How Brandon Charnas Built an Empire on Broadway and Took the Model to Miami

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

31 Mar 2025

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“My early professional years were about absorbing every detail of the market,” says Brandon Charnas, co-founder of Current Real Estate Advisors, describing his career trajectory before launching his innovative brokerage firm. Prior to Current, Charnas had already established himself as a real estate expert in investment sales, who meticulously cataloged building data to map out ownership structures, retail footprints, and market dynamics. 

A Nontraditional Path to Real Estate

Charnas followed an unconventional career path. After earning a history degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he went on to study law at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. His career began at Kirkland & Ellis, where he worked in corporate law for four and a half years.

While working on real estate transactions at the firm, Charnas developed a proclivity for the business side of deals. An inflection point came when he helped bring in a mezzanine facility deal—only to be told that client origination was reserved for senior partners. He knew his passion and natural skills were best suited for the art of deal-making and decided to pivot.

This decision led him to a broker specializing in off-market building sales in Manhattan and Charnas mastered building valuation while learning every aspect of the industry. He would gather tenant information, retail space dimensions, floor sizes, building height, air rights, ownership details, debt status, and revenue estimates while walking Broadway from Madison Square Park to SoHo. “I created a spreadsheet with details on every single building within the submarket,” he explains.

Establishing a Presence on Broadway

Charnas’s first major transaction came in November 2014 with the sale of 670 Broadway for $112 million. He was instrumental in the building’s repositioning including a rarefied address change given its position on Bond Street bordering Broadway and secured aligned tenants including private members club Zero Bond, Face Gym and Equinox. This deal cemented Charnas’s prowess in long-term value creation for owners, buyers and tenants and his creativity as his efforts resulted in the now-notorious name Zero Bond.  

Charnas proceeded to orchestrate a series of significant deals. These included the sale of 799 Broadway to a private equity fund for the development of a Class A office building, an intricate multi-family ownership deal that led to the sale of 817 Broadway to Taconic, and the landmark 2017 transaction involving 888 Broadway, the iconic ABC Carpet & Home building. 

A common thread was working with legacy property owners, many of whom had held their assets for decades. “Each one of them was family-owned for at least 40 years,” says Charnas.

He also assembled 1039, 1041, 1043, and 1045 Madison, which ultimately became “The Benson,” a prestigious Naftali condo project.

The Shift to Current Real Estate Advisors

While investment sales provided valuable experience, Charnas saw an opportunity to build a different kind of firm—one that focused on leasing and advisory services rather than purely transactional sales.

“The challenge with investment sales is that you’re always dependent on an owner’s willingness to sell,” Charnas explains. “With leasing, there’s more control. If a tenant commits to working with you, they’re going to open a space—it’s a long-term relationship.”

This realization, combined with the rise of social media as a business tool, shaped the vision for Current Real Estate Advisors, which he co-founded with Adam Henick. The firm differentiated itself by using digital platforms to build client relationships and promote tenant brands.

One early example was The Museum of Ice Cream, which took notice when Current featured them on its Instagram page. “They reached out and asked why we were promoting them,” Charnas recalls. “We told them we’d love to handle their real estate. It was about opening the door in a more organic way.”

Expanding Reach and Specialization

While social media gave Current initial traction, its success grew far beyond that. “We signed so much business early on that digital marketing became just one part of our model,” Charnas says. As the firm took on institutional clients, venture-backed brands, and major funds, discretion became increasingly important.

During the pandemic, Current positioned itself as a go-to firm for Web3 and cryptocurrency companies, a rapidly expanding sector with new office space needs. Clients included Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, Uniswap, Polychain, Paradigm, Aptos, and Alchemy—many of whom sought flagship locations in Manhattan.

“Broadway became the new Sand Hill Road for crypto,” Charnas says, referencing Silicon Valley’s venture capital hub. “We understood the markets they wanted to be in and helped them make strategic real estate decisions.”

More recently, Current has expanded its focus to institutional funds and private equity firms, broadening its portfolio beyond early-stage growth companies.  “Now we’re working with many institutional funds, and more traditional private equity firms,” Charnas says.

The Move to Miami

Current’s expansion into Miami reflects its ability to anticipate major market shifts. As high-net-worth executives and finance firms relocated from traditional hubs like New York and San Francisco, Charnas recognized a natural correlation between luxury residential demand and commercial leasing activity.

“If senior executives are buying homes in Miami, there’s a strong likelihood their firms will also establish an office presence,” he explains.

To meet this demand, Current opened a Miami office and partnered with Colliers on larger leasing transactions. The firm has since represented clients such as Tom Brady’s family office, TEB Capital Management, a16Z, Wix.com, Novo Financial, NJOY, The Farmer’s Dog, and Bausch & Lomb in Miami’s evolving office landscape.

Recognizing the strong interplay between commercial and residential real estate, Current has also expanded into residential brokerage—helping executives secure homes alongside their office leases.

Looking Ahead

As Current Real Estate Advisors continues to grow, Charnas remains focused on helping clients create workplaces that go beyond traditional office spaces. Whether working with tech firms, venture funds, or luxury consumer brands, the firm’s strength lies in understanding how physical spaces contribute to brand identity, talent attraction, and business growth.

From investment sales on Broadway to leasing high-profile properties in Miami, Charnas’s career has been defined by market insight, strategic partnerships, and a forward-thinking approach. Now headquartered in Zero Bond—a location he played a role in shaping—his firm is well-positioned to navigate the next evolution of the real estate market.