Sky's the Limit - Crain's New York Business

ADVERTIS ING SUPPLEMENT TO CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS

Sky’s the Limitt h e

to Celebrate Top Real Estate Pros at Annual Banquet

This past year was an exciting one for New York

City real estate. The NYC residential sales market

hit a record high, with the value of all completed

home sales transactions reaching $13.6 billion in

the third quarter of 2016, according to the 2016

Statistical Abstract published by the Real Estate Board of New York

(REBNY). The average sales price for a home in the third quarter

was $1,018,000. And the action was not confined to Manhattan;

both the Bronx and Staten Island saw a significant increase in sales

activity, and Brooklyn and Queens also posted gains.

There were some bumps. Manhattan retail leasing saw an

adjustment after record asking rents in 2015, and investment

sales settled in New York City in the first half of 2016, following

accelerated activity in the first half of 2015. Broker confidence

in the current market and the market six months from now has

dipped, according to REBNY’s Broker Confidence Index, conducted

after the third quarter of 2016.

Nonetheless, New York City’s real estate contributed $20.4 billion

to locally generated tax revenue in the city in 2016, up 24.4% from

fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2016.

Sparking all of the activity are the city’s real estate professionals.

On Jan. 19, at its 121st Annual Banquet, REBNY will present seven

awards to the movers and shakers who have had a powerful impact

on the city’s real estate and are shaping the future of New York. For

more insight to REBNY and the winners of the awards, read on.

I D E A S I N T O A C T I O N

Member

Real estate is a powerful asset. It helps define the business of a company.

The spirit of a startup. The values of an investor. We’re 43,000 employees

in over 60 countries, helping our clients put ideas into action in

New York City and around the world. Across industries. Within budgets.

And without fail . What can we do for you? cushmanwakefield.com/action

WE BELIEVE

THE CLIENTGIVES EVERY INVESTMENT PURPOSE.

EVERY PROPERTY A SOUL. EVERY TRANSACTION A PULSE.

Untitled-5 1 1/3/17 4:02 PMCN018143.indd 1 1/6/17 6:43 PM

S1

Sky’s the Limit


Argo .......................................................... S27

Avison Young (1501 Broadway #1) ........ S32



Avison Young (Corporate) ...................... S26

City National Bank ................................... S10

Cushman & Wakefield ............................... S2

Douglas Elliman ....................................... S30

Durst ........................................................... S8

Eastern Consolidated ...............................S18

Emerge 212 ................................................ S5

Feil ..............................................................S21

Fisher Brothers .........................................S16

Handler .....................................................S40

Jack Resnick & Sons ............................... S24

Kamber ..................................................... S38

MacQuesten ............................................. S28

MRP Realty ............................................... S36

NYU SPS ....................................................S12

Princeton International ..................S13 – S14

Rockefeller Group ............................. S6, S20

SAX LLP ..................................................... S11

Sebastian Capital..................................... S22

SL Green ..................................................... S4

Index of Advertisers

Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Advertiser Page

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................... S1

Index of Advertisers ................................... S3

Letter from Publisher ................................ S3

The Year in Review ..................................... S7

Creative Financing ..................................... S9

Continuing Education ............................... S11

Marc Holliday Profile ................................S15

Carl Weisbrod Profile ................................ S17

Bill Dacunto Profile ...................................S19

MaryAnne Gilmartin Profile .................... S23

Peter Riguardi Profile .............................. S25

Lindsay Ornstein Profile .......................... S29

Jed Walentas Profile .................................S31

Building Technology ................................ S35

Sustainability ............................................S37

REBNY Snapshot ......................................S41

Celebrating the Power of New York’s Real Estate CommunityBehind each of New York’s majestic buildings is a unique story. These stories — of architectural creativity, innovation and deal-making — contribute to the city’s uniquely vibrant communities that are a lure for visitors from around the world. I’m often struck by the sight of tourists as they stand in awe in front of a building while taking photos — an important reminder to all of us to stop and appreciate the grandeur of our incredible city before rushing to our next meeting.

Thanks to the dedication and commitment of the real estate professionals throughout the five boroughs, our neighborhoods continue to grow, evolve and thrive – creating new opportunities for New Yorkers to live and work and, yes, play.

We are honored to partner with the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) to celebrate the contributions of the industry and the individuals within it who have had a profound impact on New York. In the coming pages, you’ll learn more about some of the industry’s finest leaders who are being publicly rec-ognized Jan. 19 at REBNY’s 121st Annual Banquet. We congratulate them for their remarkable achievements.

Jill R. Kaplan Vice President and Publisher Crain’s New York Business

S3

NEW YORK CITY’S LARGEST OWNER OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

SOLID TO THE CORE

COM M ERCIAL | RES IDENTIAL | RETAI L | F INANCE

SLG-2370 SL Green REBNY Corporate Ad-2017_Crains_10.875x14.5_V2.indd 1 12/30/16 11:08 AM

CN018137.indd 1 1/6/17 6:30 PM

WORK IN

STYLE

CONTACT USTO SCHEDULE A SHOWING

877.741.0705

REDEFINING REAL ESTATEAt Emerge212, we know that one size or solution does not work for

every business, especially a growing one. Count on us to customize

our fully furnished office space to your needs, so you pay for the space

that fits your business now.

3 COLUMBUS CIRCLE 125 PARK AVENUE 28 WEST 44TH STREET

* Offer based upon market pricing and current availability. Valid on 13 month term only.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of SL Green Realty Corp.

FULLY FURNISHED

FULLY WIRED

FULLY SERVICED

TWO

MONTHS

FREE*

Expires 02/28/17

BY MENTIONING THIS AD

Untitled-4 1 1/3/17 3:59 PMCN018144.indd 1 1/6/17 6:38 PM

www.1271AoA.com

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected] www.1271AoA.com

Timeless Design.Timeless Location.Time for You.

An2icon2of2mid-century2modern2architecture,

12712Avenue2of2the2Americas2has2always2used2design

to2inspire2and2elevate2the2workday.2An2extensive2top-to-

bottom2renovation2will2dramatically2improve2views2and2

light2with2a2new2exterior2façade,2revive2the2plaza,2and2

reimagine2the2lobby’s2bold2design.2

CN018133.indd 1 1/6/17 6:31 PM

Given the hotly contested presidential election in November, 2016 was an eventful one for the country. The

mood of the nation during the campaign affected New York City’s real estate market, by many accounts in the industry. Coupled with what some see as an oversupply of condos, co-ops and hotel rooms in the city, the market saw a slowdown in some areas, according to REBNY’s Statistical Abstract for 2016. Here are some highlights.

The condo and co-op market

Although prices for condos went up, there was less activity in the market than last year. Sales of co-ops and condos in New York City, including Manhattan, dipped slightly from 2015, though 2016 statistics only included the months through September 2016.

However, developer David Ennis, founder of The Daten Group, a New York City commercial and residential developer, noted that when the figures for 2016 are annualized, they could still exceed 2015.

One factor that may be contributing to current trends, according to Ennis, is an oversupply of residential condos. “There isn’t a collection of developers that gets together with the city and says, `Okay, how much housing do we need?’” said Ennis. “It doesn’t work that way. It’s like the herd mentality. Everyone rushes to develop when money is cheap and demand is high.”

“That’s what always causes these short-term fluctuations but the long-term trend of [prices going] up is still in effect and will be for the foreseeable future,” he said. “You need to ride out structural issues that the markets may be facing.” These may include rising interest rates, weaker demand, higher unemployment, or oversupply of product relative to demand, he said.

Michael Romer, managing partner of Romer Debbas, a law firm focused on real estate and other areas, believes the residential market was on hold while the election was being sorted out.

“What we found is post-election, people realized that the world will go on,” said Romer. “Deals were being made. And we really saw an uptick in our business after the election and in the weeks since.”

For 2017, Romer anticipates normalization in local real estate markets. “Price tags are

starting to level off, which is resulting in more deals being made,” said Romer. “Sellers are realizing that there is room for negotiations. Buyers are realizing that, as well. It’s giving the buyers more leverage than they’ve had in the past. And given the number of newly developed condos on the market, we are seeing more and more sponsors and developers starting to make concessions in order to sell units.”

Still, Romer has found that while units priced at $3 million and below are selling on a regular basis, the market north of $3 million has been moving much slower.

Retail leasing

REBNY’s Statistical Abstract shows that average asking rents for retail in Manhattan rose in 2016, with Midtown, the West Side and Upper Manhattan seeing an uptick. However, asking rents dipped sharply on the East Side and declined somewhat in Midtown South.

“It’s a terrible market,” said broker Norman Bobrow, president of Norman Bobrow & Co., a tenant-representative commercial real estate firm. “There’s just not enough people that are shopping in the stores to support the rents the landlords need to get in New York City, other than on the major streets. Those are the only ones that are strong.”

“It’s one thing if you’re asking $50 dollars a foot or $80 a foot,” said Bobrow. “If you’re asking $300 a foot you have to be doing a lot of business to pay those rents—unless that line of tourists comes in.”

Residential housing permits

2016 saw a steep decline in housing permits, according to REBNY’s Statistical Abstract. While they hit 56,248 in New York City in 2015 — a number Michael Slattery, senior vice president for research at REBNY, called “unprecedented,”— that number dipped to 12,293 as of October 2016.

One reason was the expiration of 421-a, a tax break for affordable housing that had been extended until the end of 2015 but has not yet been reinstated.

“When it became a reality [that] it was not going to be back, that sort of stunned the industry,” said residential developer Adam Mermelstein, a principal of Treetop Development. “You saw a sharp decline both in construction starts and land prices. Especially in secondary localized markets within New York City, land prices dropped dramatically.”

The fact that financing became more difficult, as well, contributed to a decline in the condo market, as well—particularly on the “uber-luxury” end, Mermelstein said.

“At the same time, when November came about and there was concrete word on the street that 421-a was going to be back, there was definitely a sense of hope,” said Mermelstein. “Prices started to rebound. You are going to see more land sales and transactions take place in the first quarter of 2017 than we did in 2016.”

The hotel sector

The number of visitors, both from within the U.S. and overseas, has inched up since last year. That has made for a hotel sector where inventory has ticked up to accommodate increased tourism. REBNY’s Statistical Abstract found that upscale and mid-priced hotels are averaging the highest occupancy rates, however, with luxury hotels seeing a decline from 2015. The average daily room rate for luxury hotels was just over $400, with room rates for upscale hotels averaging over $200 and for mid-price hotels just under $200.

Jerry Swartz, the senior partner and founder of HKS Capital Partners, a real estate capital advisory firm, has found financing for hotel deals scarce. “Hotels are on the low end of the wish list of lenders right now,” said Swartz. “It’s very difficult to get them done.”

For completed hotels that have been operating for less than a year, the sources of financing tend to be hedge funds, equity funds or opportunity funds, he said. When hotels have been operating for at least a year, conventional lenders are an option, he says.

Swartz isn’t alone. “In New York City, we are definitely seeing fewer hotel financings,” said Ari Hirt, managing director of debt and equity financing for Mission Capital Advisors, a diversified real estate capital markets solutions firm headquartered in New York City.

One reason is the law of supply and demand. “There was concern about the supply of hotel rooms in New York and about the number of hotels coming online,” said Hirt. “While lenders are concerned about [supply] in New York. I don’t believe they need to be as concerned. New York has always absorbed whatever it has built—apartments, hotels.”

Hotels being built today tend to be affordable hotels, such as Holiday Inns and Hampton Inns, said Slattery. “We’re not building more Waldorf Astorias,” said Slattery.

S7

ADVERTIS ING SUPPLEMENT TO CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESSADVERTIS ING SUPPLEMENT TO CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS

Sky’s the Limit

REBNY Recap: The Year in Review

Douglas Durst

Jonathan Durst

Thank You.We are grateful to the New York brokerage community for your support in helping us lease over 900,000 SF in 2016.

BRANDED CONCEPT DEVELOP-

MENT

James Race

Alexandra Turboff

CAPSTONE REALTY ADVISORS,

INC.

Matthew Kurzban

CBRE

Chris Corrinet

Ramsey Feher

Jared Freede

Paul Haskin

Annette Healey

Nick Hilton

Rocco Laginestra

Meredith Maher

Joseph Mangiacotti

Molly Peters

Zachary Price

Clyde Reetz

Stephen Siegel

Michael Wellen

COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

Peter Simel

THE CORCORAN GROUP

Paul Wexler

Josef Yadgarov

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD, INC.

Richard Bernstein

Andrew Braver

Frank Cento

Connor B. Daugstrup

Robert Eisenberg

Glenn Isaacson

Josh Kuriloff

David Rosenbloom

Justin Royce

Heather Sloan

Tara Stacom

Maria Travlos

Peter Trivelas

Mark Weiss

Barry Zeller

DAVID S. KRISS REALTY

David Kriss

Kevin Schenone

GLEN EQUITIES LTD

Alan Schwartz

GOCHMAN GROUP

Mike Gochman

JLL

Robert Ageloff

Christian Allen

Matthew Astrachan

Erin Grace

Martin Horner

Paul Ferraro

Matt Ogle

Scott Panzer

Bill Peters

Shannon Rzeznikiewicz

Patrick Smith

Derek Trulson

Dan Turkewitz

Deborah van der Hayden

Damla Yerdelini

Corey Zolcinski

KAUFMAN ORGANIZATION

Elliot Warren

LEE & ASSOCIATES

Peter Braus

Richard Kave

Brad Schwarz

JP Sutro

MURRO REALTY

Cosmo Montemurro

NEWMARK GRUBB KNIGHT FRANK

Jordan Brustein

Matthew Leon

OLMSTEAD PROPERTIES

Steven Marvin

RKF

Michael Pastor

Ariel Schuster

Jackie Totolo

SAVILLS STUDLEY

Lance Leighton

Evan Margolin

Richard Schuham

Greg Taubin

SRS REAL ESTATE PARTNERS

Mark Kapnick

TRANSWESTERN

Andrew Hawkins

Rory Murphy

Lindsay Ornstein

Jonathan Tootell

VICUS PARTNERS

Bert Rosenblatt

Leo Russel

Jack Sheresky

WHARTON PROPERTY ADVISORS

David Alperstein

Ruth Colp-Haber

WINICK REALTY

Steven Baker

Ken Hochhauser

Jeff Winick

Durst_REBNY_ThankYou_2017-01-04.indd 2 1/5/17 3:03 PM

CN018124.indd 1 1/6/17 6:40 PM

Sky’s the Limit

Eric Margules, president of real estate investment firm Margules Properties in Manhattan, has found that banks are

getting stricter with their lending requirements for his multifamily, office and retail projects.

“Things that were not a problem a year or two ago are all of a sudden problems,” said Margules, whose deals are typically in the $10-$20 million dollar range. “Banks are looking for deposit relationships, security accounts, any kind of money they can get deposited. They are much more insistent than they used to be.”

Margules is not alone in finding that New York City’s real estate market is changing. Many in the development and financing realms are finding their projects affected by the recent interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve, which raised its federal funds range by .5% to .75% in a unanimous vote Dec. 14. The hike has given rise to an increase in nonbank lending and a slowdown in construction lending. But many anticipate that the recent election of Donald Trump as president may counterbalance this, ushering in a more relaxed regulatory climate and increased mortgage lending.

At the moment, the interest-rate hike is already affecting many in both residential and commercial real estate, with the boroughs outside of Manhattan hit hardest.

Manhattan has in recent years dominated housing starts in New York City and was home to 68% of the value of new construction starts in New York City in the first nine months of 2016, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of construction data from Dodge Data & Analytics. For the five-year period spanning 2011-2015, Brooklyn and Queens were each home to 16% of the value of new construction starts — and the percentages were about the same in 2016. The Bronx accounted for 6% of the value and Staten Island 4%.

David Shorenstein, principal of Silvershore Properties, which invests in multifamily buildings in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, has seen deals taking an extra month to six weeks to close since the increase.

“It’s definitely slower,” said Shorenstein. “Everything is moving at a slower pace. Sometimes the rate will go up in the middle of a deal and delay it.”

To finance acquisitions of vacant buildings in

Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, Shorenstein has been turning to hard-money lenders, rather than banks, securing financing in the 9% to 12% interest rate range. “The only loans you get are high-interest-rate loans where you have to fund the entire business plan at acquisition,” he said.

Similarly, Ari Hirt, managing director of debt and equity financing at Mission Capital Advisors, a diversified real estate capital markets solutions firm headquartered in New York City, has found that on both short-term, floating-rate deals and long-term deals, there has been an increase in interest rates. That has had implications for projects in the area.

“In New York City, we’re seeing a pullback in construction financing,” said Hirt. “There aren’t as many lenders that are lending for new construction. Particularly on the bank side, there has been a reduction in leverage due to regulations but nonbank lenders are filling in some of that space, especially for well-conceived projects with good sponsors.”

The pullback is particularly pronounced, he said, in the construction of higher-end condos. “There is concern about how many buyers there are for high-ticket luxury condos,” said Hirt.

Ayush Kapahi, principal and founding partner of real estate finance firm HKS Capital, has also turned to nonbank lenders, paring them with banks, in the current climate.

“We just closed out a very large construction loan when everyone has been saying over the last 12 months [construction is] dead,” said Kapahi. The $150 million, nonrecourse loan was made to the private developer of a 467-unit,

multifamily rental building in Long Island City. It was one of a number of such loans closed in recent months, he said.

However, the lender, in this case, was not a bank. It was an insurance company—and not the only one active in the market.

“Debt funds are effectively filling the gap where other institutions are having a tough time swallowing a leverage level or when banks believe they have too much exposure in a specific asset class,” said Kapahi.

In what has proved to be a very liquid environment “you don’t know who is going to win what deal, based on their appetite for risk,” Kapahi said.

Not all developers are finding their situation changing, however. “I just closed a $3 million loan at 3.25%. It wasn’t too complicated,” said Mitchel Maidman, president of Townhouse Management, which owns 70 residential and commercial buildings in New York City. The deal was for a 17-unit walkup on the Upper East Side.

And some players on the local real estate market, like Leonard Strindberg, are optimistic about what rising interest rates bode for the city’s real estate market. Strindberg is president of Compass, a Manhattan firm that specializes in the marketing of high-end New York real estate.

“When interest rates rise, they usually indicate a strengthening economy,” said Strindberg. “When you look at the average interest rates, the interest rate for a 30-year mortgage is the equivalent of April 2014—a very strong real estate market. We know real estate markets have done very well with this level of interest rates.”

Strindberg and other observers are also optimistic about what Trump’s policies will mean for New York City real estate. Trump’s transition team has said it will work to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act, which has been blamed by critics for stifling lending. “Regulation may be reduced,” said Strindberg.

According to Strindberg, some of the Dodd-Frank Act have imposed cumbersome requirements that don’t make sense in obtaining a mortgage. “If you open up the ability for people to get mortgages that could be spectacularly effective in boosting first-time home buyers,” he said. “Easing the Dodd-Frank regulations will be a mammoth injection in the real estate market.” Right now, however, many will be waiting to see what Trump does in his first 100 days before predicting what is to come.


