Marty Burger is launching a new firm with national ambition months after vacating his role as CEO of New York real estate giant Silverstein Properties.
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The firm, Infinity Global Real Estate Partners, plans to work nationally in development, acquisition, financing and fund management, Burger announced Wednesday. He is partnering with Island Capital Group founder and CEO Andrew Farkas to pursue deals. The launch was first reported by Bloomberg Law.
“I am excited to launch Infinity Global, particularly at this time in the real estate cycle,” Burger said in a release. “From development of world-class projects, to acquiring great operating assets and building platforms for debt and other real estate investment strategies, there are outstanding opportunities for the firm across the industry.”
Burger abruptly left Silverstein in October after serving as its sole CEO since 2014. A Silverstein Properties spokesperson told Bisnow at the time that the firm was “sharpening its focus on its core businesses as the company transitions to the next generation,” and as part of the effort, was parting ways with the then-CEO.
He and the company had agreed on the terms of his exit, Burger said through a spokesperson in October, adding that he appreciated the 14 years at Silverstein and was “eager to pursue some exciting new opportunities and look forward to having more to say in the near future.”
For the past few years, there had been friction between Burger and some of the firm’s family members about expansion, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time, citing sources familiar with the dynamic. Burger was interested in focusing on new dealmaking, while others, including vice chairman Lisa Silverstein, wanted to focus on the existing portfolio and pipeline, the publication reported.
At Silverstein, Burger was the driver behind expanding the markets to Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Under his leadership, the company redeveloped the World Trade Center in Manhattan, built the Four Seasons Downtown New York Hotel and Residences as well as the One West End condo development in Manhattan.
He started a debt platform at Silverstein and is planning to do the same at Infinity Global, Burger said on CNBC Wednesday morning. He plans to finance everything from construction to properties where there's a mismatch in liquidity and will use a range of structures like senior loans, mezzanine loans or preferred equity.
With $1.5T of commercial debt coming due in the next few years, the strategy is to be ready to pounce on distressed assets, Burger said.
“It’s going to be an interesting market out there when all these loans come due, and people who have good operating properties just have poor capitalization structure,” Burger said on CNBC. “And it’s just going to create opportunities for folks like me who are coming in to try to help that situation.”
He said the firm would work across most major markets in the U.S. but begin with a focus in New York City.
This is the second time Burger has launched his own real estate venture. He founded Artisan Real Estate Ventures in 2006. He also spent 15 years with The Related Cos. working on projects including New York City’s Time Warner Center, West Palm Beach’s CityPlace and Las Vegas’ World Market Center.
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