Real Finds Podcast: Commercial Real Estate Unfiltered

How much of the data center boom is really about real estate — and how much of it is about power?In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Britt Burt of Industrial Info Resources to unpack one of the most important forces shaping commercial real estate, industrial development, and infrastructure investment today: the growing electricity demand.Britt brings nearly four decades of experience covering the power industry, including generation, transmission, distribution, and the infrastructure behind large-scale industrial development. The conversation focuses on what is really driving data center growth, how site selection works in practice, and why the future value of many properties may be tied less to traditional location dynamics and more to access to power, interconnection, and infrastructure.Gordon and Britt also discuss why so many announced projects never get built, the biggest mistakes site selectors and investors make when underwriting data center opportunities, and why “speed to power” may be one of the most important concepts in real estate going forward. They also get into common public misconceptions around data centers, including concerns around water use, grid strain, and local opposition, while explaining how developers are adapting through behind-the-meter power, infrastructure investment, and long-term energy strategies.This is a valuable conversation for investors, developers, occupiers, industrial users, and anyone trying to understand the second- and third-order effects of AI infrastructure on real estate.Topics discussed include:- What is driving the rapid increase in power demand - Why data centers are the biggest force behind new electricity demand - Where data centers are being built across the United States - Why Texas, Arizona, Virginia, and the Gulf Coast continue to attract development - The biggest misconceptions people have about data centers - How behind-the-meter power is changing the economics of development - Why stranded power and interconnection agreements matter so much - The most common mistakes made in data center site selection - Why speed to power can matter more than permitting timelines - The supply chain, turbine, labor, and pipeline constraints slowing development - How to tell whether a proposed project is likely to actually get built - Why older data centers may need major modernization for AI workloads - How access to power may increasingly determine real estate valueAbout The Real Finds Podcast Hosted by Gordon Lamphere, The Real Finds Podcast features conversations with operators, investors, developers, policy thinkers, and business leaders shaping commercial real estate and the built world. The show focuses on practical insights, market trends, and the ideas changing how people invest, build, and use space.Guest Info Britt Burt Industrial Info Resources Email: bburt@industrialinfo.comSubscribe to The Real Finds Podcast For more conversations on commercial real estate, investing, infrastructure, and the future of the built environment, subscribe on your favorite platform and follow along for upcoming episodes.I can also make this a little more aggressive and click-driven for YouTube while keeping the same Real Finds structure.

The future of work isn’t coming...it’s already here, and it’s moving faster than most businesses are prepared for.In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with futurist Elatia Abate to break down how artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce, eliminating traditional career ladders, and forcing companies to rethink everything from hiring to strategy. From disappearing entry-level roles to the rise of “stackable” teams powered by AI, this conversation goes deep into what’s actually changing—and what it means for business owners, operators, and real estate investors.If you’re making decisions about office space, hiring, or long-term strategy, this episode will challenge how you think about the next 5–10 years. Topics Covered:- Why thinking “incrementally” is the biggest risk in an exponential world - How AI is compressing middle management and entry-level roles - The concept of the “stackable factory” and what it means for office space - Why some companies are cutting teams while others are scaling faster than ever - The disappearance of traditional career pipelines and what replaces them - Offshoring vs AI: why entire labor models are being rewritten - The rise of “regenerative resilience” as a critical business skill - How to plan for 2030–2035 when assumptions are breaking down - Multi-generational workforces and the growing AI skill gap - Where real estate fits into the future of work transformationAbout Elatia AbateElatia Abate is a futurist and strategist focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence, leadership, and the future of work. She previously led global recruiting for major organizations including Anheuser-Busch InBev and Dow Jones, and now advises companies on navigating exponential change.About The Real Finds PodcastHosted by Gordon Lamphere, The Real Finds Podcast explores the people, ideas, and forces shaping commercial real estate and the built world. From industrial and office to supply chain, AI, and development strategy, the show features conversations with operators, investors, and experts driving change across industries. With a growing audience of 50,000+ real estate professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors, the podcast is designed to simplify complex ideas and uncover actionable insights.Connect with Elatia: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elatiaabate/ Website: https://www.elatiaabate.com Connect with Gordon Lamphere Website: https://www.vvco.com Phone: 847-634-2300Subscribe for More: If you’re interested in commercial real estate, AI, and where the world of work is heading, make sure to subscribe for weekly conversations with industry leaders.