S9

* Based on interviews conducted by Greenwich Associates in 2015 with more than 2200 executives at small and mid-sized businesses in California with sales of $1-500 million. CNB results are compared to leading competitors on the following question: How likely are you to recommend [bank] to a friend or colleague?

©2017 CITY NATIONAL BANK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CNB MEMBER FDIC

Call (775) 461-2515 to learn more. cnb.com/referrals

City National is the bankbuilt on client referrals.Top Ranked in Client Referrals.*

Cozette VergariOwner, Vergari & Napolitano Attorneys

Richard MoonOwner,

Richard Moon & Associates CPAs

Referred Cozette to City National

CN018142.indd 1 1/6/17 6:40 PM

With Markets Changing, Developers turn to Creative Financing

Sky’s the Limit

Understanding the mindset of home buyers is essential for local real estate brokers who want to close deals.

The New York Residential Specialist (NYRS) designation program at REBNY helps them do just that, with specialized programming in finance, negotiation, ethics and marketing.

“There is increasing quality of life in this city, and the complexity that comes along with that is immense,” said Jarrod Randolph, co-chair on the executive committee for NYRS and principal of JGR consulting Group, a firm in Chelsea that specializes in luxury residential advisement. At all price ranges, particularly on the high end, “you have to create an intrinsic value without pushing clients,” said Randolph.

The NYRS accreditation program is one of a variety of continuing education programs that REBNY offers to brokers looking to advance in their careers. Others include the New York Commercial Professional

designation, which offers a similar level of programming to commercial members, and Certified Negotiation Expert, Master Certified Negotiation Expert and Certified Buyer Representative.

The Sustainability Boot Camp, a new educational offering launched this past spring, is an energy efficiency and sustainability training program for New York building managers, superintendents, operators and engineers. The program is run in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Building Owners and Managers Association of New York (BOMA NY), and Urban Green Council.

“Energy efficiency and conservation are more important today than ever before,” said John H. Banks, III, REBNY president. “That’s why ensuring that all of our building systems run at peak performance is critical.”

In 2017, REBNY will be adding a new educational offering on the topic of agency. “We wanted to ensure understanding and clarity on agency relationships that are created during a real estate transaction, in alignment with the New York State Department of State’s mandated disclosure requirements for buyers and sellers,” said Joseph Barbaccia, senior vice president for brokerage services and education at REBNY.

REBNY will also be continuing a new offering called Public Speaking and Presentation Skills, a six-week non-credit course, in addition to a variety of non-credit seminars with panel discussions and lectures by industry leaders. “The first group of graduates completed the

course and they thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Barbaccia. “The course was designed so our members could enhance their ability to express themselves with confidence, articulate information with clarity and develop skills to speak to large groups.”

Another popular offering REBNY will continue is its How-To Series on its YouTube channel. “It gives a deeper dive on some of the issues facing the industry,” said Barbaccia. “The instructional and educational videos are broken up into bite-sized segments, ideal for brokers on the go. This series is also offered as a podcast that is available to iPhone users.”

Hundreds of real estate professionals take REBNY’s courses annually, said Barbaccia. Randolph himself took the NYRS course at REBNY six years ago, before assuming his leadership role at REBNY. He was surprised by the power of the nine-week accreditation program to elevate his career. “It has really helped me to connect with a wider range of brokers,” said Randolph. “It has allowed me to network with the sponsors involved in the program, such as banks, attorneys and insurance agents, to name a few. It has also helped me with clients by serving as a stamp of approval in professionalism and my commitment to the industry.”

S11


REBNY Education: Real Estate Pros Recognize that Knowlege is Power

Job Number: a1617-0609

Product: MS Real Estate/REDevelop COMBO

Size: 10.875” X 14.5”

Bleed: N/A

Color/Space:

Pub/Issue Date: Crains NY - REBNY 1/16/2017

Date 1/10/17

Artist: pw

Proof #: 2

Note:

NYUSPS Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications

New York University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. ©2017 NYU School of Professional Studies.

STUDY REAL ESTATE, IN THE HEART OF THE

GLOBAL REAL ESTATE MARKET

Today’s commercial real estate markets are seeing sustained growth,

but those who pursue careers in this evolving industry, must be able to

anticipate and react to developing trends including demographic shifts,

increased urbanization, new technologies, regional connectivity, and

the demand for sustainability. The NYU School of Professional Studies

Schack Institute of Real Estate offers the MS in Real Estate and the

MS in Real Estate Development, which integrate theory with real-world

practice. Learn directly from seasoned industry veterans in the heart

of NYC—the real estate capital of the world. Extraordinary networking

opportunities, internships at some of the top international firms, and study

away opportunities around the globe, provide the stellar education and the

vision required to ensure your success now and throughout your career.

