Marina Palms began as a broken project, a choice piece of waterfront land on Miami’s intercoastal with serious entitlement issues. Together with a local partner, iStar worked through the entitlement issues over two and a half years to position the property for the local markets resurgence. Now under construction, Marina Palms is two exclusive condo towers framing the first full-service marina built in Miami-Dade County in twenty years. This successful reposition has enabled our partnership to pre-sell a substantial majority of the units prior to completing construction.

This 2.5 acre site in Chicago’s South Loop had been slated to become luxury condos, but we saw it as better suited for premium rentals. When iStar took ownership, we had the land and capital, but needed a local builder’s vision and “know-how.” JDL had the local experience, expertise and complementary ideas but needed a flexible capital solution. Most importantly, we were on the same page from day one—quickly structuring a mutually beneficial joint venture, with iStar as both equity investor and lender. As the 29-story tower has risen, our knowledge of both the local market and our partner’s capabilities has grown, furthering the potential for additional partnerships.

An industrial condo park strategically located in Oahu’s second city, La Kapolei was poised to absorb the tourism-related light industrial activity being forced out of Honolulu. Unfortunately as the property neared completion, the economy began sinking and our borrower struggled to finish the park, pay contractors or sign any leases. However, we still believe in the original thesis. When the borrower handed us the keys, we paid off the liens and got the 17 buildings ready to occupy. Navigating the thorny legal and regulatory environment, we restructured the condo plan and governance regime, greatly reducing property taxes. We brought in the best local industrial leasing agency and focused on local entrepreneurs and short-term leases. La Kapolei leased up, and when the leases started to roll a few years later, the economy was back, the park and its surroundings were thriving and larger tenants were lining up. We started to field unsolicited bids and soon sold La Kapolei for a profit.

A well-situated power center mall in Lutz, Florida just outside of Tampa, Van Dyke Commons was in the process of being repositioned and improved when the new owner’s money ran out. The first thing we did upon taking ownership was to restore the faith of the brokerage community, making good on what they were owed and promising to pay faster than standard on new transactions. We infused cash into the improvements, cleaning up where corners had been cut. We cleared out tenants that were in default, renewed ten near term lease expirations and signed four new tenants to join the mall. Within 16 months, the mall reached 100% occupancy and we sold it at a profit.

This iconic Hawaiian hotel had fallen into neglect and was mired in controversy. When iStar took ownership of the hotel portion of the 30-story tower, we worked hard to rebuild trust with the hotel employees and condo owners, while investing in upgrades and a lobby/retail experience worthy of The Ilikai’s name. We secured permission to add kitchens to the hotel units and began selling them as condos. It took a full mix of iStar disciplines—architecture and engineering, legal, public relations, finance, operations—working in concert to bring to life The Ilikai’s inherent value and best use.

Paramount Bay entered iStar’s operating portfolio at the depth of the financial crisis shrouded in controversy, its builder well over budget and the project incomplete. Rather than making conventional changes—new flooring and paneling, an upgraded lobby—we sought to change the conversation entirely. By hiring the interior design company of rock star Lenny Kravitz, we relaunched Paramount Bay with a completely new perception. The repositioned image and the improved quality of the product increased velocity and enabled iStar and its partner to take advantage of the strengthening Miami market.

When iStar assumed ownership of this high-end condo development, the units were decorator ready but the common areas had been value-engineered into unremarkable, commodity spaces that belied the worth of such an exclusive location right on the ocean in Miami’s South Beach. Even the development’s name, South of Fifth, was confusing since that was also the name of the neighborhood. Despite the market still in an early stage of climbing out of a trough, we were optimistic about the market’s future and went all in on the property—giving it a new concept, a new name and, working with a premium designer, a reengineered experience worthy of the location. Instead of a lobby, the entry was made to feel like an exquisite home with a large living room, butler pantry, sweeping staircase and even a library. The changes created a cachet for the property that brought in premium buyers and top dollar for these unique homes on the beach.

UTI, a publicly traded company, teaches people how to be mechanics for heavy machinery, trucks and large engines. As a long-time iStar customer, we knew them well and knew they were looking to replace their outmoded Chicago campus. We had an old building that was not suited for modern use, but was well located right on Interstate 88 and across the street from Navistar—a producer of high-end heavy machinery and a natural employer of UTI’s students. Our pitch to UTI: we would tear down the building and construct a school on the property with purpose-built facilities to accommodate their very specific needs, and lease it to them through a joint venture entity in which UTI would take part ownership. Leveraging our in-house construction ability with our net lease and structuring expertise, we solved UTI’s needs in a creative and mutually beneficial manner, while finding a higher and better use for an existing property in our portfolio.

When Solo Cup sought to refinance debt taken on in a significant merger, they turned to iStar. Our net lease transaction involved six of their manufacturing facilities that represented roughly three-fourths of Solo’s EBIDTA and included their most state-of-the-art production lines. We carefully underwrote the underlying business and recognized the stability of the cash flows due to the high switching costs of their customers. In 2014, following Solo’s acquisition by Dart Container, the new owners bought us out of the lease, generating a significant round-trip return on our investment.

The W Fort Lauderdale exemplifies the creative tenacity it takes to see complex projects through. We created an innovative structure to finance the separate hotel and condo-hotel components, despite both being constructed concurrently, and partnered with another lender to split the deal. When markets turned difficult, we offered flexibility through multiple modifications as the sponsor continued to support the deal through the infusion of fresh equity. When our co-lender expressed interest in exiting, we opportunistically acquired their position. We were confident in our basis and value of the property, believing it was just a question of when and not if the property would sell. Four months later, the property sold at full value, generating a strong return on our opportunistic acquisition.

In one of the world's most densely trafficked locations, we helped shepherd a deal to clear out an old office block and its downscale retail along 47th and Broadway, to create a property and an experience worthy of today’s Times Square. As the deal progressed, we financed over $400 million for a new Edition hotel rising above six new floors of dynamic retail. The hotel is being designed by a joint venture between Marriott and Ian Schrager, and will include significant outdoor space overlooking the heart of Times Square. In addition an approximately 18,000 square foot LED sign will become an iconic visual element and powerful presence in the Square.