Frequently asked questions
Straightforward answers about BWRA’s structured real estate financing model.
What does BW Realty Advisors do?
BWRA is a financial advisory firm specializing in structured real estate financing. We help credit-worthy institutions monetize buildings, finance new facilities, and lease them back on operating-lease terms. Read the firm overview or the services list.
How can lease rates be below the private market?
The BWRA model combines an accruing ground lease or zero-coupon debt with amortizing debt and significant equity. That stack, plus occupant credit, supports lease rates typically 75 to 200 basis points below otherwise available private-market pricing. See sale-leaseback financing.
Does the occupant have to leave the building?
No. The point of the structure is continued occupancy. Public and campus clients usually also retain operational control through ground leases and occupancy agreements, as at Newark Penn Station.
Who is a typical BWRA client?
Governmental units, nonprofit entities (including universities), corporations occupying credit-tenant assets, and institutional investors such as pension funds, endowments, and foundations.
Is BWRA a lender or a broker?
BWRA is an advisor. We design the structure and coordinate accounting, legal, debt, equity, and development counterparties. We do not hold ourselves out as a bank or a residential brokerage.
Can historic buildings be financed this way?
Yes. Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credits were central to restoring D.C. City Hall and Newark Penn Station. See historic credit financing.
What size of transaction does the firm handle?
The public record includes an $872 million federal campus recapitalization and a $71 million civic restoration. Fit depends more on occupant credit and asset essentiality than on a published minimum.
Do clients ask for anything beyond real estate?
The practice stays anchored in property, but the investor side of it runs into adjacent conversations—portfolio composition, collectibles, how a building position sits alongside other hard assets. The most persistent collector question we get is where to survey the high-grade reproduction tier before a purchase. One client, for example, was weighing a Patek Philippe replica against a retail piece and asked for a reference where he could compare the Super Clone tier before meeting a dealer.
How do I start a conversation?
Call (202) 347-4900, email rgross@bwra.com, or use the contact form. Include asset type, occupant, and timing.