Treeline Carves Out Troubled Assets Group

GARDEN CITY, NY—Having lent a hand to lenders facing distressed assets during both the 1990s down cycle and the current one, the Treeline Cos. is formalizing that practice area by carving out a new division. The locally based owner/manager, with an office portfolio of more than 2.5 million square feet, has launched Treeline Realty Advisors, a real estate consulting and asset management group focused on troubled assets. It will provide consulting services to develop and then execute management plans and disposition strategies for lenders and investors.

As a key player, Treeline’s principals have brought in Jason Wilensky, who brings an extensive background in commercial mortgages to the new division. “When I was at various institutions, I found in the last few years that a lot of the new participants in debt deals are not real estate owners and operators who have the expertise,” Wilensky tells GlobeSt.com. “These were people at hedge funds or money managers who got involved in real estate as the market started to peak. They’re just not equipped to deal with what’s going on today, especially when they’re faced with the decision of whether to take over assets where they were a debt holder and are now essentially an equity holder.”

He adds, “There are a lot of lenders out there with staying power that are reluctant to dump loans in this market on assets that they believe are strong performers in the long term but currently are not. These are situations where we can help lenders ride out the down cycle with our asset management expertise.”