News:
Spotlight Content
Posted: October 28, 2025
2025-Innovators in Commercial
Real Estate-Louis Grassi of Grassi
CEO, Founder and Managing Partner
Grassi
Impact Highlight: Describe a recent program, initiative, or process implemented by you and the impact on your firm, organization, or community. As our clients’ needs evolve, we innovate alongside them. We partnered with a leading data analytics platform to help clients visualize financial data and predict profitability from historical trends, enabling more confident decisions. Our team also launched real estate-specific roundtables where professionals share challenges, lessons learned and successes from different engagements, turning individual insights into firmwide improvements.
Innovative Outlook: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in the commercial real estate sector? The biggest opportunities lie in AI and data analytics. Commercial real estate firms can leverage AI for faster property analysis, accurate financial modeling and profitability forecasting from historical trends. Many firms have valuable data but lack tools to extract insights. Helping clients visualize and understand their data enables more confident decision-making in acquisitions, portfolio management and operational performance.
Corporate Culture: How does your organization foster a culture of innovation among employees and leadership? Innovation is core to our employee-owned culture where every voice matters. Our “If I Were a Managing Partner” program encourages ideas from all levels. We’ve created specialized innovation roles and technology steering committees composed of staff closest to the work. This ensures ideas flow from all levels, with constant feedback opportunities that allow us to implement improvements that better serve our commercial real estate clients.
Beyond Buildings: How do you see innovation in commercial real estate creating a broader impact on communities and the people who live and work in them? Innovation in commercial real estate is reshaping communities through live-work-play concepts, integrating residential, office, retail and wellness spaces. As advisors to developers driving these innovations, we support projects that make communities more accessible and livable. Smart building technologies like air quality, temperature and lighting optimization, and green initiatives create healthier communities and an improved quality of life.
Tags:
Spotlight Content
MORE FROM Spotlight Content
Over half of Long Island towns vote to exceed the tax cap - Here’s how owners can respond - by Brad and Sean Cronin
When New York permanently adopted the 2% property tax cap more than a decade ago, many owners hoped it would finally end the relentless climb in tax bills. But in the last couple of years, that “cap” has started to look more like a speed bump. Property owners are seeing taxes increase even when an
.png)
Quick Hits
.jpg)
Columns and Thought Leadership
How much power does the NYC mayor really have over real estate policy? - by Ron Cohen
The mayor of New York City holds significant influence over real estate policy — but not absolute legislative power. Here’s how it breaks down:
Formal Legislative Role
• Limited direct lawmaking power: The NYC Council is the primary
Oldies but goodies: The value of long-term ownership in rent-stabilized assets - by Shallini Mehra
Active investors seeking rent-stabilized properties often gravitate toward buildings that have been held under long-term ownership — and for good reasons. These properties tend to be well-maintained, both physically and operationally, offering a level of stability
Properly serving a lien law Section 59 Demand - by Bret McCabe
Many attorneys operating within the construction space are familiar with the provisions of New York Lien Law, which allow for the discharge of a Mechanic’s Lien in the event the lienor does not commence an action to enforce following the service of a “Section 59 Demand”.
The strategy of co-op busting in commercial real estate - by Robert Khodadadian
In New York City’s competitive real estate market, particularly in prime neighborhoods like Midtown Manhattan, investors are constantly seeking new ways to unlock property value. One such strategy — often overlooked but
.gif)