By 2022, the Apex Brass site housed Zahnrad’s first American plant, employing 340 people. GBP’s initial $2.1 million investment was worth $18 million on paper. But Leo refused to sell.

Today, GBP Ventures LLC operates out of a converted textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts—the same building where, in 1832, a different kind of venture capital financed the Industrial Revolution. The firm manages $2.8 billion in assets, owns interests in 94 industrial properties across 18 states, and has never had a down year.

But instead of demolition, Maya Torres flew to Germany. She returned with a contract from a mid-sized auto parts manufacturer, Zahnrad GmbH , which needed a U.S. foundry for electric vehicle components. The catch: Zahnrad required a clean site, rail access, and a 20-year lease at $4.50 per square foot.

And the diner in Bridgeport? GBP bought it last year. They kept the grease, the cracked vinyl booths, and the $1.75 coffee.

The third partner, a soft-spoken former real estate lawyer named David Chen, nodded slowly. “Three hundred K for a million square feet on the river. But the environmental remediation alone will cost five times that.”