How to Write RFPs That Lead to Better Bids and Fewer Surprises

• RFPandMe: Real estate firms face high-risk projects where partner choice can make or break them. Smarter RFPs help lower those risks.

• German retreat: A large German pension fund has written down its investment tied to high profile developer Michael Svo.

• A mall for all seasons: A wave of creative adaptive reuse projects has investors and shoppers rethinking what malls should be.

• Office-to-Residential Playbook: Sign up for our new weekly newsletter delivering quick, insightful updates on adaptive reuse shaping today’s office market.

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Perspectives

How to Write RFPs That Lead to Better Bids and Fewer Surprises

The request for proposal might seem like a routine step in development, but it often determines whether a project stays on budget, on schedule, and true to its vision. The way an RFP is written and evaluated sets the tone for everything that follows, making it one of the most important but also most overlooked tools in real estate. When it’s vague or rushed, it opens the door to cost overruns, missed deadlines, and mismatched teams.

Getting it right means laying the groundwork before the first document ever goes out. Developers who clearly define their scope, decide on the right delivery method, and limit the field to a few qualified firms end up with stronger, more tailored proposals. The real challenge comes when the bids arrive, and owners must peel back exclusions, staffing assumptions, and methodology differences to make sure comparisons are fair.

Beyond the spreadsheets, success comes down to people. The best teams aren’t just the cheapest or the flashiest; they are the ones with proven experience, strong references, and communication styles that fit the project. Treating the RFP as the start of a partnership rather than a formality transforms it from a procurement exercise into a strategy for ensuring the project delivers on its promise.

Overheard

Office-to-Residential Conversion Playbook

German Pension Fund Pulls Back on Real Estate Linked to High Profile U.S. Developer

A prominent German pension fund has written down the value of a U.S. real estate investment tied to well known developer Michael Shvo, underscoring renewed scrutiny on leveraged exposures that have underperformed amid shifting market conditions. This adjustment reflects cautious repositioning from institutional investors, who are now weighing the long-term stability of high-end trophy assets with renewed care.

For decades, SHVO has been synonymous with ultra-luxury development—from the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach and Mandarin Oriental Residences in Beverly Hills to the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco—backed in part by deep-pocketed German institutional capital routed through intermediaries such as Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK). His projects have blended real estate, art and fashion, but delays, defaults and financing disputes (like an arbitration claim worth tens of millions over unpaid fees) have exposed vulnerabilities in overleveraged, prestige-heavy real estate models.

The pension fund’s write-down signals a broader recalibration. No longer is glamour alone enough to justify exposure to pricey office or condo developments. For the market, it’s a reminder that even iconic assets aren’t immune to capital discipline. Savvy investors and developers will likely need deeper stress testing, greater financial transparency and perhaps a shift toward mixed-use or more resilient asset types if they hope to attract risk-averse institutional capital moving forward.

Adaptive Reuse Is Reinventing How We Think of Malls

Across the country, the deserted mall that once felt like suburbia’s compromise between shopping and socializing is quietly morphing into a canvas for reinvention. Rather than razing these hulking buildings, communities are converting them into mixed-use hubs—housing, cultural venues, medical clinics, schools, indoor farms, and even coworking spaces are now pulsing inside what were once empty corridors.

This transformation isn’t just creative—it’s sustainable. Adaptive reuse cuts carbon emissions by as much as 70 percent, salvaging up to 90 percent of existing materials. Places like Orange County’s malls are being infused with apartments and entertainment, while indoor farms are turning retail shells into fresh-food production centers. These are real wins for housing, community identity, and the environment.

What’s emerging is less about memory and more about momentum. Repurposing malls can stitch back the social fabric of neighborhoods—creating third spaces where people live, learn, heal, and gather. In a world racing toward blank-slate redevelopment, these reinventions show that the future of retail real estate may not be tearing down, but breathing new life into what’s already there.

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Propmodo Daily is written and edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

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