Insurance is one of the largest and least understood costs in commercial real estate. In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Lisa Holt, founder of Ivy Risk, to unpack how insurance markets actually work and why developers, investors, and property owners are seeing dramatic shifts in costs.Lisa explains how insurance brokers evaluate real estate risk, why development projects are uniquely difficult to insure, and how global forces from climate risk to capital markets are reshaping the insurance landscape.The conversation dives into the dramatic swings in insurance pricing over the past five years, why some asset classes like multifamily have faced the biggest challenges, and how sophisticated owners are using data and risk management strategies to regain control of their insurance programs.They also explore emerging strategies like captive insurance structures, which allow large real estate owners to effectively become their own insurance company and turn risk management into a potential profit center.Finally, Gordon and Lisa discuss how AI and analytics will transform underwriting and risk modeling in the next decade and what developers, investors, and operators should be doing today to stay ahead.If you own, develop, or manage commercial real estate, this episode offers an inside look at one of the most important forces shaping property economics today.Topics covered include:Why insurance costs skyrocketed after 2019 How insurance markets actually price riskWhy multifamily development has been hit hardestThe role of climate risk in property insurance How insurance-linked securities are changing the marketThe rise of captive insurance programs for real estate ownersHow data and AI are transforming underwritingGeographic risk differences across U.S. real estate marketsWhy better property management can reduce insurance costsThe future of insurance and real estate risk managementConnect With Lisa Holt Website: https://ivyrisk.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/ivyriskofficial Email: lisa@ivyrisk.com About The Real Finds Podcast Hosted by Gordon Lamphere, The Real Finds Podcast features conversations with developers, investors, policymakers, and operators shaping the future of commercial real estate, cities, and the built environment. Through candid conversations with industry leaders, the show explores how deals get done, how markets evolve, and how real estate professionals navigate an increasingly complex world. The podcast and newsletter reach 50,000+ real estate professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors across the commercial real estate ecosystem.

Caregiving is no longer a “personal issue” happening outside the workplace. It’s a workforce issue, a design issue, and a real estate issue. Our blog: https://www.vvco.com/caregiving-building-for-a-longevity-society-and-the-future-of-work-with-marisa-toldo-rfp-89/In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Marisa Toldo—an architect and researcher focused on the built environment—to unpack the collision of three massive forces reshaping real estate and the workplace:The rise of the longevity society (aging populations + multi-generational workforces) The caregiving reality inside modern employment (childcare, eldercare, and everything in between) The future of work as AI, flexibility, and office vacancy push owners and occupiers to rethink what space is forMarisa makes a provocative argument: office vacancy isn’t only a demand problem—it’s also a design failure. For decades, workplaces were built for the “perfect employee” (carefree, always available, always healthy). That person doesn’t exist—and the mismatch is starting to show up everywhere: retention, productivity, absenteeism, engagement, and how space is actually used.We also get into practical and uncomfortable questions: What happens when companies that provide childcare start needing to address eldercare? What does “flexibility” actually solve—and what does it not solve? And how should real estate owners think about reuse, repurposing, and mixed-use strategies in a world with persistent office vacancy?Key Topics We Cover: - Why caregiving is a systemic workforce issue (not an individual problem) - The “carefree employee” myth and how it shaped office design - Intergenerational models: childcare + eldercare + work, co-located - Why many employees feel they have to hide caregiving responsibilities - Multi-generational workforces and the physical space challenge - Biophilic design: what it is (and what it isn’t) - Measuring space usage: asking employees vs sensors vs observational studies - Office vacancy, reuse, and the case for mixed-use repurposing - AI disruption and why “human-centered space” still matters - What real estate should be talking about more: repurpose + circular thinkingThe future: robots, drones, and designing space that’s “automation-ready”About Marisa Toldo - Marisa Toldo is an architect and built-environment thinker whose work sits at the intersection of workplace design, caregiving realities, and longevity society planning. Her perspective is shaped by years working across regions including Latin America and Europe—and by her personal experience navigating Alzheimer’s caregiving within her own family.Learn More: https://www.marisatoldo.com/ Connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisatoldo/About The Real Finds Podcast - Find Us At: https://www.vvco.com The Real Finds Podcast is hosted by Gordon Lamphere, a commercial real estate agent focused on how the built world is changing from workforce shifts and automation to development strategy and real-world deal dynamics.Subscribe + Follow: If you’re a real estate investor, developer, occupier, or operator—and you care about where the market is going (not where it’s been)—subscribe for weekly conversations with people shaping the built world.New episodes every week!

In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Mike Herl, SIOR (Partner/Broker at Madison Commercial Real Estate)—who spent 17 years on the road and logged 3,500+ shows touring with major acts like Mötley Crüe, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, and even crossing paths with Smashing Pumpkins (plus the broader Midwest orbit of legends like Steve Albini). Then he took that same high-stakes, contract-heavy, personality-driven touring world and translated it directly into large commercial real estate deals and building one of Madison’s most recognized boutique platforms.Mike breaks down why Madison is a deceptively complex market, how student housing became a magnet for institutional capital, why office vs. retail has flipped over the last two decades, and what’s really happening in industrial—from the shift to tilt-up product to zoning constraints that push growth across municipal lines. If you want a sharp, operator-level view of how real markets evolve and how professionals build durable businesses inside them, this one delivers.If you care about Midwest market dynamics, capital stacks, entitlement friction, and how real operators actually win, this one’s for you. Guest: Mike Herl, SIOR — Partner | Broker, Madison Commercial Real Estate Host: Gordon Lamphere — Commercial real estate agent (industrial, office, land) | Van Vlissingen & Co.What we cover: From touring with Cheap Trick / REO Speedwagon / Motley Crüe to negotiating CRE dealsHow Mike built his practice: first principles, first job, then launching a boutique firmWhy Madison went from “brain drain” to a magnet for talent (and demand)Student housing: why institutional money can win at 4–5% returns (and what that does to land pricing)Office vs retail: why it was “easier” then and why it’s reversed todayIndustrial in Dane County: product obsolescence, tilt-up economics, and zoning constraintsData centers, municipal politics, and the “growth moves across the line” realityConnect with Mike: Email: mike.herl@madisoncommercialre.com If you want to talk about industrial space, office space, or where capital is actually flowing in the Midwest, reach out anytime at www.vvco.com

