Ronnie Levine Leaves Meridian Capital Group to Start CRE Private Equity Firm
The departure marks the exit of yet another top executive from the brokerage
By Brian Pascus August 5, 2024 12:01 pm
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Meridian Capital Group has lost another top executive.
Ronnie Levine, who has served as a senior managing director at Meridian Capital Group since 2005, has left the New York-based commercial real estate brokerage to begin Green Pine Real Estate, a CRE private equity firm that he co-founded this month.
Levine announced the news on LinkedIn on Monday.
Levine’s new firm, Green Pine Real Estate, has offices in New York and California and will specialize in debt and equity transactions across all levels of the capital stack, according to the firm’s most recent Linkedin post.
Levine first joined Meridian Capital Group 19 years ago in 2005. Prior to that, he worked at Kushner Companies.
Levine quickly established himself as one of the top brokers in CRE. For example, last year he arranged $252 million of construction financing between Valley National Bank and the partnership of Cammeby’s International Group and Rybak Development for the ground-up development of a 499-unit multifamily project in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
The departure of Levine marks a significant blow to Meridian’s already depleted C-suite, which lost several top brokers in the first six months of the year and has had to replace its longtime CEO.
In March, CEO Ralph Herzka, who started the brokerage in 1991, was replaced by new CEO Brian Brooks, a former acting controller of the currency and general counsel at Fannie Mae (FNMA).
The big move came on the news of the firm being barred from placing deals through Freddie Mac (FMCC) seller-servicers due to an investigation into loans originated by a Meridian broker last November. Moreover, in January, one of the brokerage’s closest multifamily lenders, New York Community Bancorp., nearly collapsed after the shuffling of several CEOs combined with a cratering stock price.
Together the two crises placed a spotlight on Meridian’s capital markets business and raised questions about whether the firm’s leadership had a handle on both its clients and its origination practices. It also sparked wider agency scrutiny of broker originations.
But even after the bad headlines subsided, the hits didn’t stop at the top.
CO reported in April that Meridian debt capital specialists Adam Hakim and James Murad had bolted Meridian for Ripco Real Estate. Days later, another top broker, Tal Savariego, left Meridian to join Rob Verrone’s Iron Hound Management, a top CRE workout firm.
In June, longtime Meridian broker Judah Hammer also departed for CBRE after 19 years with the firm.
If that wasn’t enough, Meridian announced in July that the firm’s president, Yoni Goodman, would leave the firm that month, as well. Goodman’s departure came after he helped steer Meridian to finish 2023 with $24.1 billion in originations on more than 1,500 loans in 43 states, Commercial Observer previously reported.
Now it’s Levine’s turn to exit. Meridian Capital did not respond to requests for comment.
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com
