📦 Brookfield doubles down on industrial scale
🥊 Floyd Mayweather’s luxury condo drama
🏬 Retailers tap real estate for liquidity
🔧 Upcoming Workshops: OpCo-PropCo Structures, AI in Underwriting
📚 Upcoming Courses: Fundamentals of CRE

Data Viz of the Week: San Francisco’s Long Journey Back

In January, San Francisco multifamily rents are expected to finally return to pre-pandemic highs — more than six years since they peaked in August 2019.

While San Francisco rent growth has been accelerating since late 2024, the fact it took so long for rents to return to pre-pandemic norms speaks to how hard the city was hit in 2020 and 2021.

But now, San Francisco multifamily owners have two advantages the rest of the country doesn’t: a booming local industry (AI) and a total lack of new supply given the city missed out on 2021-23 construction surge.

Upcoming Thesis Driven Courses & Workshops

•  📣 LAST CALL - February 9: 5-Week Course: Fundamentals of CRE (💻 Online): A 5-week interactive bootcamp providing an insider’s view of “a day in the life” of key industry stakeholders with real-world insights and applications.. - $1,299

•  📣 LAST CALL - February 11-12: Workshop: Structuring an OpCo-PropCo Business (💻 Online): ​A two-day interactive workshop designed for real estate operators, entrepreneurs, and investors looking to structure or invest in OpCo/PropCo platforms - $499

• February 20: Workshop: AI in Underwriting (💻 Online): A two-hour ​workshop for investors, developers, lenders, and operators exploring how AI is being applied to real estate underwriting—from deal screening to IC memos.- $299

Three Articles We Loved from Last Week

It’s not easy keeping up with everything. Here are three articles we loved from the past week that you may have missed:

1. (WSJ) Brookfield to Buy Peakstone Realty Trust in $1.2B Industrial Bet

   Brookfield Asset Management agreed to acquire Peakstone Realty Trust in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion, paying $21/share—a ~34% premium to the REIT’s prior close. The deal deepens Brookfield’s conviction around industrial and industrial outdoor storage (IOS), sectors benefiting from logistics demand, supply-chain restructuring, and last-mile distribution needs. Peakstone will suspend its dividend as the transaction moves through closing, expected by mid-2026, with a short go-shop window to solicit competing bids.

2. (NY Post) Floyd Mayweather Sued Over $330K in Unpaid Rent at Baccarat Residences

   A lawsuit filed in New York alleges Floyd Mayweather owes more than $330K tied to unpaid rent and damages at a luxury duplex inside the Baccarat Hotel & Residences. The unit—previously renting for ~$100K/month—is now being repositioned for resale or lease at materially higher pricing. While celebrity tenancy isn’t new in trophy condos, the dispute underscores volatility at the ultra-luxury tier, where carrying costs, legal exposure, and reputational optics can materially impact leasing and exit timelines.

3. (Reuters) Morrisons Explores $1.4B Property Financing Backed by Store Portfolio

   UK grocer Morrisons is exploring a £1B+ ($1.4B) property-backed financing tied to its freehold supermarket real estate, working with advisors to structure a secured loan rather than a sale-leaseback. The move reflects how operating companies are increasingly tapping embedded real estate value to shore up balance sheets amid margin pressure and competitive pricing dynamics. Private equity-owned since 2021, Morrisons is looking to unlock liquidity while maintaining operational control of critical retail locations.

Developer of the Week: Oak Row Equities

Oak Row Equities played a central role in securing a $335 million refinancing for the 1 million square foot Wynwood Plaza mixed-use complex in Miami, alongside partners L&L Holding, Shorenstein, and Claure Group.

The floating-rate loan from funds managed by Blue Owl Capital paid off a $215 million Bank OZK construction loan from 2023 and will fund remaining leasing costs. Completed in October, the project includes a 266,000 square foot office building and a 509-unit apartment tower. Oak Row, led by Erik Rutter and David Weitz, continues expanding across Miami with multiple large-scale residential developments underway.

You can read more about Oak Row Equities on the Thesis Driven GP database here.

Know about a developer doing something cool? Reach out to [email protected] with the tip!

Investor of the Week: Somera Capital Management

Somera Capital Management is a boutique private real estate investment firm focused on value-oriented equity investments across diversified and alternative property types in the U.S. With roots dating back to 1994, the firm has managed more than $2 billion of assets and deployed approximately $800 million+ of equity across its track record, operating with a highly selective, partnership-driven investment model. Rather than raising blind-pool funds, Somera forms capital on a deal-by-deal basis, allowing it to tailor structure, alignment, and underwriting to each specific business plan alongside trusted operating partners.

Within real estate, Somera invests across hospitality, retail, office, and multifamily, as well as specialty sectors such as marinas and self-storage, with a focus on situations where operational upside, repositioning, or market dislocation can drive value creation. The firm primarily deploys capital through joint venture equity—its core structure—while also providing preferred equity for development projects and pursuing direct equity acquisitions where it can control execution and maximize returns.

Somera’s geographic track record spans the West Coast, particularly coastal California markets from Seattle to San Diego, alongside activity across the Mid-Atlantic and South-Atlantic regions through its East Coast presence. Its approach emphasizes flexible structuring, durable cash flow, and preservation of investor capital across cycles.

Get more details on Somera Capital Management, including team contacts, deal activity, and investment preferences, inside the CapitalStack database.

—Brad and Paul