Developing a $140M “Passion Project” to Turn Dirt Into a Community Dream

Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow with Kevin Bupp

Kevin Bupp

Investing, Education, Business

4.8 • 679 Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For many real estate investors, development is the next level of property investing. Instead of renovating, you’re building from the ground up, turning dirt into something hundreds or even thousands of people will use daily. But how do you start, get in good graces with the local government, and build projects you can be truly proud of? Kristi Kandel went from zero development experience to running her own office in a year, with undeniable success. She built 30 Family Dollar locations in one of the hardest markets in America—California. But that’s not all—she even took on extraordinarily complex projects like building hydrogen fueling stations, something most developers wouldn’t even dare to entertain. She’s done some of the hardest development jobs and is sharing exactly how you can get your foot in the door, from planning what to build based on your market, to getting the local government on your side, who should be developing, and the mistake that almost cost her millions. Plus, Kristi shares details on the $140M passion project she’s building with public-private partnerships—the kind of legacy project every investor dreams of. Insights from today’s episode: How to get into real estate development, even if you have no experience The first thing to check before you plan on developing any piece of land The one person you must get in contact with to get the city’s approval One big utility mistake that could have cost Kristi’s team millions of dollars How locals can develop in their own communities and stop outside builders from taking over The one project Kristi says was impossible to finish—and swears she'll never do again — Connect with Kristi on LinkedIn Follow Kristi on Instagram Recommended Resources: Accredited Investors, you’re invited to Join the Cash Flow Investor Club to learn how you can partner with Kevin Bupp on current and upcoming opportunities to create passive cash flow and build wealth. Join the Club! If you’re a high-net-worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months and you want to build passive income and wealth with a trusted partner, go to InvestWithKB.com for opportunities to invest in real estate projects alongside Kevin and his team. Looking for the ultimate guide to passive investing? Grab a copy of my latest book, The Cash Flow Investor at KevinBupp.com. Tap into a wealth of free information on Commercial Real Estate Investing by listening to past podcast episodes at KevinBupp.com/Podcast. 00:00 WHAT to Build 05:46 New City? Find This Person 08:05 Where Deals Get "Stuck" 14:14 Starting in THE Hardest Market 18:39 What She's Building Now 21:17 Developing YOUR Community 29:13 $140M Passion Project 35:40 This Mistake Could Have Cost Millions 43:43 Connect with Kristi!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most experienced real estate investors know how to buy buildings, but very few know how to create them or know why so many great projects quietly die before a shovel ever hits the ground.
0:08.8	Today's conversation with experience, developer, and podcast host Christy Kandel is about pulling back the curtain on development.
0:14.9	We're going to talk about zoning, utilities, public-private partnerships, and the real reasons that project stall.
0:20.3	We're also going to cover why development can actually reduce risk in today's market,
0:24.0	where investors get burned by sequencing mistakes,
0:26.9	and how Christie is building large-scale, community-driven projects that most operators wouldn't even attempt.
0:32.0	Christie has managed hundreds of projects nationwide, worked on both sides of the municipal table,
0:36.8	and now helps operators move from
0:38.2	a good deal to a buildable reality.
0:40.7	Christy, welcome to the Real Estate Investing for Cashel Podcast.
0:43.3	It's great to have you here with us here today.
0:44.9	And so we'll love to kind of kick it off here, you know, and talk about your world a little
0:50.4	bit.
0:50.6	I know that you've spent now many, many years inside the development space,
0:56.3	you know, dealing with zoning, utilities, municipalities, and just, you know, I'd say projects
1:02.1	that most investors never really see past the surface of. And so, you know, our listener base,
1:07.5	I would say that a lot of our shows really revolve around, you know, acquisitions of
1:12.0	existing product. You know, you'll name your asset class, but existing products, not necessarily
1:16.1	ground up development. The ground of development is something that we just really haven't touched
1:20.4	on that much over the years we've been doing the show. And so for the listeners that maybe no
1:24.3	existing acquisitions, but not development very deeply. I guess what's the real
1:30.3	work that you do that unlocks, you know, the real value? Development in general is just finding
	...

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