This episode marks a rare, in-depth market briefing directly from Gordon Lamphere, drawing on real transactions, real underwriting, and real negotiations happening across Chicagoland as we enter Q1 2026.Learn More: https://www.vvco.com/state-of-the-commercial-real-estate-market-2026-q1-rfp-87/ After a year of conversations with developers, corporate occupiers, lenders, municipal leaders, and operators across every major asset class, listeners asked for something different. Not predictions. Not headlines. But a grounded, operator-level view of what is actually working, what is quietly breaking, and where capital is moving next.This episode delivers that clarity.Based on more than 100 completed transactions and active mandates across office, industrial, multifamily, industrial outdoor storage, land, and redevelopment, Gordon walks through how the Chicagoland commercial real estate market is no longer reacting to disruption, but reallocating with intent.You will hear a detailed breakdown of: Why office has stopped falling and started sorting, and what that means for Class A, B, and conversion-ready assets How industrial is normalizing unevenly, with power, labor, and infill now driving pricing more than square footageWhy multifamily is absorbing supply quietly and setting up for its next tightening cycleHow industrial outdoor storage has emerged as one of the most supply-constrained land uses in the regionWhere redevelopment math finally pencils again, and where it still does notMarkets We Cover: Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Schaumburg, Vernon Hills, Highland Park, Waukegan, Naperville, Arlington Heights, Lake Forest, Lake ZurichThis is not a surface-level market recap. It is a framework for understanding where risk is becoming priceable again, where optionality matters most, and how sophisticated occupiers and investors are positioning for the next decade. Subscribe to The Real Finds Podcast for ongoing insights grounded in real deals, real data, and real market dynamics.Available on YouTube, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.

In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Anita Verma-Lallian, a seasoned real estate developer at the intersection of data centers, energy infrastructure, AI, and film studio development. With a family background spanning more than four decades of land development, Anita shares how her platform has evolved from residential and industrial projects into some of the most capital-intensive and strategically complex assets in real estate today.The conversation explores what actually makes a viable data center deal in 2025 and beyond, from access to power and transmission infrastructure to land scale, zoning feasibility, and community dynamics. Anita breaks down why Arizona has emerged as a critical data center market, how developers are navigating long power lead times, and why off-grid and bridge power solutions like natural gas, solar, and nuclear adjacency are reshaping site selection.Gordon and Anita also dig into capital formation and exit strategies in a low-liquidity market. Anita explains how tech investors and real estate developers are increasingly partnering to merge technical expertise with development execution, why data centers continue to attract capital despite broader market uncertainty, and how different projects call for different exit paths, from land sales to long-term development and leasing.Beyond data centers, the episode explores Anita’s work in film studio development, the role of tax incentives in Arizona, and the surprising overlap between media production, AI, and data infrastructure. The discussion highlights how proximity to data centers can reduce latency, improve production efficiency, and support next-generation content creation.The episode closes with Anita’s perspective on how AI will reshape real estate over the next decade, advice for young professionals entering cyclical markets, and a candid look at why margin, not hype, ultimately determines which asset classes get built.This is a must-listen conversation for developers, investors, occupiers, and anyone tracking the future of data centers, energy-driven real estate, and AI-enabled infrastructure.For more on how data centers are shaping the Illinois and Wisconsin market, reach out to our team of commercial real estate agents here!

On this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon Lamphere sits down with Justin Den Herder, structural engineer, professor at The Cooper Union, and principal at global engineering firm TY Lin, to unpack what mass timber really means for commercial real estate.They dig into how mass timber moves from romantic concept to bankable project, why embodied carbon is finally showing up in real underwriting conversations, and how timber can make adaptive reuse deals pencil out in a tighter capital markets environment.In this episode, Gordon and Justin discuss • How Justin’s early work on heavy timber and masonry conversions led him into the world of mass timber • Why timber’s strength-to-weight ratio and panelized fabrication make taller, column-free commercial buildings possible • The embodied carbon math behind steel, concrete, and timber, and why forests matter to your next pro forma • Real-world case studies like Hines’ T3, Brock Commons, Ascent in Milwaukee, and Amherst College’s mass timber overbuild • Fire, moisture, and code issues that still spook lenders and insurers, and what the data actually shows • How biophilic, exposed timber structures can boost tenant experience, retention, and long term asset value • What developers and investors most often get wrong about cost premiums and riskAbout Justin Den Herder: Justin is a structural engineer, professor at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and a principal at TY Lin. His work spans adaptive reuse, campus and civic projects, and cutting-edge mass timber structures that link healthy forests to lower carbon buildings.If you are a developer, investor, architect, or commercial real estate agent looking for an alternative to traditional construction, this conversation will change how you think about structure, sustainability, and value creation.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a five-star rating and review, and share The Real Finds Podcast with a colleague. You can find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen.

In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Cali Williams Yost, CEO and founder of the Flex+Strategy Group, to explore how CEOs, COOs, HR leaders, and real estate decision makers can move beyond simple “return to office” mandates and design truly high performance flexible work models. Cali has been a pioneer in flexible work since the late 1990s, and she explains how technology, shifting demographics, and the shock of COVID created today’s clash between leadership expectations, employee realities, and underutilized office space.Cali and Gordon dig into what it really means to redefine your operating model around performance across places, spaces, and time. They talk about why “hybrid” is the wrong frame, how to decide what work must happen in person versus remotely, and why some underused space can still deliver strong ROI when it is designed around the right interactions. They also tackle one of the biggest challenges many companies face today: engaging mid career employees who are critical carriers of culture and institutional knowledge, but often the least likely to show up in person.You will learn: - Why most organizations are stuck arguing about days in office instead of defining a clear, flexible work model - How to design intentional in person interactions for development, collaboration, innovation, and culture - What Cali calls the “clash of contexts” between C suite leaders and early career employees, and how to bridge it - How to re engage mid career talent so they see in person time as high value, not a waste of time - The “new math” of workspace utilization and why perfect occupancy is not the goal - How flexible work principles are showing up in manufacturing, R&D, healthcare, and other on site environments - Why change management, or “change magic,” is the real unlock for productivity, well being, and culture in a post pandemic world - How AI fits into the next decade of work, and what should stay fully humanConnect with Cali: Website: flexstrategygroup.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/caliwilliamsyost Substack: The Now and Next of Work If you found this conversation helpful, please like the video, subscribe to The Real Finds Podcast, and leave a 5-star rating and review. Your support helps us bring on more world-class guests who are shaping the future of work, commercial real estate, and the built environment. Watch more episodes on YouTube or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.Reach out to our team of commercial real estate experts!

In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with industrial outdoor storage specialist Andrew Wiesemann to unpack one of the hottest, most misunderstood asset classes in commercial real estate today. From zoning headaches and generational turnover to cap rate spreads and sovereign wealth funds, this conversation is a masterclass in how IOS really works on the ground.Andrew shares how he went from buying multifamily in Chicago for a family office to focusing on single-tenant industrial assets in Wisconsin and Indiana, and ultimately into IOS after discovering how crucial outdoor storage was to the tenants at a Lansing, Michigan site. That pivot gave him a front row seat to the structural supply shortage that has pushed IOS into the spotlight.Gordon and Andrew dig into why IOS is so constrained by zoning and legacy big box development, and how that lack of supply is colliding with demand from trucking, equipment rental, data center infrastructure, utilities, waste, and building materials users. Andrew explains why municipalities often misunderstand truck yards and storage yards, how long standing users lose their rights when sites go vacant, and why that keeps choking off future supply even when land looks available from the street.They also walk through the investor side. Andrew breaks down who is buying IOS today, from private 1031 buyers treating it like a retail income play to institutional capital looking for mark-to-market stories with three to five-year weighted average lease terms. He compares traditional industrial cap rates to IOS portfolios, explains why there is still a spread, and why he expects cap rate compression as data, comps, and standardization catch up.If you invest in IOS or are even just IOS curious, you will want to hear Andrew’s framework for what makes a Class A yard versus a Class B or C yard. He walks through the user focused checklist: access and truck flow, dual ingress and egress, stabilization and pavement, clear heights and door heights, yard configuration, lighting and security, and how all of this ties into long term functionality as equipment and user needs evolve.They go deep on: - How e commerce, trucking restrictions, and retailer parking policies created a national truck parking and IOS crunch - Why only certain heavy industrial zoning categories allow outdoor storage by right and how early 2000s big box development quietly ate up that land - The generational turnover wave among long time junkyards, scrap yards, and automotive users, and why some are sitting on an unrecognized gold mine - What happens when a long term tenant finally turns over and the site suddenly has to meet today’s codes, from fencing and landscaping to parking and paving - How to think about IOS cap rates relative to traditional industrial and why portfolios can price differently from one off sites - Why infrastructure is destiny for IOS, and how markets like Chicago, DFW, Memphis, Kansas City, Mobile, and Savannah benefit from heavy public and private investment in ports, highways, and intermodalsFor more, reach out to Gordon Lamphere and our team of commercial real estate experts at https://www.vvco.com, Chicago's trusted commercial real estate agents and commercial property managers.

