Key Takeaways
- • Executives from Prologis, Brookfield, BGO, Kimco Realty and Vivmark told a CREtech New York 2026 panel that they are deploying AI across their real estate platforms rather than treating it primarily as a risk.
- • Brookfield's Lauren Young said the firm uses AI as an additional voice in investment decisions, with a model that projects five years of rents every quarter across roughly 9,000 U.S. submarkets.
- • Kimco's Ross Cooper said AI-driven automation, including lease abstraction and construction pricing, is shortening timelines, with the company citing 'cash flow in our pocket' from faster execution.
- • Vivmark's Pamela Thomas said the firm handles millions of AI-initiated resident interactions annually across its 180,000 homes, and that AI makes managers more strategic rather than eliminating roles.
- • Panelists described strong operating fundamentals, including Prologis's 60 million square feet of Q3 leasing and Kimco's record occupancy and retention rates, as AI adoption advances.
Summary
Executives from several major commercial real estate firms said at CREtech New York 2026 that they are embracing artificial intelligence and its benefits rather than focusing on its downsides. The panel, moderated by Vaibhav Gujral, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, included Carter Andrus, chief operating officer of Prologis; Amy Price, co-president of BGO; Ross Cooper, president and chief investment officer of Kimco Realty; Pamela Thomas, EVP of portfolio and asset management at Vivmark; and Lauren Young, managing partner of real estate at Brookfield.
Speed and efficiency were recurring themes. According to the panel, Kimco has transformed its IT unit into an Office of Innovation and Transformation, which Cooper said formalizes decisions on where to invest capital and which products to adapt. Cooper said the company is also automating legal functions, such as lease abstraction, to get leases out faster, and is applying automation to construction pricing, a process that can take hours rather than the weeks typical of longer bidding processes. "Every day that we press that timeline, it's cash flow in our pocket," he said.
Brookfield's Young said the firm uses AI as another voice in its investment decision-making and to forecast rent growth. She said the model projects five years of rents every quarter across roughly 9,000 U.S. submarkets, and noted that the firm has not yet been able to fully test the math behind it. At Vivmark, Thomas said AI is deployed across almost every part of the business, which includes 180,000 homes. In multifamily, where resident questions are frequent, she said the firm handles millions of AI-initiated interactions annually, using the data to add touch points and to inform building design. She also described AI-driven coaching tools for team leaders, saying managers are becoming more strategic.
The AI discussion took place against strong operating fundamentals. Andrus said Prologis has completed 60 million square feet of leasing in Q3, with logistics vacancy declining and rent growth returning, and cited e-commerce and advanced manufacturing as growth sectors. Cooper described Kimco's fundamentals as the strongest in its history, with about 570 shopping centers totaling 100 million square feet under management, all-time-high occupancy and tenant retention, and virtually no new supply, while noting that retail competition has increased. Young said Vivmark has recorded nine consecutive quarters of sequential absorption. All panelists expressed optimism about AI's future role, with Thomas arguing that it will make workers more strategic rather than eliminate their roles entirely.
Speed and efficiency were recurring themes. According to the panel, Kimco has transformed its IT unit into an Office of Innovation and Transformation, which Cooper said formalizes decisions on where to invest capital and which products to adapt. Cooper said the company is also automating legal functions, such as lease abstraction, to get leases out faster, and is applying automation to construction pricing, a process that can take hours rather than the weeks typical of longer bidding processes. "Every day that we press that timeline, it's cash flow in our pocket," he said.
Brookfield's Young said the firm uses AI as another voice in its investment decision-making and to forecast rent growth. She said the model projects five years of rents every quarter across roughly 9,000 U.S. submarkets, and noted that the firm has not yet been able to fully test the math behind it. At Vivmark, Thomas said AI is deployed across almost every part of the business, which includes 180,000 homes. In multifamily, where resident questions are frequent, she said the firm handles millions of AI-initiated interactions annually, using the data to add touch points and to inform building design. She also described AI-driven coaching tools for team leaders, saying managers are becoming more strategic.
The AI discussion took place against strong operating fundamentals. Andrus said Prologis has completed 60 million square feet of leasing in Q3, with logistics vacancy declining and rent growth returning, and cited e-commerce and advanced manufacturing as growth sectors. Cooper described Kimco's fundamentals as the strongest in its history, with about 570 shopping centers totaling 100 million square feet under management, all-time-high occupancy and tenant retention, and virtually no new supply, while noting that retail competition has increased. Young said Vivmark has recorded nine consecutive quarters of sequential absorption. All panelists expressed optimism about AI's future role, with Thomas arguing that it will make workers more strategic rather than eliminate their roles entirely.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.