ATTEND: A Graduate Information Session on Saturday, February 11, 10 a.m.

REGISTER: sps.nyu.edu/graduate-events6b VISIT: sps.nyu.edu/msre1b • sps.nyu.edu/msred1h

CALL: 212-998-7100 REQUEST INFORMATION: sps.nyu.edu/gradinfo6b APPLY TODAY: sps.nyu.edu/applygrad

MS in Real Estate

CONCENTRATIONS:

Finance and Investment

Real Estate Asset Management

MS in Real Estate Development

CONCENTRATIONS:

The Business of Development

Sustainable Development

Global Real Estate

FIND YOUR

FUTURE SELF

WELL-

PREPARED

CN018147.indd 1 1/10/17 4:43 PM

CN018126.indd 1 1/6/17 6:34 PM

ARTIST

RENDERING

Equal Housing Opportunity. The Corcoran Group is a licensed real estate broker located at 660 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10065. All information furnished regarding property for sale or rent or regarding financing is from sources deemed reliable, but Corcoran makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy thereof. All property information is presented subject to errors, omissions, price changes, changed property conditions, and withdrawal of the property from the market, without notice.

Available Through Exclusive Agent

Paul Wexler, Licensed Associate

Real Estate Broker

Office

Email

www.park60medical.com

212.836.1075

[email protected]

110 East 60th Street is a 15-story

building with 155,000 RSF of medical

space.

Infrastructure available to

accommodate Article 28 Compliance.

$20M Capital improvement under way.

princeton.indd 1 1/6/17 1:36 PMCN018135.indd 1 1/6/17 6:35 PM

S15

TIMELESS V IE W, NE W V ISION.

For availability information, please contact:

MARC S. PACKMAN 212.940.6255 CLARK BRIFFEL 212.940.6821 JESSICA KANFER 212.940.6890

FSH-1338 Fisher Brothers 2017 Corporate-4Buildings_Crains_10.875x14.5_v2.indd 1 1/5/17 2:15 PM

CN018125.indd 1 1/6/17 6:36 PM

Sky’s the Limit


Excavation for the one-block develop-ment site at 1 Vanderbilt is complete and vertical steel construction is slated

to start in August, but project developer Marc Holliday is well aware of the considerable work that lies ahead in creating the tallest skyscraper in midtown Manhattan. The proj-ect, located next to Grand Central Terminal, will also introduce $220 million in transit improvements to the area.

“We’ve done much but we still have much to go,” said Holliday, CEO of SL Green Realty Corp., the commercial property firm behind the project.

Holliday, who knows the power of sticking with big pursuits, is not daunted by huge tasks. The assemblage of the parcels took a decade, culminating in SL Green’s full control of the site in 2011.

Holliday hopes the project will serve as a model for others in the city. “It will serve as a blueprint for how the best of commercial development in public-private partnership will proceed in the future,” said Holliday.

Holliday is the recipient of REBNY’s Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award for 2016. “I’m very honored to be able to accept it on behalf of myself and SL Green,” he said.

Holliday joined SL Green nearly 20 years ago as chief investment officer. He rose to CEO in 2004 and has since led the firm to become New York City’s largest commercial landlord, with investment interests in more than 50 mil-lion square feet of commercial space.

Unlike many of its competitors, SL Green, traded on NYSE, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). An indication of the firm’s health, it increased its common dividend for the sixth year in a row in December.

“Everything we do in assembling the highest quality, largest, most-profitable portfolio in New York City is done with an eye not toward legacy but toward maximizing share price for share-holders,” said Holliday. “That’s our number one priority. We take all the steps necessary to give us the best chance of achieving that.”

Holliday’s background in finance has helped him succeed. Prior to joining SL Green, he worked at Victory Capital Group, which spe-

cializes in bringing more cost-efficient capital to real estate products throughout the coun-try. “I recognized the opportunity to take my own path and apply emerging capital market techniques to an industry that was slow to adapt,” he said.

Holliday’s strong partnership with Andrew Matthias, president of SL Green, has also been a powerful asset in achieving his goals. “It’s been a great journey for us to have that kind of long-term track record of success together with still so much ahead of us,” said Holliday. “It is something not a lot of partnerships out there in real estate in New York City can match.”

Holliday has faced many challenges in his ca-reer. The biggest, he said, was a project that didn’t come to fruition: It was a failed attempt to obtain the gaming license at Aqueduct racetrack in the late 2000s.

“That was a project that spanned four gover-nors and many years,” said Holliday. “It was a political process that wasn’t always on the levelest playing field. It was a good lesson in what it takes to be successful in the business on projects where business has a tangent with the political process. In that particular situation, we gave it our best shot but came away without the prize.”

Throughout setbacks and victories, SL Green’s team has kept Holliday inspired. The firm has about 300 corporate employees and another 800 who work on its properties.