In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Alana F. Dunoff, ProFM, FMP, IFMA Fellow, a strategic facilities planning consultant, adjunct professor in Temple University’s Facility Management program, and principal of AFD Professional Services. With more than 30 years of experience helping organizations align people, process, and place, Alana brings a unique perspective on how companies can reimagine the workplace for a post-pandemic world.Alana shares how her background in environmental psychology shaped her approach to workplace strategy and why the return-to-office conversation is really about meaning, culture, and belonging. She explains why the most effective offices function like kindergarten classrooms, offering flexibility, creativity, and comfort in equal measure. Together, Gordon and Alana explore how to right-size portfolios, refresh spaces without major capital projects, and measure success through innovation and engagement rather than attendance.They discuss how to align HR, facilities, and leadership strategy to create hybrid models that actually work and how to invest in people by investing in place. Alana also reveals how coffee rituals, collaboration zones, and wellness spaces can quietly rebuild culture and help employees reconnect with their organization’s purpose.🔍 Key Topics Covered: - Why task-based “kindergarten classroom” layouts outperform traditional office design - How hybrid work is redefining space planning and employee engagement - Strategies for right-sizing portfolios while preserving long-term flexibility - Metrics that matter: innovation, engagement, and culture over square footage per head - Small space upgrades that drive big behavior changes - How to train and support managers for flexible, distributed teams - The growing influence of Gen Z on workplace design and company culture - Practical ways to rebuild belonging and human connection inside the officeWhether you are an HR leader, a facilities manager, or a commercial real estate investor, this episode offers clear, actionable insights for designing workplaces that balance flexibility, performance, and purpose in today’s evolving business landscape.📚 Alana’s Recommended Read: Start With Why by Simon Sinek — a reminder that purpose and clarity drive performance more than policy.📍 Learn More About Alana and AFD Professional Services: Website: https://www.afdfacilityplanning.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanadunoff Email: alanadunoff@gmail.comAbout the Author Gordon Lamphere is a Chicago-area commercial real estate agent and host of The Real Finds Podcast, where operators, economists, and developers share how they’re reshaping the built world. Learn more at www.vvco.com🎧 Listen and Subscribe to The Real Finds Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Today’s Guest: Xander Snyder, Senior Commercial Real Estate Economist at First American. Xander blends a rare mix of family-office investing experience and data-driven economic analysis, helping institutional investors, developers, and lenders make sense of real-world market trends. With 15+ years in the business, he’s part economist, part operator, translating macro shifts into actionable market intelligence.Why this matters now: Industrial has been the darling of commercial real estate for five straight years, but the cycle is maturing. After peaking at nearly 800 million SF under construction in 2022, the U.S. is now in a rebalancing phase: large-box supply is heavy, tenants are consolidating, and rent growth is slowing at the top end. Meanwhile, small-bay remains one of the most resilient slices of the market.In this episode, Xander breaks down how industrial demand, labor, power, and capital are reshaping the Midwest and what the data says about where the next opportunities will emerge.What You’ll Learn - Who Xander Is: From a multi-generation LA family office to First American’s national research team, why he sees industrial through both a data and dealmaker’s lens. - Boom → Rebalance: How low rates and pandemic demand created an unprecedented surge — and why developers are now pulling back on spec. - Midwest in Focus: Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, and Minneapolis — which markets have already absorbed supply, and which are still overshooting. - Small-Bay Advantage: Vacancy near 3%, steady rent growth, and a broader tenant pool make it the most stable industrial segment right now. - Labor & Incentives: Why the availability of skilled industrial labor predicts rent growth better than any headline metric. - IOS, Cold Storage, and Data Centers: How new sub-asset classes are evolving and why “power is the new zoning.” - Investor View: Cap rates are up 150–170 bps from 2022 lows, and for the first time in years, positive leverage is back on the table.About the Author Gordon Lamphere is a Chicago-area commercial real estate agent and host of The Real Finds Podcast, where operators, economists, and developers share how they’re reshaping the built world. Learn more at www.vvco.com

Today’s guest: Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer at Vistage (44,000+ members worldwide). A former Gartner analyst and sales leader, Joe now runs one of the country’s most data-driven windows into the mid-market CEO mindset. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index.His data captures what business owners and leaders are actually seeing on the ground — what they fear, where they’re cutting or investing, and how they’re navigating the hybrid era without losing people or profit.Why this matters now: CEO confidence is still hovering near historic lows, even as most leaders continue to project growth. That tension — optimism inside companies, pessimism about the economy — defines 2025. It’s driven by uncertainty around tariffs, interest rates, inflation, and labor shortages that aren’t about headcount but about skills. Add in AI-driven productivity shifts, and you get a market where leaders feel like they’re steering through fog with one hand tied behind their back.Joe explains how small and mid-market CEOs — the real backbone of the U.S. economy — are adjusting to the “new normal”: running leaner operations, rewarding loyalty, and testing AI tools that cut time but raise new questions about value and engagement.What You’ll Learn - Hybrid Without the Hype — Why most SMBs have stabilized into predictable hybrid routines (three or four days in office), why big swings in policy erode trust, and how leaders define flexibility as a retention strategy — not a perk. - Talent ≠ Headcount — Demand for workers has flattened, but skills haven’t kept up. Construction, manufacturing, and energy companies are scrambling for qualified people while white-collar teams learn to do more with fewer. The bar is higher everywhere. - Tariffs & Margins — 43% of CEOs say they’ve raised prices in the past six months; 51% plan to raise again soon. Margins are under pressure, and companies are balancing passing costs along with keeping customers loyal in a slow growth environment. - Productivity, Not Busyness — The meeting tax is real. Joe explains why the illusion of activity still haunts post-COVID workflows and how leaders are reclaiming time for deep work through “collaboration windows” on in-office days. - AI’s Three Waves — First comes individual productivity (people cutting a four-hour task to thirty minutes), then team automation (removing friction in how groups work together), and finally organizational reinvention. Joe argues the office of the future must be more human, not less, built for trust, creativity, and relationship-building while machines handle the repetitive work. - Culture That Sticks — Every organization has a culture — the question is whether it’s intentional. Joe unpacks why managers are the “apostles of culture,” how trust is built and lost, and why engagement depends on connecting individual work to purpose and outcomes.If you’re a CEO, owner, or HR leader in the Midwest: I help teams match space strategy to how people actually work — hybrid cadence, collaboration zones, and time-to-productivity. DM me or visit vvco.com.Subscribe for weekly conversations with the operators and analysts shaping the built world. ▶️ Listen, rate, and share if this helped your 2026 plan.

