Don Peebles and Donahue Peebles III

Don Peebles is energized by New York. He’s not the first, but it’s notable after years of blah since the onset of COVID-19 (to say the least). 

“The creativity, the hard work, the diversity, how driven people are — all the ingredients it took to build a city of 8.3 million people makes New York great, and it’s not going to change,” Peebles said. “As a real estate investor, you have to know that.”

The founding force behind the Miami-based Peebles Corporation is confident in New York City’s comeback. And he’s betting big to be a part of it — $3 billion big. Renderings for Peebles and partners’ proposed 1.4 million-square-foot, mixed-use Affirmation Tower on 1.2 acres on Manhattan’s far West Side were revealed in September. 

“It’s the biggest undertaking of my career,” said Peebles, who started his firm 41 years ago. “It will send a message as loud and strong as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center did coming out of the Depression: New York City is resilient and strong.”

The proposed Affirmation Tower remains on hold pending government decisions regarding the site. On the other side of the American empire, though, Peebles’ Angels Landing project in Los Angeles has advanced past local approvals. It will include hundreds of apartments and condos as well as hotels and retail space. 

Peebles’ commitment to the country’s two largest cities comes with a caveat. Like many of his professional peers, Peebles is frustrated by district attorneys not prosecuting alleged criminals as much. But he’s undaunted by the patience required to wait for the market to turn. He sees tremendous opportunity coming on the buy side in 2025.

In the meantime, he’ll make loans. Last year Peebles laid the groundwork for a private credit loan business. Launched this year in April, Willowbrook Partners is funded by the corporation and will lend up to $50 million to commercial real estate developers, with an emphasis on creating economic opportunity for minorities and women, an ongoing firmwide initiative. Peebles’s son, Donahue Peebles III, joins him as co-chair of the board.

“Private loans going to businesses will be part of the recovery in New York, L.A., San Francisco and other cities,” said the elder Peebles. 

Who isn’t energized by that?