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Execs dish on proptech on Day 2 of Future City

Real estate technology dominates discussion

Real estate leaders and tech startup founders converged Monday at the convention center at the Baha Mar resort for a full day of panels on how proptech is changing the industry.

To start the day, Stuart Elliott, The Real Deal‘s editor-in-chief, led a discussion on how high-tech amenities are reshaping commercial and residential development. Lee Bienstock, head of enterprise partnerships at Google, and Peter Weiss, the chief real estate officer at Latch, were among the speakers.

A second discussion assessed the political landscape for real estate. James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, offered a view from the industry, while Steve Wagner, attorney at Wagner, Berkow and Brandt, gave voice to tenant concerns. David Schwartz, principal at Slate Property Group, and David Kramer, president of Hudson Companies, also weighed in.

The impact of technology on changing large-scale development was front and center for the next panel, where Bruce Mosler, chairman of global brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield; L.D. Salmanson, founder of Cherre; and developer Gil Dezer spoke about the tech needs of the developers.

To lead the group into lunch, Karim Khalifa, director of building innovation at Google’s Sidewalk Labs, gave an address on the future of building modular developments, leaving the audience with much to talk about over curried chicken rolls.

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TRD reporter Katherine Kallergis then led a talk on how architecture is being disrupted by technology — a topic that animated architects Kobi Karp and Michel Abboud.

To close out the day, a group of industry leaders and innovators led a talk on the future of construction, one of the last industries to be disrupted by tech. Executives from four tech startups — including Rahul Bammi from View, which has raised more than $1 billion — held court with Brad Meltzer, president of Plaza Construction, who represented the old guard.

Swipe above to see highlights from Day 2 of Future City 2020.

Photos by Evan Gutierrez

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