There’s a lot of noise about modular housing construction, and then there’s what actually pencils. Today, Rory Rubin, CEO of SI Container Builds, breaks down how steel-framed, factory-built homes and multifamily can be ~50% faster to deliver and ~10% less expensive (out the door) than traditional site-built, while still meeting code, appraising, and insuring like any other home.We get into the realities behind the headlines: ICC code compliance since 2016, why “rusty boxes” are a myth, customization vs standardization, ADUs and Chicago’s slog, the missing-middle opportunity, and why developers care about time-to-revenue more than anything. We also dig into financing, comps, insurance, and how AI is already improving procurement and schedules on the factory floor.What you’ll learn: - How factory builds de-risk weather, sequence trades efficiently, and compress schedules - Where the 10% cost and up to 50% schedule savings actually come from - How municipalities view containerized housing (and how to educate past the myths) - Why steel + cladding = neighborhood fit without “modular” stigma - Financing/insurance realities: comps, steel vs timber, and who’s writing the policies - The sweet spot: ADUs and missing-middle two-/three-flats that create generational wealth Projects mentioned: - Palatine, IL: 7,000 SF group home for trafficked girls (with HODC, Shelter Inc., DCFS) - Navy Pier commercial bespoke build - Multifamily stackable systems (containers are designed to stack 9-high; higher with structural steel) Rory’s recs: - Modular Building Institute (Tom Hardiman) - Offsite Dirt (Audrey Grubesik) - Gary Fleisher’s publicationsBook: The Alchemist (for mindset and leadership) Connect with Rory: - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roryrubin - Email: rory@sicbs.com Company: SI Container Builds: https://www.sicontainerbuilds.com/ About The Real Finds Podcast: Real operators. Real deals. Actionable playbooks for the built world. Subscribe for weekly conversations across development, logistics, AI, and the future of cities. Contact Our Team Of Commercial Real Estate Agents: https://www.vvco.com/commercial-real-estate-agent-in-chicago/

There’s a lot of noise about modular housing construction, and then there’s what actually pencils. Today, Rory Rubin, CEO of SI Container Builds, breaks down how steel-framed, factory-built homes and multifamily can be ~50% faster to deliver and ~10% less expensive (out the door) than traditional site-built, while still meeting code, appraising, and insuring like any other home.We get into the realities behind the headlines: ICC code compliance since 2016, why “rusty boxes” are a myth, customization vs standardization, ADUs and Chicago’s slog, the missing-middle opportunity, and why developers care about time-to-revenue more than anything. We also dig into financing, comps, insurance, and how AI is already improving procurement and schedules on the factory floor.What you’ll learn: - How factory builds de-risk weather, sequence trades efficiently, and compress schedules - Where the 10% cost and up to 50% schedule savings actually come from - How municipalities view containerized housing (and how to educate past the myths) - Why steel + cladding = neighborhood fit without “modular” stigma - Financing/insurance realities: comps, steel vs timber, and who’s writing the policies - The sweet spot: ADUs and missing-middle two-/three-flats that create generational wealth Projects mentioned: - Palatine, IL: 7,000 SF group home for trafficked girls (with HODC, Shelter Inc., DCFS) - Navy Pier commercial bespoke build - Multifamily stackable systems (containers are designed to stack 9-high; higher with structural steel)Rory’s recs: - Modular Building Institute (Tom Hardiman) - Offsite Dirt (Audrey Grubesik) - Gary Fleisher’s publications Book: The Alchemist (for mindset and leadership) Connect with Rory: - LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roryrubin - Email: rory@sicbs.comCompany: SI Container BuildsAbout The Real Finds Podcast: Real operators. Real deals. Actionable playbooks for the built world. Subscribe for weekly conversations across development, logistics, AI, and the future of cities. Contact Our Team Of Commercial Real Estate Agents

