversion: a horse-and-buggy hospital40:35 Designing at developer speed43:22 Final Four: what the industry isn't talking about46:43 The future of public-private partnerships50:41 One minute of advice for younger professionals53:14 Who should be next on the podcast🔔 Subscribe to The Real Finds Podcast for real conversations with the entrepreneurs, activists, and researchers shaping the real estate industry. New episodes every Wednesday at 3 PM CT on YouTube and Spotify.Connect with Eugene Flotteron:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugene-flotteron-aia-513b3548/CetraRuddy: https://cetraruddy.comConnect with Gordon Lamphere and Van Vlissingen and Co.:Website: https://vvco.comPhone: 847-846-6902Email: info@vvco.com#OfficeToResidential #AdaptiveReuse #CommercialRealEstate #25WaterStreet #RealEstatePodcast #CRE #Multifamily #NYCRealEstate #RealFindsPodcast

June 3, 2026Episode 10246 min

Commercial Real Estate Doomers, Gurus, & Industrial Opportunity With Chad Griffiths

Industrial real estate looks remarkably similar whether you are in Edmonton, Dallas, or Chicago. On this episode of the Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Chad Griffiths, MBA, SIOR, CCIM, a partner at NAI Commercial in Edmonton and host of The Industrial Real Estate Show, the most-watched industrial real estate podcast in the industry. Chad shares two decades of perspective on the Alberta market, the universal forces reshaping industrial demand, the power crisis facing every warehouse (not just data centers), and how to cut through the noise on real estate social media without selling your soul. We dig into the bifurcation of industrial users, the tension between last-mile delivery and community pushback, the cap rate documentary that revealed no two experts agree, and Chad's prediction for vertical, automated, ultra-high-clear warehouses over the next decade. Timestamps00:00 Cold open: nobody wants warehouses, now nobody wants data centers01:28 Welcome and introducing Chad Griffiths01:35 How Chad accidentally fell into industrial real estate03:18 Always be learning: the danger of thinking you know it all03:59 Inside the Alberta market: oil, gas, and the Texas comparison05:00 Edmonton's 160 million square feet and what makes a building universal06:32 The biggest universal trend: data centers and the power crisis08:00 Electrification of everything, from forklifts to retrieval systems09:20 Higher clear heights, more land, trailer storage09:40 Political instability, tariffs, labor, and deals that no longer pencil10:21 Warehouse and data center moratoriums: Deerfield, California, New York11:09 The last-mile tension: we want fast delivery but nobody wants the warehouse14:36 What it means for occupiers and investors: the rent-to-revenue calculus10:00 The coming bifurcation of industrial users17:40 Reading the cycle: upward pressure on rates and tightening availability18:02 Predicting unpredictability in a chaotic world20:01 Real estate meets social media: the two toxic extremes22:32 The guru-grifter problem and the doomsayer problem25:04 Telling the truth when doomerism gets the views27:23 The cap rate documentary: asking 12 experts, getting 12 answers30:18 Thirty-two ways to calculate a cap rate32:44 Real Finds Final Four: the topic we are not discussing enough34:47 What happens to data centers when we no longer need them35:53 Ten years out: distribution goes vertical37:33 Super-flat floors, power, and the engineering challenge40:08 One minute of advice: become an expert, build relationships42:53 Guest recommendation: Ron Rohde and the world of IOS44:23 Where to find Chad Connect with Chad GriffithsThe Industrial Real Estate Show: industrialize.comAvailable on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTubeX / Twitter: @ChadGriffithsNAI Commercial, Edmonton Connect with Van Vlissingen and Co.Website: https://www.vvco.comPhone: 847-846-6902 Founded in 1879, Van Vlissingen and Co. is Chicagoland's oldest independent commercial real estate brokerage. Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping commercial real estate.#IndustrialRealEstate #CommercialRealEstate #CRE #DataCenters #Warehouse #RealFindsPodcast #Logistics