“One of the great aspects of this firm is coming to work every day with the team that Andrew Mathias and I have assembled, which I do believe is the best, brightest and most ambitious in the New York City market,” said Holliday. “There is an energy in the culture at the firm that really excites me and drives us year after year to grow and improve the port-folio and our tenant base. We never really rest

on our laurels. With every achievement, we look forward to the next avenue of growth.”

Holliday’s father, Morton Holliday, was an im-portant influence on him. He was a managing director of the real estate finance company Sonnenblick-Goldman.

“Clearly, I would say observing my father over the many years was probably the great-est influence in setting myself up to be in an industry I’ve come to love,” said Holliday. “It was in the blood, as it were. I can recall times when I would be sitting in my father’s offices on 6th Avenue, watching him make some big deals with some of the largest owners and lenders doing business at that time. I found that to be extraordinarily exciting.”

When he is not working, Holliday’s passion and second career is in horse breeding and horse racing. “It’s a great diversion for me in my downtime from work,” said Holliday. “It keeps my competitive juices flowing.”

Holliday lives in Scarsdale with his wife Sher-ree—with whom he will be celebrating a 25-year wedding anniversary this year—and their three children. “She’s been an extraordinary partner to me,” said Holliday.

The couple is very active in the nonprofit sector and philanthropy. Holliday is a gov-ernor on the Board of Directors of the New York Racing Association and a member of the Executive Committee of the Real Estate Board of New York and has received the Humanitarian Award for his efforts in support of National Jewish Health. In 2011, he created the Holliday Memorial Fund for Lung Cancer Research, for which he has raised more than $3 million.

In 2014, the Holliday Foundation made a $5 million gift to the Integrated Real Estate at Lehigh program, through which students can minor in real estate. Holliday earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business and finance from Lehigh. In 2009, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation—Holliday earned a Master of Science degree in real estate de-velopment at the university—established the Holliday Professorship of Real Estate Devel-opment, as a result of a gift the couple made to Columbia University.

Holliday has watched the program grow into one of the leading real estate programs in the country. “It offers a holistic view of the devel-opment process, trying to train future leaders in the real estate field to build both profitably and responsibly,” he said. That’s a perspective he tries to bring to SL Green, as well.


Building Skyscrapers Is Hard Work, But This Ambitious Executive Is Undaunted

Marc Holliday | Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award


Carl Weisbrod didn’t intend to pursue a career in city planning. After graduating from New York University School of Law,

he became an attorney at Mobilization for Youth Legal Services on the Upper West Side, rep-resenting low-income New Yorkers and immi-grants seeking housing.

“I was constantly suing the city for things I thought the city could be doing better,” recalled Weisbrod, now director of the New York City Department of City Planning under Mayor de Blasio, and chairman of the New York City Planning Commission.

But Weisbrod’s plans changed after he sued the city and Mayor John Lindsay’s Commis-sioner of Relocation, Amalia V. Betanzos, became a mentor.

“She was an extraordinarily smart, savvy woman who really challenged me to—instead of suing her all the time—join city govern-ment to try to solve the wrongs I saw from the outside,” said Weisbrod.

That advice from Betanzos, who died in 2011, inspired Weisbrod to bring his legal skills to the Department of Relocation during the Lindsay administration—and touched off a long career that has spanned both the public and private sector.

Weisbrod, the recipient of REBNY’s John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award, has played a key role in the administrations of four mayors since Lindsay. Mayor Koch appointed him to lead the city’s efforts to transform a crime-rid-den Times Square and he served as executive director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chairman of the New York City Loft Board in that same era. During that period, Weisbrod also became president of New York State’s 42nd Street Development Project, making the area friendly for tourism.

Weisbrod later became the founding president of the New York City Economic Development Corp. under Mayor David Dinkins. He negotiated the United States Tennis Association’s 99-year lease in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and the transaction that brought Harlem its first major supermarket, a Pathmark on 125th Street.

Under the Bloomberg administration, Weisbrod became a board member of the Trust for Gov-ernors Island —where he was recently appoint-ed chairman—and of the Lower Manhattan

Development Corporation, where he helped to lead the recovery of downtown neighborhoods after the September 11 attacks. He also spent a decade as founding president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the largest business im-provement district in the nation. From 2005 to 2010, Weisbrod was president of the real estate division of Trinity Church.

Asked what it takes to serve the public interest best as a leader, Weisbrod stresses the impor-tance of appreciating the perspectives of the various constituencies involved in key issues.

“Unless you really appreciate and respect all of those points of view and address them on their merits and engage with them on their merits, I don’t think you can be an effective public ser-vant,” said Weisbrod.

In a career that also included forays in pri-vate industry, Weisbrod served as a partner at HR&A Advisors, an urban-development consulting firm, from 2011 through February 2014. In that capacity, he managed the rezon-ing of the Hudson Square area in Manhattan into a hub for creative industries and a loca-tion for new housing.