When you talk about the future of work meeting the reality of buildings, few voices are clearer than Bob Cicero. A technologist who fell in love with architecture, Bob has spent his career at the intersection of people, space, and technology—showing how platforms, sensors, and design can turn offices into AI-ready, data-driven workplaces that people actually want to use.He’s helped flip the old A/E sequence on its head—user journey → tech → furniture/shape—and proven, with real data, that most teams collaborate in small groups. From trapezoid tables that give every participant “a face” on video, to low-voltage (PoE) ceilings that make lights, shades, and HVAC software-addressable, to Wi-Fi/BLE/UWB and video endpoints working as privacy-safe occupancy sensors, Bob’s approach turns buzzwords like “smart building” into an out-of-the-box operating model.In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Bob to unpack: - How a platform mindset replaces point-solution sprawl—and bakes in data hygiene from day one. - Why the real utilization data says 3–4 seat rooms beat 12-person conference spaces (and how to right-size your floor). - The design trick behind hybrid equity: camera angles + trapezoid tables so everyone has a face in the meeting. - What a smart building actually looks like: PoE ceilings, sensors “in everything,” and portfolio intelligence via Cisco Spaces. - How to use Wi-Fi/BLE/UWB + room video endpoints as sensors—deduping devices, zoning floors, and informing real estate decisions. - The post-COVID mix that works: 70% “we” space / 30% “me” space plus measurable well-being (air quality, circadian light, acoustics). - Why agentic AI needs years (not months) of clean data—and what “agents for workers, rooms, and ops” change next.Bob’s philosophy isn’t just about gadgets; it’s about experience, evidence, and iteration—a build-measure-learn loop that keeps spaces aligned with how teams truly work. If you’ve ever wondered how to move from pilots to a portfolio-wide smart workplace, or how to make your offices AI-ready without a Frankenstein stack, this is the playbook. 🔗 Watch the full episode on The Real Finds Podcast with Gordon Lamphere. 🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👤 Connect with Bob: linkedin.com/in/bobcicero/Connect With Our Team Of Chicagoland Agents

When you talk about longevity and impact in American real estate, few names carry the weight of Ray Garfield. From flying jets for the U.S. Navy to restructuring billion-dollar companies and advising the Rockefellers, Ray’s six-decade career has crossed every frontier of commercial real estate, finance, syndication, capital markets, and public infrastructure.He’s seen every cycle since the 1970s, from 18% mortgage rates to the birth of CMBS and the rise of public-private partnerships. He’s led billion-dollar restructurings, sold companies to Merrill Lynch and Syntex, and helped pioneer modern design-build and tax-exempt financing models that have reshaped how America builds courthouses, hotels, and convention centers.In this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Garfield to unpack: - How a former naval aviator went from Dallas land syndications to underwriting the first commercial mortgage securities on Wall Street. - The inside story of rescuing Vista Properties from bankruptcy and turning $1.5 billion in losses into strategic leverage. - Why design-build-finance revolutionized how Turner Construction and other giants win public-sector deals. - How Garfield Public Private became the quiet force behind hundreds of millions in city, county, and state projects nationwide. - The future of public infrastructure, real estate finance, and AI in underwriting—from one of the few people who has successfully bridged Wall Street, Main Street, and City Hall.Ray Garfield’s story isn’t just about success: it’s about resilience, reinvention, and the kind of decades-long excellence that defines what a real estate career can look like when purpose meets precision.If you’ve ever wondered how great developers think, how billion-dollar public projects actually get financed, or how to build trust between the private and public sectors. This is the masterclass.🔗 Watch the full episode on The Real Finds Podcast with Gordon Lamphere. 🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.For more from our team of Chicago commercial real estate agents 🔗

Downtown office vacancy is stuck near record highs. O’Hare and Elk Grove industrial areas can’t build fast enough. Suburban landlords are dangling a year of free rent just to keep tenants, while industrial outdoor storage, basically fenced asphalt, is suddenly a $200 billion institutional asset class.In this solo breakdown, Gordon Lamphere, broker of 100+ Chicagoland deals a year, unpacks the narratives that don’t line up and shows you where the real opportunities are hiding. From office conversions downtown to scarcity-driven industrial in Elk Grove to IOS and infill redevelopment, Gordon walks you through what’s really happening on the ground in Q3 2025.But this isn’t just another market update. It’s a perspective grounded in the legacy and deal flow of Van Vlissingen & Co.Reach Our Team of Commercial Real Estate Agents In Chicago: https://www.vvco.com/commercial-real-estate-agent-in-chicago/ Why listen to Gordon’s Team?- 145 years of heritage. Founded in 1879, Van Vlissingen is one of America’s oldest continuously operating CRE firms. Longevity backed by execution. - 100+ transactions a year. Gordon and his team aren’t speculating. They’re in the middle of the market daily, across office, industrial, land, and redevelopment. - Boutique focus + broad reach. High-touch advisory paired with a proprietary marketing engine that reaches 50,000+ investors, developers, and occupiers. - Actionable insights. On The Real Finds Podcast, Gordon brings clarity to complex deals, distilling market noise into investor-ready takeaways.Key Topics This Episode Covers - Office: CBD vacancy ~27% → LaSalle conversions (1,700+ units planned; 349 at 30 N. LaSalle) mean it’s a land play, not a rent recovery. - O’Hare/Elk Grove industrial: Vacancy under 2%. Power infrastructure (ComEd’s 260 MW substation) + $8.5B O’Hare modernization = gold-plated stability. - Suburban office: Oak Brook holds, North Suburbs slip. B/C stock is essentially covered land. - Lake County: $1.78B investment since 2021, 4,000 new jobs → execution-friendly growth node. - Multifamily: Pipeline cresting in ’25 → firmer rents into ’26/’27. - IOS: Now a $200B institutionalized niche. Scarce, sticky, premium-priced. - Redevelopment: The real long-term value. From Allstate’s Glenview campus to LaSalle Street, less invasive, community-compatible plays win approvals and value.The Takeaway Chicago’s CRE market is splitting. Downtown commodity office is headed for conversion. O’Hare industrial is a scarcity fortress. Suburban office is bifurcated—winners like Oak Brook, losers facing redevelopment. Lake County is the quiet success story. IOS is institutional gold. And across all asset classes, the real upside is in infill redevelopment that municipalities will support.That’s why investors, developers, and occupiers listen to Gordon Lamphere and Van Vlissingen & Co. They’re not chasing headlines. They’re closing the deals that will become tomorrow’s case studies. Reach Our Team of Commercial Real Estate Agents In Chicago

