{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-a34e1e87d1d8", "docSlug": "ebebcd140b34", "documentTitle": "CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (CTO)", "authorId": "60_Wolfpack_Research", "authorName": "Wolfpack Research", "documentKindSlug": "research-note", "documentKindLabel": "Research note", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2025-06-25 00:00:00", "orientation": "portrait", "aspectRatio": 0.77272725, "pageNumber": 7, "pageCount": 30, "prevPage": 6, "nextPage": 8, "slideType": "expose_contradiction", "function": "expose_contradiction", "density": "overcrowded", "nDataPoints": 6, "notes": "Includes a snippet of a bankruptcy petition as evidence of the tenant's financial failure.", "elementsJson": [ "paragraph", "quote_block", "screenshot", "footnote" ], "metadataConfidence": 0.95, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-a34e1e87d1d8/7", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-a34e1e87d1d8", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-a34e1e87d1d8.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-a34e1e87d1d8#slide-7", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "CTO did not disclose a default in its annual report, which we find highly unusual considering this tenant appears to have stopped paying rent.", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-78b5-7512-b5a8-13cca5499b62", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.12, "w": 0.77, "x": 0.118, "y": 0.61 }, "kind": "image", "text": "Bankruptcy petition snippet", "attrs": null, "subkind": "screenshot", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "78bd2bfb-c2c5-4e06-9bfb-f1a6b52f748b", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.08, "w": 0.77, "x": 0.118, "y": 0.52 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "CTO did not disclose a default in its annual report, which we find highly unusual considering this tenant appears to have stopped paying rent. Things went further downhill in 2023. An affiliated food hall based in Florida declared bankruptcy in January 2023. Just two months later, the owner of the Food Hall, Jamal Wilson, filed for personal bankruptcy.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "aa3096a3-f3e9-4929-a9c1-43d916c9729d", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.06, "w": 0.77, "x": 0.118, "y": 0.094 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "But that was not true, we obtained an email sent by investors in the Food Hall to CTO in December 2022, explaining that the project had exhausted its funds by November 2022 and had ceased paying rent.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "af25f852-6370-48b1-a2c8-520e1e575571", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.06, "w": 0.77, "x": 0.118, "y": 0.175 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "Interestingly, this email sent by investors reveals that the amount of rent paid before the Food Hall opened (“dark rent” i.e. rent paid before opening) was $1.3 million at this point, significantly less than the $2.2 million in rent investors would infer during the tenant’s tenure from CTO’s disclosures.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "ed8d52e6-7f19-4997-ace9-33486b28ada5", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.08, "w": 0.77, "x": 0.118, "y": 0.8 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "We were told by a confidential source that the Food Hall only made one payment in 2023 prior to opening. If CTO only received ~$1.4 million in dark rent from the Food Hall by the time they were evicted at the end of June 2023, that would be ~$800 k less than the $2.2 million investors reasonably would have assumed CTO had earned based on CTO’s supplemental disclosures.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "f99bc75c-d4ac-451e-9ccf-e0686231ce44", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.18, "w": 0.67, "x": 0.17, "y": 0.26 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "We’re at the final stages of construction... we have spent over $2M of equity on construction and over $1.3M in dark rent... we’d like to respectfully request your help in bridging that gap before us in the form of rent relief and additional TI.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "pull-quote", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "aa8e274e-86d8-4c75-ab21-d2433a8545e8", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "We’re at the final stages of construction, which we expect to be completed by the end of January, we are adamantly working on gearing up for our Grand Opening. At this point, we have spent over $2M of equity on construction and over $1.3M in dark rent. As Landlords ourselves, [We] understand that the likelihood a tenant blows out after paying over a year’s worth of dark rent is extremely high. The eviction process, leasing efforts, new TI package, and lag time until new rent is collected is an arduous and expensive process, so we understand that it’s in no one’s best interest that we default. As a result, we’d like to respectfully request your help in bridging that gap before us in the form of rent relief and additional TI. We’ve estimated that we will require $400k to complete construction by January and ask that CTO help alleviate the burden by increasing our TI package. We also request that past-due rent for Nov. and Dec. be abated, and that future rent be deferred until the venture is operating, which we anticipate will occur in February. — Email from Food Hall investors to CTO", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-78b5-7512-b5a8-16bdc55f2835", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [], "arcBeats": [ { "to": 14, "from": 6, "beatId": "17c83035-41f6-4454-b0d2-f1032bbe24be", "arcName": "Overcoming the Monster", "arcSlug": "overcoming-monster", "beatName": "The Struggle", "beatSlug": "overcoming-monster-the-struggle", "evidence": "Expose contradictions in CTO's financial reporting", "position": 1, "confidence": 0.8, "parentBeatName": "Development", "parentBeatSlug": "development" } ], "loops": [ { "to": 7, "from": 5, "name": "The Reveal", "slug": "05-the-reveal", "bestFor": "Product launches, strategic pivots, unexpected findings", "matchId": "cafa3483-1ba9-4d14-b122-70b3c17aba7b", "evidence": "Expose contradiction in management's actions", "position": 0, "objective": "Reveal management's potential deception", "structure": "Setup the Question -> Build Suspense -> The Big Reveal", "confidence": 0.8, "description": "Build mystery and anticipation, then deliver a surprising or powerful conclusion" } ], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }