For roughly 40 years, developers looked at a six-acre oceanfront site in Long Beach and couldn’t get it done.

Then B2K did.

In this episode of Design Development, Jon Weiss explains what finally unlocked the 1.2-million-square-foot Superblock - and why getting a project built often has less to do with the idea and more to do with timing, local buy-in, construction strategy, and understanding the economics early enough to make the right decisions.

Jon is a fourth-generation builder and partner at B2K Development, where he leads B2K Construction and oversees nearly half a billion dollars in active construction.

We also get into:

• What Jon learned growing up in the family business under his grandfather, Sydney Engel
• Why a “fast” development approval on Long Island can still take years
• How similar buildings can carry dramatically different construction costs depending on geography
• Why B2K brings construction into the process early instead of relying on late-stage value engineering
• How understanding the developer’s pro forma changes the way a contractor approaches design and cost
• Why B2K is expanding into Connecticut and South Florida while remaining deeply rooted in Long Island

It’s a conversation about family business, partnerships, development risk, construction economics, and what it really takes to build smarter.

Don't miss the full conversation of with Jon Weiss, Principal and President of Construction at B2K Development.

Resources:

• B2K Development - Explore more about B2K Development’s projects and initiatives.
• Long Island Builders Institute - For more information about the regional development climate and ongoing projects.

Thanks for being part of the Design Development community.

New episodes drop every Wednesday, featuring leaders across real estate, design, and construction.

The goal is simple: learn from how great people think, lead, make decisions, navigate setbacks, and create opportunity.

There is no single path to success.
Careers are not linear.
The lessons are in the story.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube

Find out more at https://h-o.engineering/podcasts/

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Early in his career, Patrick Carino tracked real estate opportunities with aerial maps pinned to the wall and a binder full of spreadsheets. It worked, but it exposed a bigger problem: real estate is inherently visual, yet much of the information developers use to make multimillion-dollar decisions is fragmented across spreadsheets, maps, inboxes, and relationships. That frustration eventually became DealNav. But it also opened up a much bigger conversation about how great developers actually make decisions.

Patrick Carino is Vice President of Development at The NRP Group, where he sources and executes market-rate multifamily developments across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. He's also the founder of DealNav, a map-based deal-tracking tool he built after years of managing his own pipeline in Excel and Google My Maps — now used by real estate professionals across the globe who want a simpler map-based alternative to bloated CRMs.

Pat also brings a broad perspective across brokerage, entrepreneurial development, and institutional real estate. Before NRP, he worked at RMS and began his career at CBRE, where he was involved in more than $1 billion of investment sales transactions.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why capitalizing good deals may be harder than finding them right now.
• How decision-making changes when you move from one owner deploying his own capital to an institutional investment committee managing other people’s money.
• Why some of the best development opportunities still come through relationships, not simply better data.
• What working on $1B+ of transactions at CBRE taught Pat about validating every assumption.
• Why NRP built a highly specialized organization and how that structure supports scale.
• The Westchester deal Pat walked away from after investing meaningful time and money, and the lesson he refuses to learn twice.
• How NRP is growing its Northeast market-rate pipeline across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
• Why Pat built DealNav and what he learned turning an internal tool into a software business.

The through line is bigger than real estate software.

Information helps you find the opportunity. Relationships get you access. But judgment determines what you pursue, what you pass on, and whether you can ultimately get the deal built.

Resources:

• NRP Group: NRP Group Website
• CBRE: CBRE Website
• Deal Nav: Deal Nav Website
• Book/Resource Mentioned: $100M Offers, Alex Hormozi's work for growth strategies, particularly in sales and business development.

Thanks for being part of the Design Development community.

New episodes drop every Wednesday, featuring leaders across real estate, design, and construction.

The goal is simple: learn from how great people think, lead, make decisions, navigate setbacks, and create opportunity.

There is no single path to success.
Careers are not linear.
The lessons are in the story.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube

Find out more at https://h-o.engineering/podcasts/

Let’s go.

(Ep. from 10/24) Rens Hayes IV is the co-founder of H+ O Structural Engineering, a pioneering firm focused on innovative solutions in real estate development, design, and construction. With a background in steel construction and engineering, Rens's journey in the industry has been fueled by an early influence from the family business and a commitment to lifelong learning. He is a certified value growth advisor and has utilized his expansive knowledge to scale H+O nationally, emphasizing alignment in design processes and financial efficiency.

Joe Walker, principal at Walker Architects, operates in Georgia and Florida. A previous guest on "Design Development," Joe is recognized for his insights on agile design and leadership in the architecture industry.

Episode Summary:

Dive into a captivating exploration of cutting-edge design and structural engineering with Rens Hayes IV on the episode of "Design for an Agile World." In this engaging dialogue with Joe Walker, Rens shares his revolutionary approach to engineering through the H+O Cost Index, a model that aligns design efficacy with economic practicality. Learn how H+O Structural Engineering blends innovative business acumen with top-tier engineering talent to create sustainable value in the construction and real estate industry.

Explore the mindset at H+O that drives success in a dynamic industry. Rens shares his philosophy of lifelong learning, applying MBA-level insights to shape H+O's strategic and operational model. He outlines how financial management and enterprise value creation foster balanced organizations, aligning client goals with employee success, and highlights the future of structural engineering's role in real estate development.

Key Takeaways:

• The H+O Cost Index leverages trained personnel and proprietary data to bring efficiency and cost-effectiveness to structural design.
• Lifelong learning and open book financial management are pivotal to scaling and improving organizational processes.
• Crafting a "design process" rooted in understanding construction costs can lead to significant client value and project optimization.
• Aligning business operations with strategic goals allows for sustainable growth and profitability in the design and construction sectors.
• Embracing technological advancements and AI could revolutionize site planning and the future of architectural design.

Resources:

• Connect with Rens Hayes on LinkedIn: Rens Hayes IV LinkedIn
• Learn more about H+O Structural Engineering: H+O Engineering
• Podcast Recommendation: The Game by Alex Hormozi
• Book Mentioned: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear

Thanks for being part of the Design Development community.

New episodes drop every Wednesday, featuring leaders across real estate, design, and construction.

The goal is simple: learn from how great people think, lead, make decisions, navigate setbacks, and create opportunity.

There is no single path to success.
Careers are not linear.
The lessons are in the story.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube

Find out more at https://h-o.engineering/podcasts/

Let’s go.