When your scope of operations covers a spectrum from Class A office to affordable housing, along with some of the world’s most ambitious mixed-use developments in major cities here and overseas, you’re going to be able to approach a discussion of the current environment from a multitude of vantage points. So it proved to be with Related CEO Jeff Blau, who brought a multi-faceted perspective to the conversation in the latest of Walker & Dunlop’s weekly webcasts.

In New York City, where Related began opening its Hudson Yards mega-project in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic represented an opportunity to use the company’s resources as a vehicle for doing the right thing.

Statewide and citywide stay-at-home directives shuttered much of Hudson Yards’ operations, yet Related hired out-of-work chefs at the development to prepare home-cooked meals for tenants at its residential properties. It also partnered with World Central Kitchen to build a kitchen on 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue for first responders and doctors at the nearby Javits Center field hospital.

“Very early on, we realized there was a way for us to get really involved, not just throw dollars,” Blau told Walker & Dunlop CEO Willy Walker.

The call for increased diversity, highlighted by the nationwide and worldwide demonstrations of the past week, is one that Related has heeded for some time. Blau said the company stepped up its hiring of minority contracting firms a while back, and has made investments in some of these contractors. The opening of Hudson Yards last year saw Related reach out into minority communities for hiring opportunities.

That said, Blau pointed out, “More needs to be done.” He described commercial real estate today as “not particularly diverse.”

New York, of course, has been severely impacted by the pandemic, and Blau said the Partnership for New York City—on whose executive committee he serves—is looking at implementing a campaign with the message that the city is open for business. It’s a message that other cities would do well to send, he advised.

Beyond reassuring promotional campaigns, Related is implementing a host of technologies at its office properties for the post-COVID environment. There will be touchless turnstiles, for example, and employees of office tenants will be required to verify that they’ve done a temperature check prior to showing up on the premises.

Despite these challenges, Blau expressed confidence that office tenants would return—or those in newer-construction properties, at any rate. Asked whether the pandemic might halt or reverse the residential trend toward living in CBDs, Blau pointed to the long-term trends that have driven this migration. Moreover, he said, “Don’t ever bet against New York.”

Replays of the June 10 webcast are available by clicking here.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny