New Wine-Levine partnership eyeing 10 distressed projects

David Wine, the former Related Companies vice chairman who left the company in September after more than three decades, sat down with the New York Times this weekend to discuss his new venture, Oliver’s Realty Group. Named after his son, Oliver’s has just two employees (including Wine) right now, but is aggressively seeking opportunities to expand. As such, Wine has already created Trio Partnership with RAL Companies’ Robert Levine, which is currently evaluating 10 distressed deals. Meanwhile, Oliver’s is part of a team — with BFC Partners and Washington Square Partners — that bid on the city’s planned mixed-income development at Hunters Point South. Wine said he expects to hear by the end of the year whether he’s made the short list. “The challenge is to distinguish between those [projects] that are challenging and sustainable and those that are dead ends,” Wine said. [NYT]