🗞️ News & Moves 🏠

Elon Musk’s wealth hits $447 billion. That’s not just billionaire rich—that’s Rockefeller rich.

Musk Breaks Records: Elon’s net worth crossed $447B—making him the first billionaire ever to hit the $400B mark.

At 1.5% of U.S. GDP, his fortune mirrors John D. Rockefeller’s wealth at its peak.

Tesla Boost: Tesla stock soared 5.9%, adding $62.8B to Musk’s wealth in a single day.

Analysts now say Tesla could hit a $2T market cap by 2025.

SpaceX & xAI Rise: SpaceX is valued at $350B, and his AI startup xAI just doubled its valuation to $50B.

🚨 The Fed Pulse 🚨

📉 Rate Cut Imminent: Markets project a 25-basis-point cut on December 18, with Wall Street giving it a 96.5% probability.

🔥 Inflation Metrics: CPI is at 2.7%, close to the Fed’s target, but core inflation (3.3%) remains stubborn.

Housing costs (4.7%) and auto insurance (12.7%) are key pressure points.

🚛 Producer Prices Rising: The PPI jumped to 3.0% in November, surpassing CPI—a signal that inflationary forces might re-emerge.

🕰️ Economic Outlook: Inflation stabilization is expected by mid-2025, likely marking the low point for interest rates.

DEEP DIVE

A breakdown of 165K Sq Ft industrial redevelopment

I don't know much about wine or cars...

...but I'm a collector and (dare I say?) a buff of real estate models.

For years, I've collected commercial real estate value-add models.

Why?

Successful models are like keys.

They unlock the path to success.

So today, I'm going down into my temperature-controlled wine cellar to bring out one of the finest bottles from my best value-add collection.

Buckle up, because this one’s got it all—big risks, big spend, and even bigger rewards.

Let’s get into the story of the Milwaukee Tech Center.

The Big Leap:

In 2021, my partner Rafik Moore and I stumbled upon two industrial properties in Milwaukee.

Together, they totaled 165,000 sq. ft. of buildings on 15 acres, offered separately as two listings.

One was 6000 N 76th St, and the other was 7320 W Florist Ave.

But here’s the thing: if you connected both, it was an entire block in the city.

We saw the opportunity.

But this time, it was not a small property compared to our typical buy of 20K-50K sq ft boxes.

It was so big you could see it on Google Maps when you zoomed out to view all of Milwaukee.

I remember thinking to myself that we typically park the car and walk the property, but this one was so huge that we needed to stay in the car and drive around it.

I thought, how are we going to pull this off?

This wasn’t just outside our comfort zone—it was leagues away, and for the first time this deal landed us in the local newspaper.

Here’s what we bought:

📌 Two buildings: 6000 N 76th St and 7320 W Florist Ave.

📌 A combined 165,000 sq ft of space, already deteriorating and underperforming.

📌 15 Acres total, with the possibility of repaving 6 acres and expanding truck parking.

📌 5.1M with a $500K repair credit, negotiated during due diligence.

📌 A property with some tenants who weren't paying, weren't leaving, or were trashing the space.

📌 $450K NOI at purchase. However, impending vacancies would slash it to $250K in a few months after closing.

One building (76th St) had a single logistics tenant leaving in six months.

The other (Florist) had five tenants, but the largest one was about to vacate, leaving it a half-empty building.

So this was a situation we were getting into.

The Vision:

The property came with 15 acres of potential, and here’s how we saw it:

1️⃣ Truck parking: We envisioned repaving 6 acres, creating parking for 120 semis and box trucks.

At $20K per month in rental income, this would create $2M in value.

2️⃣ Small bay conversion: We imagined cutting two buildings into 25+- smaller units ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 sq ft.

Each unit would have a dock and a drive-in door.

3️⃣ Renovation plan: We budgeted $2M for renovations but ended up spending closer to $3M.

Game Time

Step 1: Exterior

✅ Clean-up came first. We started removing trashy tenants on day 1.

✅ Next, we gave the buildings a facelift (YouTube Video).

We repainted and repaired roofs, added LED lights, and installed fences with two automatic gates for security.

✅ We built a website and payment platform—milwaukeetruckparking.com.

It lets tenants pay online and get access codes.

Within 6 months, we optimized it to get to the #1 website on Google search when it comes to truck parking in Milwaukee.

Our truck parking spots are now 85%-95% occupied year-round.

Step 2: Interior

Florist building came first.

We turned the building's vacant half into 8 small-bay units, bringing the total to 15 units.

Here's what that took:

✅ Cutting in multiple doors along the perimeter and adding a 12-ft hallway in the middle.

✅ Submetering utilities to make tenants responsible for their own gas and electricity.

✅ Bringing in an additional 1,200 amps of power.

✅ Installing new HVAC systems, electrical wiring, LED lighting, and catch basins to allow for automotive and truck repair use.

Once Florist was done, we repeated the process at the 76th St building, converting it into 7 smaller units.

Leasing

Leasing started slow—painfully slow.

At first, the property had no buzz.

But as we wrapped up construction, the momentum shifted.

The new look, security, and improvements signaled progress, and tenants started calling.

Here’s how we filled the space:

➡️ We hired a broker under a non-exclusive agreement who brought in one lease.

➡️ The rest was done in-house. I handled most of the tenant leasing myself (YouTube Video)

➡️ Half of the deals came from Facebook. The other half came from Loopnet, direct mail, and direct-to-tenant prospecting.

Florist filled up within 6 months before construction was even complete.

76th St wasn’t far behind, reaching full occupancy shortly after.

Stabilization:

Let’s talk numbers. This property started with a NOI of $450K, which dropped to $250K post-vacancies.

But today?

🔥 Current NOI: $1.075M

🔥 Projected NOI (within 24 months): $1.24M

We’ve turned down unsolicited offer for $11.5M last year.

Why? Because we know the potential.

The property is trending toward $13M+ in value after 1st round of leasing renewals.

Takeaways:

📌 Breaking down large spaces into smaller units is a proven OG model that has stood the test of time and still works.

📌 We exceeded our budget by $1M, but we made up for it by achieving a higher NOI, which offset a significant shortfall.

📌 You don’t grow without risk. This deal took us out of our comfort zone, and it’s become one of our best moves yet.

Now, I want to close with this.

You have 16 days left until the New Year, which many think will be a roaring 2025.

I challenge you to pick your most inspiring value model by the time you pop the champagne bottle.

Just pick one and go after it hard in 2025.

You don't have to have a deadline when this needs to happen.

But keep it as your north star, high in your mind.

I promise, if you hold it there long enough, you'll make it happen.

Be Well,