How This Architect Turned $5M Into a $30M Real Estate Win with Kevin Kennon

Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen 🏙️ On this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club, I'm sitting down with Kevin Kennon, a New York City based architect and real estate developer with more than 40 years of experience designing skyscrapers, luxury condominiums, and now ultra exclusive wilderness resorts. Kevin has worked on iconic projects like the Sotheby's and Barclays headquarters, the Macy's Herald Square renovation, and the historic American Express Building conversion in Tribeca. He was even a finalist in the World Trade Center design competition after 9/11. If you're serious about real estate investing, adaptive reuse, or luxury hospitality development, this conversation is packed with insight you won't want to miss. FROM SKYSCRAPERS TO WILDERNESS RESORTS Kevin walks us through his journey from apprenticing under legendary architects to becoming a partner at Cone Pedersen Fox, where he focused on tall building design in New York City and Seattle. We talk about how the 2008 financial crisis reshaped his approach to real estate development and pushed him toward projects that mean something to him personally 🏔️. ADAPTIVE REUSE AND OLD BUILDING CONVERSIONS We dig deep into the process of converting old office buildings and industrial spaces into high end residential real estate. Kevin shares real lessons from gutting the American Express Building in Tribeca and overseeing the renovation of Macy's Herald Square, plus his take on the ongoing Flatiron Building condo conversion 🏗️. If you're a real estate investor eyeing a value add opportunity in an older building, this section is essential listening. THE ENGINEERING BEHIND LUXURY SKYSCRAPERS Ever wonder why some of the tallest luxury condo towers in New York actually sway in the wind? Kevin breaks down the seven to one slenderness ratio, structural engineering advances, and what it really takes to build safely at extreme heights 🌆. THE FUTURE OF LUXURY WILDERNESS HOSPITALITY This is where the conversation gets really unique. Kevin is designing a new breed of ultra luxury wilderness resorts built around intimacy, safety, wellness, and social connection rather than isolated eco pods 🏕️. We talk about why the highest performing luxury hotels stay under 30 rooms, how AI is being used to personalize guest experiences, and why he's scouting 2,000 acre ranches across New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana for the first prototype location. REAL ESTATE LESSONS, NETWORKING, AND USING AI TO INVEST SMARTER Kevin shares one of his biggest real estate lessons, a five million dollar penthouse in the American Express Building that later sold for thirty million dollars after riding out the 2008 crash 💰. We also talk about the power of networking and asking for help to generate real estate deals, plus how Kevin is using Claude Cowork and AI tools to manage proformas, data, and due diligence in his real estate and architecture business 🤖. Whether you're a real estate investor exploring adaptive reuse, curious about luxury hospitality trends, or want to know how AI is changing commercial real estate and architecture, this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club has something for you 🎙️. #RealEstateInvesting #LuxuryRealEstate #RealEstateDevelopment #AdaptiveReuse #CommercialRealEstate Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkennonarchitect/ Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen Send us Fan MailJoin the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen.Support the show