Lessons Learned from Reconvene 2024

#Reconvene reminded me what I love about commercial real estate. It is one of the few industries where I get to engage with professionals from all backgrounds, interests and skill sets, due to the complex nature of the asset class. The fact that it is a local game adds to the fun - no city is the same, even if you might be dealing with one product type (e.g. Class B multi-family in Austin, TX has different risks and rewards than the same in Santa Monica, CA). In the 3-day conference, I met folks from all over the country, who are creating and changing their communities through one building at a time.?

I met investors, operators, an ex-civil servant/ lobbyist, architects, developers. On the first night’s carefully curated dinner, I had the privilege of meeting Damon Hemmerdinger . I relished our conversation, as he shared his current journey of creating an entire community ground up with patience and perseverance.?

On the next day’s breakout session on senior housing, I learned so much about the market and the nuances of operating an active labor-intense business on top of real estate from Joe Pohlen . I am going to use the catchphrase I got from Joe - “no margin, no mission” - in my future conversations with founders and operators.?

A spontaneous conversation with Andrew D. Kuhn at the Jonathan Club dinner was one of those rare moments where all the small talk was skipped and we went straight to what really matters: our family, values and purpose. We ended up talking for two hours by the fire, sharing our journeys, why we do what we do, and the importance of serving our communities through our companies.?

I left the conference with more questions than answers about my investment thesis and how I want to invest the limited resources and time at my disposal. What asset classes do I want to invest in? Why? Developments seem very, very risky - how can I de-risk such complex, multivariate, long-term projects, were ever to go into development??

Thank you, Moses Kagan , Simran Kagan , and the Reconvene team for creating such an authentic community where anyone with interest and passion for the industry can come and learn.?

Main takeaways:

• For any successful development, you need the buy-ins from all three: council group, planning staff and neighborhood group. Right now, it’s cheaper to buy existing buildings than to build.
• Can’t repeat this enough: “No margin, no mission”.
• Contrary to popular belief, the boom for the senior housing market is not here yet.?
• From John T Pugh ?? : 1) focus on markets where I believe have long tail-wind 2) do a small project to build relationships and trust in the local market?
• From Moses: Focus on building a smaller focused audience who trusts you, rather than trying to build a big ambivalent audience?
• CRE is really a long game. A LONG GAME.?
• Development is an art of bringing different people together to change the physical environment where people can flourish.?
• Developers need a better PR strategy to change how society perceives this group. We need a better story.?