43. Cutting Through Chaotic Markets with Seth Weissman, Founder and Managing Partner, Urban Standard Capital

Managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Seth Weissman, founder and managing partner of Urban Standard Capital (“USC”). The Goldman Sachs and Perry Capital alum takes listeners through his career journey, lessons learned, and the steps he took to build USC into a fully integrated real estate private equity firm managing over $600 million in real estate equity and debt investments. 

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On this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Michael Seeve to discuss his career, favorite deals, the current market, and his advice for those new to the real estate industry. 

Michael serves as President of Mountain Development Corporation (MDC) and guides the firm’s activities in close coordination with its executive team, professionals, and partners. Michael provides strategic leadership for the firm and works actively on many of the firm’s projects.

Michael is a past President of the New Jersey Chapter of NAIOP, the State’s leading advocacy association for the commercial real estate development industry. The organization, which currently has more than 700 members just in New Jersey, focuses on public land use issues, professional advancement, and industry best practices.

Michael serves as Chairman of the Board of William Paterson University, one of the State’s public higher education institutions and is a past Chairman of the University’s Foundation. Michael serves on the State of New Jersey Uniform Construction Code Advisory Board. He is also a past Chairman of the Paterson Special Improvement District, a public private partnership active in the central business district of the State’s third largest City. 

Michael is a past Chairman of the former Barnert Hospital Foundation. He has been recognized as Distinguished Friend in 2015 at William Paterson University’s annual gala, as Barnert Hospital’s “Man of the Year” at their 2006 gala, and included in the “Forty under 40” lists by NJ BIZ and Real Estate New Jersey magazine. 

Michael is a 1992 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife Veronica and their two sons.

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On this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with Ezra Stark, CEO of Stark Enterprises. Founded in 1978 by Robert Stark, Stark Enterprises is a full-service commercial real estate development firm focused on Mixed-Use, Retail, Office, Student Housing, and Parking Facilities located across 7 States. 

As CEO, Ezra has grown Stark’s footprint to include over 9 Million square feet of Class A commercial properties that’s currently valued at over $2 billion. Before being tapped in May 2022 for the CEO role, Ezra held several leadership roles at Stark, including SVP of property management and later as COO. 

As a critical voice in the commercial real estate industry, Ezra regularly speaks on panels across the country, and shares perspectives on the market, investment, and what's coming in his "From the desk of the CEO" online article series.

Ezra is a member and partner of the International Council of Shopping Centers (“ICSC”). He’s been recognized as one of Crain’s Cleveland Businesses’ “40 under 40” for his accomplishments in the real estate industry. He graduated from Brandeis University, and New York University's storied MBA program.

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Gary Lipsky has been a real estate entrepreneur for over 20 years. He is the founder of an award-winning multifamily syndication business and has acquired over 3,000 apartment units valued at over $250MM.

Gary is the host of the Real Estate Investor Podcast (available on Apple podcasts), where he interviews industry experts to provide a broad range education to investors. He is also the best-selling author of “Best in Class: How to Manage Your Multifamily Asset, Avoid Mistakes, and Build Wealth through Real Estate” (available on Amazon), founder of the Asset Management Summit, and a frequent guest speaker at investment conferences across the country.

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Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at Podcast@aystrauss.com to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.

Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team:

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On this episode, managing partner Aaron Y. Strauss is joined by Michael Maturo, founding Managing Partner and President at RXR Realty (“RXR”), a multi-billion-dollar private real estate company, headquartered in New York. The RXR platform manages 84 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of $21 billion. Prior to becoming President of RXR, Mr. Maturo served as President and Board member at Reckson Associates Realty Corporation (“Reckson”). To date, Michael has been involved in capital markets transactions that have totaled over $37 billion.  

Mr. Maturo also serves on several outside Boards and Committees, serving as First Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Association, as well as a Member of its Executive Committee and Chairman of its Exonomic Development Committee. In December of 2012, Mr. Maturo was appointed by Governor Cuomo to the Board of Trustees of the Long Island Power Authority where he served as a Chairman of the Personnel and Compensation Committee until January 2014. 

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In this episode, managing partner Aaron Strauss sits down with  Mark Cover, CEO for the Southwest region at Hines. Founded in 1957 by Gerald D. Hines, Hines is a privately-owned global real estate investment firm with over $95 billion in assets under management and more than 96 million square feet of assets for which it provides property-level services.

As CEO for the Southwest region, Mark is responsible for key investment partner relationships and oversees all development, acquisition and operational activities in the Southwest, Mexico and Central America. Mark is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He’s a graduate of Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC) and a retired CPA. 

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James Nelson serves as Principal and Head of Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales group based in New York City. Throughout his illustrious 25-year career, James has facilitated the sale of over 500 properties and loans, amassing an impressive total valuation exceeding $5 billion. Since the inception of James' sales team in 2018, their impressive performance has culminated in closing over 150 sales valued over $2.5 billion. 

Beyond his brokerage success, James is also an experienced investor, having launched two real estate funds with an impressive aggregate capitalization surpassing $350 million. 

He is an active contributor to the commercial real estate community and regularly imparts valuable industry lessons on his podcast, “The Insider’s Edge to Real Estate Investing” (available on Apple podcasts). His recent book, The Insider’s Edge to Real Estate Investing (available on his website and on Amazon) is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. James also guest lectures on real estate at prominent institutions such as Columbia, Fordham, NYU, Wharton, and his alma mater, Colgate. 

James has been recognized as one of Avison Young’s top sales professionals, included in Commercial Observer’s Power 100 and CoStar Power Broker, and awarded the Edward S. Gordan Deal of the Year award presented by REBNY. James has worked with notable clients such as The Archdiocese of New York, Breaking Ground, The Carlyle Group, JP Morgan Chase, Salvation Army, and Vornado, among others.

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Ellie Perlman is the founder of Blue Lake Capital Group, a private investment and management firm focused on multifamily real estate in the United States. Ellie draws from over fifteen years of experience across real estate investment, law, and property management. At current, Blue Lake Capital owns and manages over 3,300 multifamily units across the U.S. Ellie’s professional journey has been featured in Forbes, Yahoo! Finance, and Globe Street, among others. She is a frequent guest contributor to industry publications on the topic of real estate investment. 

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Chris Okada is the CEO of Okada & Company, a privately-held, full-service commercial real estate brokerage and investment company based in New York City. To date, the Okada & Company has completed more than $1.5 billion of commercial sales and leasing transactions. 

Chris is also the founder of The Okada Acquisition Company, which focuses on acquiring prime office, retail, and multi-family properties in the Midtown and Midtown South submarkets of Manhattan. 

His insights have been featured in publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Crain's New York, and many others. And he’s also the author of “From Fear to Fortune”, a special industry report on the decline and resulting opportunities in post-pandemic Manhattan real estate.

Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at Podcast@aystrauss.com to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.

Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team:

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