Weekend Wrap-Up: CRE Finance's Most Powerful People, First Republic Fallout, and Flex Office's Flux

    [A Year Like No Other in Commercial Real Estate Finance]( [Last year started off with a bang. Little did we know, a fox in the form of the Federal Reserve was fast approaching the hen house.](   [JPMorgan Chase’s First Republic Bank Takeover Rattles Capital Markets]( [The failure of First Republic Bank has shocked capital markets and created concern that the banking system might face a widespread crisis.](   [Flex Office Space Is in Flux. Should Its Operators Worry?]( [They say no, but recent casualties in the market expose the approach’s weaknesses.](   [Europe vs. America on ESG: Why One Might Overtake the Other]( [Oddly enough, it’s the more fractious U.S. that can play a solid long game on sustainability despite the E.U.'s current lead.](   [Construction Loves Contech. The Relationship Hasn’t Always Been So Smooth.]( [A traditionally fragmented industry is finding efficiencies from software, young tech talent, smartphones, and Wi-Fi availability.](   [Commercial Real Estate’s Troubles Offer Opportunities for Investors: Panelists]( [Meet a very optimistic bunch at Commercial Observer’s latest forum.](   [Three’s Company: 3650 REIT Built Its Business For This Exact Moment]( [The founders of 3650 REIT sketched their original business plan on the back of an envelope seven years — and several billion dollars of activity — ago.](   [Yes, That’s a Climbing Wall in the Office. RFR’s Seagram Building ‘Playground’]( [The Modernist masterpiece now has all sorts of bells and whistles to lure workers back to the office. Will it work?](   [LA Has 3 Million More Square Feet of Empty Retail Than Before COVID: Report]( [Occupancy remains 3 million square feet below where it was in the first quarter of 2020.](   [First Citizens’ Chris Niederpruem Takes Star Turn With Yonkers Film Studio Financing]( [First Citizens's Chris Niederpruem has played a starring role in financing the Lionsgate Studio in Yonkers.](   To forward this newsletter to a friend, [click here](. To manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [click here](. Visit the [Commercial Observer]( for the latest commercial real estate news. For advertising information, [download the media kit](. © Copyright 2023 [Observer Media]( 1 Whitehall Street, Floor 7, New York, NY 10004 This newsletter was published 05/06/2023. [View this email in a browser](.