Advisory Team Departs JLL to Launch Capital Markets Firm

Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz and Adam Schwartz were on track to close more than $15 billion in transactions at JLL this year.

NEW YORK – Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz and Adam Schwartz have jointly launched a new firm, AKS Capital Partners LLC. The partners recently left JLL, where they served as the firm’s highest-producing debt and equity advisory team.

The new capital markets firm will focus on project specific and portfolio-level debt and equity across all asset types for real estate developers, institutional and entrepreneurial sponsors, nationally. The team will provide tailored financing strategies on large real estate transactions.

While at JLL, Appel served as the Head of the Debt and Equity Capital Markets New York City Practice, Kurland and Jonathan Schwartz were Vice Chairmen and Adam Schwartz was a Managing Director. During their time at the firm, the team facilitated more than $40 billion in debt and equity placement, and they were on track to close more than $15 billion in transaction volume placement this year for their clients.

Recent deals for the advisors include $664.1 million for 9 DeKalb Avenue (Brooklyn’s soon-to-be tallest building upon completion in 2022), $330 million for Hub in Downtown Brooklyn, $311 million for 1735 Market Street in Philadelphia and $215 million for Tower 28 in Long Island City.

The team has worked with other notable clients such as SL Green Realty Corp., Vornado Realty Trust, JDS Development Group, Steiner NYC, Brookfield Properties, Silverstein Properties, East End Capital, HFZ Capital Group, Terra Holdings LLC, RedSky Capital LLC, FLAnk, Meadow Partners, Vanbarton Group, Slate Property Group and Adam America Real Estate.

The partners were recognized annually within JLL’s Capital Markets as MVP and MVP runner-ups.