Max Pastor
Max Pastor
Title: Director of acquisitions and senior counsel, Time Equities Inc.
Age: 40
Industry experience: 15 years
Max Pastor grew up steeped in the commercial real estate industry. His family ran a commercial appraising firm in Cincinnati, and dinner table discussions revolved around talk of easements and entitlements. He gravitated toward real estate after law school, working as associate counsel for New York City developer Time Equities Inc. (TEI) and later Shire Realty Corp. before returning to TEI, where he is now director of acquisitions and senior counsel. The firm, which has a 31 million-square-foot portfolio, has made a series of recent investments in Bridgeport, acquiring the 269,080-square-foot Bridgeport Innovation Center for $7.9 million in November for its first Fairfield County acquisition. It followed that up in January with the $21.7 million acquisition of three downtown Bridgeport properties that house 176 apartments and 100,000 square feet of office and retail space.
Q: How steep was the learning curve as your duties expanded from legal issues to evaluating real estate acquisitions?
A: When I went to law school I focused on real estate, development and tax issues. It was sort of a natural to gravitate toward the business side of real estate. It was a slow transition over a 10- or 12-year period. I’ve been out of law school 15 years and it took about that time to make a total and complete transition. The legal background served me well because I had the opportunity to counsel and work in a transactional capacity.
Q: What’s TEI’s investment philosophy?
A: When we’re evaluating an investment, we want to buy it low and hopefully have some exit strategy. What makes us different is we’re long-term holders. When I look at some of these older industrial properties, I see an opportunity to go get in at a low cost per square foot, and oftentimes we buy them with existing income that’s better than some other investments.
There’s increasing demand for space in population centers, and there’s a lack of affordable space for artisans and the trades. Smaller distributors and wholesalers have been pushed out of other places, and these assets can fill that need. I think we can increase occupancy and offer great places for people to work. In the case of downtown Bridgeport, I also think it’s an emerging place to live. The conversion of the baseball stadium to a concert venue is a really positive move. I see unique entrepreneurial businesses entering the market, such as Mongers Market. Bridgeport offers a good environment for those types of businesses.
Q: What are your plans for upgrades to the Bridgeport Innovation Center?
A: We’re going to address repairs and replacements. Then we’re looking forward in the spring to unveiling some amenities and enhancements for the tenancy, to make it a modern and business-friendly environment. Right now, there isn’t any place to work collaboratively and have some food and beverage, so we’re evaluating those things to make it more contemporary, to make it a modern and business-friendly environment. Right now, there isn’t any place to work collaboratively and have some food and beverages, so we’re evaluating those things to make it more contemporary.
Q: How does the political climate in Connecticut and Bridgeport affect your view of the area as an investment?
A: (Gov.) Ned Lamont’s campaign actually rented space in our Marlinworks property in New Haven, and we’ve never met with the governor but from what I’ve read and heard, it seems like the new administration has some great ideas. We’re optimistic that’ll be a positive economic change. From a global and state perspective, it’s a really competitive environment to attract and retain businesses. We evaluate new markets all the time, and we look throughout the state of Connecticut. We’re not necessarily tied to one location. Each investment we evaluate independently.
Q: Do you favor new development or acquiring existing assets at this point in the real estate cycle?
A: We have a few different acquisition teams, an asset management team and a development team. What’s unique about Time Equities is we’re not divided by territory or asset class. We develop individual business plans for specific assets. The development team does the same thing. It’s a very entrepreneurial type shop. It doesn’t come down as a mandate in any given year.
Q: How much do expect to spend on acquisitions this year?
A: Generally, we have acquired between $200 million and $300 million worth of property annually and I would be surprised if it’s less than that.
Q: What’s your outlook for the multifamily sector?
A: The strength in multifamily is really in the housing that is affordable to the middle-class working person, and oftentimes the cap rates on the class A buildings are very compressed and lead to smaller returns. In the asset class I mentioned, we can often buy those at higher cap rates and below replacement cost. That’s a safe place to be within the market.
Pastor’s Five Favorite Restaurants in Fairfield County:
- Trattoria ‘A Vucchella – Bridgeport
- Tavern at Gray Barns – Norwalk
- Milestone – Georgetown
- Le Penguin – Westport
- Uncorked – New Canaan