What happens when a university’s classrooms, labs, and dorms sit half-empty, while its budget bleeds red?On this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Chris Morett, founder of Coheer Campus & Workplace and longtime higher-ed real estate strategist, to unpack one of the most overlooked corners of the built world: college campuses as real estate assets.Chris spent a decade as Director of Scheduling and Space Management at Rutgers University before launching his consulting practice. Few people understand the messy realities of campus utilization or how much money is lost when academic buildings are misused. In this conversation, Gordon and Chris dive deep into:The utilization myth: Why classrooms and labs are chronically underused — and how centralized scheduling makes all the difference. Incentive structures: How universities owning their buildings warps efficiency compared to private companies leasing space. Leasing trends: Why some universities quietly lease space off campus, or even rent out their own space to startups and biotech partners. Urban vs. rural campuses: Why Northwestern and Rutgers operate differently than small regional colleges in Idaho or Montana. The demographic cliff: Shrinking enrollment, tuition discounting, and which institutions are most at risk of closure or merger. Developer opportunities: Where private investors can partner with universities to unlock hidden value, adaptive reuse, and innovation hubs. Policy shocks: From NIH grant cuts to visa restrictions, how Washington decisions ripple through labs, student housing, and construction budgets. The future of labs vs. data centers: Why labs may be the “accessible” frontier for developers compared to the capital intensity of AI infrastructure.For commercial real estate professionals, developers, and investors, this episode offers a rare lens on higher education’s role as both economic driver and real estate powerhouse. Universities may be nonprofit, but their campuses are multi-billion-dollar portfolios — and how they adapt will reshape communities across the country.📚 Chris also shares timeless advice for young professionals: focus on your hidden strengths, even the things that come naturally and don’t feel like “work.” 🔗 Learn more about Chris and his work at Team Coheer or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-morett/ Learn more about more untapped potential commercial real estate opportunities at www.vvco.com. 👉 If you’re interested in how campuses, developers, and communities intersect — and what’s next for higher ed real estate — this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

What is work really supposed to look like in the 21st century, and why do so many workplaces still feel broken? On this episode of The Real Finds Podcast, host Gordon Lamphere sits down with Corinne Murray and Sara Escobar, co-authors of Work, Then Place, to challenge assumptions about productivity, workplace strategy, and the evolving relationship between people, culture, and space.Corinne and Sara bring a rare mix of perspectives:Corinne Murray (https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinnejmurray/) has built a career spanning commercial real estate, consulting, coworking, and workplace strategy, from WeWork to RXR. She’s obsessed with defining “what makes work work” and helping leaders design environments where people can truly thrive.Sara Escobar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraescoux/) started as employee #2 at Hulu, where she helped create one of the first culture-driven workplace teams before leading strategy at Netflix. With a background in organizational development, she’s focused on how physical, digital, and cultural environments interact to shape performance.Together, they break down some of the toughest questions facing leaders, HR professionals, and real estate executives today:🔥 Key Topics We Cover: - Why “the workplace” isn’t just about the office, it’s a balance of physical, digital, and cultural environments. - How to think about the four modes of knowledge work: individual focus, asynchronous collaboration, synchronous collaboration, and socializing. - Why outputs vs. outcomes is the real test of productivity and how to design for effectiveness, not just busyness. - The hidden “meeting tax” slowing organizations down, and what companies like Shopify and Dropbox have done about it. - Generational friction in the workplace, from Silent Generation to Gen Alpha, and how leaders can build trust across age groups. - The future of AI and work: why the hybrid workforce of tomorrow is really human + machine, and what that means for managers. - The carpenter vs. gardener paradigm for leadership and why it’s time to shift from rigid outcomes to adaptive growth. - How workplace design lessons from Hulu’s snack culture to Netflix’s digital pivot can help any company spark creativity. 💡 Big Takeaway: Work doesn’t have to suck. The future isn’t about ping pong tables or free lunches; it’s about creating environments that reduce friction, enable people to be effective, and give them the energy to pursue what matters outside of work.If you’re a CEO, HR leader, real estate strategist, or anyone rethinking workplace design, this episode is packed with practical insights, tough questions, and a roadmap for making work better.📘 Grab the Book: Work, Then Place is available on Amazon and in bookstores everywhere. Learn more at workthenplace.com and check out their Substack: workthenplace.substack.com👉 Connect with the Guests: Corinne Murray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinnejmurray/ Sara Escobar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraescoux/👉 Connect with Gordon Lamphere & Van Vlissingen & Co.: Learn more: www.vvco.com