Jonah Sonnenborn

In a sea of investors chasing yield across similar strategies, Access Industries is a Casper octopus: a rarely seen yet fascinating being that stays out of the limelight for the most part — yet whose work is a constant source of fascination.

“We run a little bit under the radar,” Jonah Sonnenborn said. “We’re not the group that puts our name on everything. We like people saying ‘Who is that group?’ because we’re a little bit of a mystery. At the end of the day, we’re trying to operate in a really challenging environment and focusing on the principles of business as opposed to necessarily always being the headline.”

The headlines still come, and for good reason.

From the Faena New York hotel and One High Line residences in Chelsea, to Dutchman’s Pipe golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., to the Aman Residences in Miami, to the Four Seasons-branded Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat in the French Riviera, to the Ford Factory in L.A., Access’ real estate portfolio is one to envy.

“I think people have really been pleased and surprised with the quality that we deliver,” Sonnenborn said. “At One High Line, we’re down to only 30 residential units left.”

Access isn’t a thematic investor, and it isn’t just throwing capital around because it can. “We’re focusing on the best people in the best locations, the best businesses and the best properties, and utilizing our size, our speed and our ability to have flexible capital, to maximize the best investments,” Sonnenborn said.

This year has already been a busy one.

“We’ve already closed over $1 billion of financings, and we’re about to close another billion next month,” Sonnenborn said in April. “We’re really active in terms of taking advantage of the tightening of spreads in the financing market, and positioning our portfolio for the long term in taking advantage of both the operational performance of our properties, and then ultimately capitalizing on this moment in time where the market is awash in available financing.” 

The Access name is synonymous with ultra luxury, yet “We’re very much still focused on our affordable housing program,” Sonnenborn said. “There’s clearly a crisis in this country, and it’s one of affordability and supply. We invest in Southern California and Los Angeles, which is three-quarters of a million units short of equilibrium in terms of needed houses. And, so, if we can contribute to a fraction of that, we’re not only providing a solution, which is challenging, we’re also able to find ways to make money for our investors.”