The Supreme Court considers the Federal Reserve, a once-grand mall faces oblivion, and New York City’s mayor has a plumbing update. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of Jan. 19-23.
Miss: The Justices Are Not Amused. A truckload of sympathy needs to be delivered to Solicitor General John Sauer, who found himself with the thankless task of arguing before the US Supreme Court that President Trump had every right to fire Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook despite a lack of historic precedent and no evidence that she was derelict in her duties. When asked to defend the legality of the president’s behavior, Sauer regurgitated Bill Pulte-level insults and smears about Cook before a court that was openly skeptical and often borderline hostile to his arguments. Ironically, the most incredulous members of the high court were those who were appointed during the first Trump administration. The result of this sorry spectacle will most likely result in Cook’s remaining within the Fed’s leadership and the Trump administration absorbing a rebuke for trying to take control of the central bank. And speaking of the Fed…
Miss: Enough Already. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this week that President Trump is very close to making his selection for the next Federal Reserve chairman. “My guess is the president will reach a decision maybe as soon as next week,” said Bessent during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Uh, didn’t the president state last month that he already made his pick for this position? And does anyone recall that Trump called on the Fed’s board of governors to overthrow Chairman Jerome Powell last August? Maybe it is time for the president and his team to find a new obsession?
Miss: A Sad Denouement. This week, we learned that the 1.5 million-square-foot San Francisco Centre, which was once the city’s largest mall with more than 200 retail tenants, is permanently closing on Jan. 26. The property’s death is due to a tragic combination of pandemic-era chaos, severe changes in retail trends, and San Francisco’s wretched descent into a high-crime metro that forced too many businesses and residents to move out. For anyone who enjoyed the shopping experience at this once-grand venue, the news of its demise is truly upsetting.
Hit: The Next Big Thing? Commercial real estate brokers with restaurant owner clients should keep an eye out for franchisees connected to Timber Pizza Co. an under-the-radar chain that is looking to grow this year. Timber Pizza Co. opened six franchise locations in just over a year, with recent growth in three major markets in the Carolinas (Charleston, Raleigh, and Durham) plus additional development deals in the Virginia markets Alexandria and Richmond. Luke Watson, the company’s CEO, stated, “There’s still a tremendous amount of white space for Timber across the Southeast and beyond.” We suspect that you’ll be hearing a lot more from Timber Pizza Co. this year and in the years to come.
Miss: Do We Really Need to Know This? Two big thumbs down to the New York Times and Zohran Mamdani, the recently inaugurated mayor of New York City, for this “news” story regarding the mayoral residence: “Mamdani’s Aspiration for Gracie Mansion: Bidets.” This is what is known in the media industry as “too much information.” Perhaps the Times, which has been a major cheerleader for the city’s Democratic Socialist mayor, will focus more attention on Mamdani’s efforts to clean up his metropolis and less time in sharing how he is cleaning up himself?
In Memoriam: Kurt Pfotenhauer. We learned of the passing of Kurt Pfotenhauer, executive vice president and vice chairman of First American Title Insurance Co., on Jan. 21 at the age of 65. Prior to joining First American, he was CEO of the American Land Title Association (ALTA) from 2008 to 2011, and earlier in his career he was senior vice president for policy and government affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) from 2002 to 2007. “Kurt will be remembered not only for his leadership and professional achievements, but for the integrity, kindness, and care he showed to everyone he encountered,” said Mark Seaton, CEO of First American. “His ability to connect with people and uplift those around him speaks to who he was and the lasting impact he made.”
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
