Watching from the Pier: SEG’s Turnaround in Motion – C-Suite Transitions

The latest Spike Lee “joint” featuring Denzel Washington in the new Apple TV+ movie Highest 2 Lowest is a middling crime thriller that prominently features a high-end condo next to the Brooklyn bridge with stunning views of lower Manhattan. One area on the banks of the East River and adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge that is visible from this condo is the South Seaport District, with multiple piers, a rooftop concert venue and multiple restaurants.

In our May 2025 Special Situations newsletter, we featured Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG) as our spotlight idea.  The company, a spinoff from Howard Hughes (HHH), owns both waterfront assets in lower Manhattan as well as an eclectic collection of assets in Las Vegas. A visit to New York City’s Seaport district earlier this year offered a firsthand look at two of its key properties: the Tin Building and Pier 17. The visit prompted me to write about the idea and add it to the model portfolio at a little over $19 per share. Here is a short excerpt from the newsletter:

“The Tin Building is an upscale food hall with an integrated grocery store with multiple restaurant concepts across the two floors of the building. Imagine my surprise when I saw that one of the restaurants was called Crepes and Dosas. I have often described the South Indian staple food (delicacy for some) called dosa as a savory crepe. Getting back to the Tin Building, in many ways, it reminded me of a food hall near the Tottenham Court Road tube station in London.

Unlike traditional food courts, this one had groceries and other stuff spread throughout. The groceries part of it is a distraction. It cannibalizes space that could be dedicated to additional restaurants and seating. The fusion cuisine in the various restaurants imagined by celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten in the space is certainly interesting, but when I took a closer look at the Crepes and Dosas menu, the dosa reference was mostly in name. I had lunch plans shortly after I visited the Tin Building and could not sample the food, but I did get a chance to pick up an Italian cake that turned out to be delicious.

Why am I spending so much time discussing the Tin Building? It is one of the buildings owned by Seaport Entertainment Group. It is also the building that is losing SEG the most money.”

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