David Amsterdam

David Amsterdam made the rounds with three of the biggest firms in real estate before managing investment sales, structured finance, and debt and equity transactions in global markets for Colliers.

Now he’s a recognized name in the real estate industry, having built a reputation at firms such as SL Green Realty and Cushman & Wakefield, as well as steering some massive leases for big-name clients. But during the last two years of New York City’s recovery from COVID-19, and a subsequent resurgence in commercial leasing, Amsterdam believes the rules have changed in the face of necessary flexibility.

“Geographic boundaries were knocked down in 2020, and as a result we’ve seen capital willing to allocate not only in new geographies, but across asset classes and transaction size,” Amsterdam said. “We are in a yield-chase environment, which has opened up secondary and tertiary markets to unprecedented levels of activity. We made a conscious decision to ensure we were controlling products that would receive interest from this larger buyer pool.”

In April, Colliers under Amsterdam negotiated a 280,182-square-foot lease expansion and extension for Signature Bank at 1400 Broadway, as well as a 195,452-square-foot lease for the United Nations Development Programme at 304 East 45th Street.

Colliers has also delivered for clients in multifamily sales, such as assisting Beitel, a Brooklyn-based investment company, with the purchase of a 664-unit multifamily property at 7050 Coachman Lane in Richmond, Va., from BH Equities for $138 million.

“We are seeing institutional capital chasing transactions in niche asset classes that were once previously avoided, such as cold storage, data centers and single-family rental,” Amsterdam said. “These once supplemental allocations will continue to drive investment sales volume for the remainder of this year.”

The firm also guided the $194 million sale of four Class A buildings in Chicago on behalf of IDI Logistics to real estate investment trust Granite. In total, these industrial buildings come to 2,402,088 square feet.

Finally, in December, Colliers executed a $1.2 billion refinancing deal with Barclays for Grand Canyon University, giving the school an opportunity to take advantage of lower interest rates on its 270-acre Phoenix campus. It’s believed to be one of the largest real estate financing deals in the history of Arizona. —M.H.