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Recently, I sat down with Alfonso Costa Jr., Chief Operating Officer of the Falcone Group, one of South Florida's leading real estate development firms, and a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Alfonso's résumé is staggering. A JD from Harvard Law, a master's from Oxford, and a B.A. from Yale, where he walked on to play both Division I lacrosse and basketball. He was recognized on the South Florida Business Journal's 40 Under 40, served as Deputy Chief of Staff at HUD under Secretary Ben Carson, and today oversees a $1 billion real estate portfolio.

But what makes Alfonso compelling isn't the pedigree; it's the vantage point. He has built at the rare intersection of government, capital, and community, from architecting the Opportunity Zones initiative at the federal level to executing on Miami Worldcenter, the second-largest development in America after Hudson Yards. His thesis is refreshingly grounded: own good real estate, don't over-leverage, and build in enough flexibility to survive every cycle.

For Alfonso, the mission is bigger than margins; it's about closing the "missing middle" housing gap for the teachers, nurses, and firefighters who are the stewards of our communities.

• How Opportunity Zones 2.0, made permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill, offer investors a five-year tax deferral, a 10% step-up in basis, and zero tax on appreciation after a ten-year hold.

   

• Why buying good real estate in a prime location without over-leveraging is always a good deal, in Alfonso's words, and the two lessons Miami Worldcenter taught him about surviving multiple cycles.

   

• The inside story of Falcone Group's $88.75 million sale of a 1.4-acre parcel to Japan's Kasumigaseki Capital, at roughly $63.5 million per acre, and what foreign capital signals about downtown Miami.

   

• What Florida's Live Local Act unlocks by right-zoning and providing property tax abatements to solve the workforce housing shortage, and what the newly passed Third Amendment changes for developers.

   

• Why he and his partners bought out CIM Group at a $210 million valuation to hold Worldcenter's retail and parking core long-term - a bet on conviction over quick exits.

   

• The mindset that carried him from a two-sport collegiate athlete to the C-suite: put the ego aside, ask questions, and commit to being a lifelong learner.
  

   

For Alfonso, real estate has always been a long game, one built on patience, vision, and the discipline to bring the public and private sectors to the same table. The results speak for themselves.

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