Zisler notes that the group members' diverse backgrounds will contribute to its drawing power. "The bulk of us have extensive experience not only working for owners and developers but also advising pension funds and other capital sources," he says. "We'll be able to combine our experience on the buy side as well as the sell side." The group, he notes, brings "structured finance, corporate finance and real estate finance skills to this job, and what we're trying to do is to bring Wall Street to Main Street."

Steinfeld and Zisler founded Apogee in 1995. Headquartered in the Chrysler Building--details of the move to Citigroup Center will be ironed out in the next few weeks--the investment banking firm has specialized in raising equity and debt for real estate operating companies through institutional joint ventures. In the last 18 months, the firm has arranged more than $1.3 billion in joint venture programs for public and private real estate developers and owners.