Ep. 24 - Adapt or Get Left Behind: The New Reality of CRE Development with Marc Selvitelli & Gregory Boler Jr
Developers are waiting 12 to 18 months for power while a member of Congress runs ads against data centers.
In this episode of CRE Unplugged, Ryan Elazari sits down with Marc Selvitelli, CAE, President and CEO of CREDA, and Gregory Boler Jr., Founder and Managing Partner of KMT Partners. Marc leads the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, with 55 chapters across the U.S. and Canada. Greg is an Atlanta-based industrial developer who has sourced and executed more than 20 million square feet of development.
They cover why data center development is getting harder, with political backlash building and utility interconnection delays now threatening pro formas across every asset class. They also ask where robotics could show up on a construction jobsite first. Greg explains why he left a partner seat at Bridge Logistics Properties in February 2024 to start KMT, targeting distressed, fully entitled sites at a 30 to 40 percent discount to basis with rates at a two-decade high. With construction still down 60 percent from the peak, he says developers have to be snipers. Marc describes the advocacy work nobody sees, including years spent educating new Ways and Means Committee members on carried interest and 1031 exchanges before this year's tax bill reached a vote.
Show Notes:
00:00 Intro
00:10 Conference season is here!
02:41 Guest introductions and icebreakers
05:38 The data center backlash and the power problem
13:03 From mechanical engineer to developer
16:32 CREDA's first tech track
19:19 What gets a tech founder in the door
22:05 Robotics on the jobsite
27:34 Leaving Bridge to start KMT at the top of the cycle
32:02 Capital markets, rates, and being a sniper
36:10 What CREDA is doing for the next generation
42:05 Mentorship and the value of showing up
45:07 What Greg wants CREDA to look like in 2028
46:43 The advocacy work nobody sees
51:01 Unplugged: Red Sox and Porsches
55:42 A thank you from Ryan to Marc
59:56 Ryan's recap
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🏗️ KMT Partners: https://kmtpartners.com
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Real, unfiltered conversations about where commercial real estate is actually going. Covering AI, innovation, and the human side of the industry that nobody else is talking about. Hosted by Ryan Elazari.
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🤝 SPONSORED BY HILO
This episode is sponsored by our partner, @HILO, the customer experience platform turning heads in commercial real estate.
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