It might be hard to believe, but there are downsides to being a super-high-wattage celebrity — especially when you’re expanding into a field apart from the one that made you famous. Just ask retired Yankees shortstop, real estate investor and TRD cover star Alex Rodriguez.
“As an athlete, there’s a gift and a curse,” he tells deputy web editor Katherine Kallergis, when describing his investor outreach. “Sometimes, people celebrate and take the meeting. But for the most part, they’re thinking that you’re just an athlete.”
But the 44-year-old has surrounded himself with serious players to take A-Rod Corp. into the commercial real estate big leagues, with his firm Monument Capital Management set to close its fourth residential fund. Up in New York City, Rodriguez is working with Stonehenge NYC and broker Adam Modlin to make condo and apartment acquisitions there, and he’s investing in multifamily properties in secondary and tertiary markets across the country. The multi-talented investor opened up about his new ventures — and why fiancée Jennifer Lopez is more into residential real estate (page 38).
Like most in the field, A-Rod’s looking out for an impending downturn. “We’re definitely in a defensive mode. We have our feet on the brakes a little bit,” he said. With an unpredictable stock market and other indicators flashing warning signs, certainly the entire market is bracing for what could come. In this edition’s recession package, we seek to answer some burning questions: who in South Florida has the most to gain and to lose from a downturn (page 44)? How will highly leveraged heavyweights like Zillow handle a turning tide (page 46)? What could happen to the booming hotel market (page 50)? Why do investors think pouring billions into mobile home parks will inoculate them from financial distress (page 54)? We attempt to answer these questions in those pages.
Other highlights in this issue include editor Ina Cordle’s interview with Bal Harbour Shops head David Whitman Lazenby (page 70) and our sit-down with spec home developer Todd Glaser (page 14), who proudly tells us that “when a toilet is flushed in Miami Beach real estate, Todd Glaser knows about it.” Now that’s news you can use.
Enjoy the issue!