Steers Center Convenes Industry Leaders to Discuss the Return and Recovery of the Office

Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business hosted its annual Real Estate Luminaries Series to convene over 500 industry leaders and discuss critical issues related to the future of real estate with luminary, Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty.

Hosted by the Steers Center for Global Real Estate, the Luminaries Series serves as a premiere gathering for commercial real estate professionals in the Washington, D.C., region and beyond. Highly regarded real estate professionals have spoken at the Luminaries series since its inception. Each year, the event has a featured “luminary,” who leads a topical discussion about pressing challenges, opportunities, or changes in the real estate industry. 

Over 10 years ago, prominent figures in the real estate industry, including Bob Steers (B’75, P’06, P’08, P’10), chairman of the executive committee for the Steers Center, Bob Billingsley (F’68, P’99, P’03), vice chairman of Cushman and Wakefield, and the late Tim McBride (L’75, L’80), former principal, chairman, and CFO of McBride Enterprises, initiated the event to emphasize the vital role of real estate education at Georgetown University.

What began as a one evening event has evolved into a comprehensive program, which includes board meetings and dinners that foster a deeper engagement with the real estate community, networking opportunities, and community cohesion.

“The first Luminaries started in 2010. The point was to validate the interest in real estate within the McDonough School of Business and attract the highest quality names in the industry,” said Matthew L. Cypher, director of the Steers Center. “Over the years, Luminaries has evolved into a dynamic platform for industry leaders to engage and collaborate.”

Cypher emphasized the event’s role in fostering friendships, meaningful industry connections, and partnerships.

“Luminaries is more than just professional development; it’s a testament to the power of human connection in the real estate realm,” Cypher said.

This past spring, Rechler discussed the topic of “Return and Recovery: The Future of Office as an Asset Class,” focusing on the divergence between office assets that merit investing in and others that should be repositioned.

Rechler spoke about the varying aspects that contribute to a prosperous financial ecosystem as it relates to downtowns and office buildings alike. He said every market is different, but the hybrid work environment is here to stay, and believes office buildings will continue to play a pivotal role in how people work and live.

“New York, for example, has seen an incredible post-Covid recovery because it’s a magnet for talent,” Rechler said. “Talent wants to live and work there. The city has built an ecosystem of culture, quality of life, opportunity for jobs, and career paths. Miami has done something similar, although on a much smaller scale. But then there are other parts of the country where there are downtowns, where those office buildings are, and they become ghost towns when people aren’t in the office.”

Rechler’s conversation was preceded by a panel discussion on private real estate credit, featuring Timothy Johnson, global head of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies; Neha Santiago, head of real estate private credit and managing director of Cerberus Capital Management; and Peter Smith, former chief investment officer of TPG Real Estate Finance.

Cypher said the discussion highlighted the changing landscape of the industry, especially as it relates to how real estate is capitalized. 

“The rapidly rising interest rate environment has had an impact on the commercial real estate industry that is impossible to understate,” said Cypher.

Cypher hopes Luminaries attendees are inspired by the caliber of conversation, networking, and education that comes out of the event.Watch this year’s Luminary Scott Rechler, discuss “Return and Recovery: The Future of Office as an Asset Class,” on Georgetown McDonough’s Youtube channel.