Who would have thought real estate dealmaking would be a path to world peace?
It was for Steve Witkoff, the developer turned global envoy for President Trump.
Our cover story this month tracks Witkoff’s path from developing luxury condos in Miami and New York to taking on seemingly impossible political tasks. In January, he brokered a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. In February, he spent close to three and a half hours with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss bringing the war in Ukraine to an end.
“If you can negotiate all the intricacies of financing a development, zoning and all the competing parts, I think some of the skillset is transferable to solving geopolitical issues,” one real estate player opined. “It’s very much a problem-solving ethos.”
It seems a big leap to go from handling zoning to Zelensky, or housing to Hamas, but Witkoff is known in real estate circles as a fixer. He’s the guy that’s brought in when there are intractable problems to be solved. And he has a style that is the opposite of Trump’s — instead of brash and confrontational, Witkoff is soft-spoken and easygoing. Check out the story on Witkoff’s remarkable transition to politics by senior reporter Rich Bockmann. (We’ll leave it to bigger publications than ours to figure out if Witkoff can bring about peace in Ukraine.)
Elsewhere, in a story on “it” buildings, we take a look at the buzziest new condo projects around the country. Ever since the days of the original “it” condo building in New York City, 15 Central Park West, up to the era of 432 Park, the ultra-wealthy seem to travel in herds when they find a project they like. Right now, that means buying into the Zeckendorf brothers’ 80 Clarkson Street in New York, the Aman Residences at One Beverly Hills in LA, or Witkoff’s own Shore Club in Miami Beach, located on a strip some are now dubbing “billionaires’ beach.”
It seems a big leap to go from handling zoning to Zelensky, or housing to Hamas.
Of course, it’s no secret Trump and Witkoff and the whole administration are making a push to roll back DEI efforts — and the real estate industry appears to be following suit, as senior reporter Kathryn Brenzel explores in this story.
As Brenzel notes, after the death of George Floyd in 2020, real estate execs acknowledged the need to address racial disparities in the industry. But a recent survey of publicly traded real estate companies shows nearly 70 percent that ramped up their DEI language after 2020 have now removed it.
Redfin hasn’t abandoned diversity initiatives— though CEO Glenn Kelman says his company’s efforts exist independently of ‘virtue signaling.’
“Diversity is a priority. It is not the top priority, but it will always be a priority,” he said.
Leaving Trump aside, there are some other features in the issue that are worth checking out — stories that have to do with the little guy and those seeking a level playing field.
Senior reporter Keith Larsen has been writing about a wave of mortgage fraud. But beyond the abstract financial transactions we’ve written about, there are actual victims. Our story details how sewage spilled out next to a school bus stop and tenants were forced to evacuate on Christmas day when water pipes burst.
Meanwhile, senior reporter Suzannah Cavanaugh asks whether mom and pop commercial real estate owners (and not just homeowners) deserve some protection against what many claim are overly aggressive loan collections in the wake of Signature Bank’s collapse.
And in a great investigative piece, reporter Francisco Alvarado looks at some key parcels of land in South Florida that local government gave to developers in what appears to be no-bid sweetheart deals.
Enjoy the issue!