A Private Family Office Insights Webinar Featuring Andy Bernard, Partner and CIO at LEFT LANE.

Why It Matters

The fund offers family offices a high‑return, low‑risk entry into under‑served secondary‑city hotel and residential markets, showcasing a scalable, data‑driven conversion strategy.

Key Takeaways

• Left Lane raises $152M for distressed office-to-hotel conversions.
• Targeting high‑growth secondary cities with under‑supplied luxury hotels.
• Uses historic buildings for natural light, reducing renovation costs.
• Proprietary market‑vitality scoring combines demand, supply, and CNBS data.
• Aims for 2.5‑3x equity multiple and ~30% IRR for LPs.

Summary

The Family Office Insights webinar featured Andy Bernard, partner and CIO of Left Lane, outlining a $152 million capital raise to convert distressed historic office buildings into luxury hotels and high‑end multifamily assets. Bernard detailed his background in mortgage‑backed securities and hotel development, and explained Left Lane’s vertically integrated model that includes development, investment, and operations, complemented by a joint‑venture with Highgate Hotels for back‑office scale.

Left Lane’s strategy focuses on secondary U.S. cities experiencing rapid population and income growth but lacking premium hotel and residential supply. By scoring markets on demand, supply, and a proprietary vitality index—using 60 variables and CNBS loan performance data—the firm isolates 20 target markets. Historic structures are favored because pre‑air‑conditioning designs provide natural light and airflow, minimizing costly core removals. Renovations budget $140 per square foot for full MEP replacement, ensuring disciplined underwriting.

Examples highlighted include the award‑winning Hotel Bardau in Savannah and a V‑shaped former office building that requires no interior core demolition. The fund already secured $90 million from university endowments (TU, UCLA, William & Mary) and is reducing GP equity from over $50 million to $27 million, representing a 15% GP stake. Investors are promised a 2.5‑3× equity multiple and roughly 30% IRR at the deal level, or 2.5× and 25% IRR net for LPs.

If successful, Left Lane’s data‑driven conversion model could set a benchmark for family‑office investors seeking opportunistic real‑estate returns, while highlighting the growing demand for upscale hospitality and multifamily assets in emerging urban markets.

Original Description

LEFT LANE is a vertically integrated investment manager, developer and hotel brand creator targeting the generational dislocation in the office market, acquiring distressed historic office buildings and transforming them into luxury hotels and multifamily residences in high-growth secondary markets. The strategy is anchored by a cost basis built 30-40% below replacement cost through proprietary off-market deal sourcing, historic tax credits, and two decades of specialized development expertise.

Fund III is targeting a 3.0x MOIC and 30% IRR gross across five assets already under execution. Andy brings 20+ years of hospitality investment experience, including as Head of Development at Equinox Hotels and in structured finance at Morgan Stanley, where he executed over $18 billion in CMBS transactions. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School.