Michael Stepniewski, 35

Almost as soon as he joined Walker & Dunlop five years ago, Michael Stepniewski saw opportunity in South Florida.

He started to visit about every six weeks and moved to Miami full time late last year to help build out the firm’s capital markets institutional advisory group presence there.

“This is the market where we have planted the flag,” he said. “Real estate, more than any other industry, you have to have boots on the ground. You have to be in the market every day, you have to drive to the sites, you have to understand the traffic patterns.”

And those boots on the ground have been paying off.

Stepniewski kicked off this year working on the $410 million construction loan in January for the Well Coconut Grove luxury condo development, which set a record for the largest construction loan in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. Then there was the $335 million refinancing in February for the recently completed Wynwood Plaza mixed-use complex, where Amazon already leased space.

It’s not just Florida where Stepniewski has been closing deals. He also worked on the $1.7 billion debt package in April for Starwood Capital to refinance a portfolio of affordable rental units across the country. “It’s a huge execution for us, A-plus client, and really a great example of what we’re able to accomplish for some of the larger institutional accounts,” he said.

Stepniewski grew up on Long Island and attended Fordham University, where he got the real estate bug after taking a class on real estate finance. He landed an internship at financial firm Kroll and started working there while at college.

He’d been on all sides of the table during his career, from the lender end at LoanCore Capital to the borrower end at Tishman Speyer’s debt capital markets desk, before joining W&D.

The lifelong Knicks fan still visits New York often to spend time with his five nieces and nephews and his boyfriend. He also makes pottery, recently taking the plunge into bigger pieces like pasta bowls.