Weisbrod saw how the private sector could help the public during the city’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s. John Zuccotti was chairman of Olympia & York, which owned the World Financial Center, at the time. When the international firm de-clared bankruptcy, Zuccotti decided to keep its USA operations, based in New York City, from fil-ing. That meant Olympia & York would continue to pay real estate taxes—a significant decision, given that it was then one of the largest taxpay-ers in the city, if not the biggest, Weisbrod said.

“It exemplified John’s ability to be a leader in the public sector and in the private sector,” Weisbrod said. “To me, the act that really demonstrated John’s true commitment to the city was making sure that Olympia & York paid its taxes at a time when it would have been really easy not to.”

Asked what his greatest challenges have been, Weisbrod said the work he did to improve Times Square and his work during the post-9/11 recov-ery are at the top of the list.

However, he believes the work he is doing at the moment to be his most challenging.

“The [city’s] population is at an all-time high,” said Weisbrod. “Crime is at an all-time low. We’re a growing city. How do we continue to grow and revitalize neighborhoods and assure that the people who have lived in those neighborhoods continue to live there? How we do it in a way that embraces both the past and future is really challenging, exciting and tremendously gratify-ing? People are concerned about change and wary of it for good reason.”

Weisbrod lives with his wife, Jody Adams, a retired family court judge, on Governor’s Island. His son Billy, a journalist, lives nearby in Astoria and writes for DebtWire.

One reason he loves Governor’s Island, he said, is its unparalleled views of New York City.

“From Governor’s Island you can see our mag-nificent skyline, Brooklyn, the Statue of Liberty, the harbor,” said Weisbrod. “There are no other views like that just about any place in the world.”

When he is not working, Weisbrod is very active in New York City Outward Bound, where he previously was chairman. He has been involved in the nonprofit, which helps teens learn how to overcome life challenges through outdoor adventures, for more than 40 years. “I’m a great supporter of what they do,” said Weisbrod. “Out-ward Bound has been very, very effective.”

Weisbrod himself tries to go on annual Outward Bound-like trips to remote places. “Getting into nature is tremendously relaxing,” he said. His trips have included rafting down the Grand Canyon and diving in Iceland.

He is also an obsessive Mets fan. “I follow them religiously and have for 50 years or more now,” he said.

But Weisbrod is even more passionate about his work.

“I think of myself as unbelievably fortunate to have the opportunity to do the kinds of things I’ve done and work with the kinds of people I’ve worked with,” s said Weisbrod. “People with whom you work in city government, particularly, are just amazing and don’t get the credit they should get for the extraordinary work they do. It’s a very sophisticated, very competent govern-ment. The citizens of this city are fortunate to have the competent public servants they have.”


Carl Weisbrod | The John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award

Sky’s the Limit

A Dedicated Public Servant Never Tires of Transforming New York

S17

NOBODY CLOSESLIKE WE DO

ONE CONSOLIDATED TEAMWWW.EASTERNCONSOLIDATED.COM

INVESTMENT SALES

RETAIL LEASING

CAPITAL ADVISORY

CN018117.indd 1 1/3/17 3:52 PMCN018132.indd 1 1/6/17 7:27 PM

Sky’s the Limit


One thing many people don’t know about Bill Dacunto, executive vice president of operations at Silverstein Properties, is

that he doesn’t have a resume. In his 30 years at Silverstein Properties, Dacunto said he has never had the desire to look for another job.

“I’ve never thought once about moving on, looking somewhere else,” said Dacunto, the recipient of REBNY’s George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award.

From Dacunto’s point of view, his company has always offered opportunities for professional growth. He has stuck with the firm as it has evolved from a small, mom-and-pop operation into a 360-person, privately-held, full-service real estate development, investment and management powerhouse. As Dacunto rose through the ranks, he gradually became responsible for managing all of the properties in the firm’s portfolio.

“A lot of things have happened in New York and at Silverstein in 30 years,” said Dacunto. “To be part of the company’s growth from where we were when I started to where we are now is a highlight in itself.”

Dacunto may never have started working for Silverstein five years after graduating from the State University of New York at Brockport if it were not for the persuasion of a friend, Pete Kelly, who was employed there at the time. “He talked about what a great place it was to work,” recalled Dacunto. Dacunto joined the firm in 1987, after interviewing for a job in the firm’s operations department.

As Dacunto worked on entry-level code-compliance issues and environmental projects, he understood why his friend had been so enthusiastic. “The department was so dynamic,” he said. “The work was important, and I could see a future in real estate in New York.”

In the course of his work, Dacunto had a chance to work on buildings the firm owned throughout Manhattan, which cemented his excitement about his career choice.

“It was a first-class operation all the way, which was really impressive to me,” he said. “All of the buildings were run in a first-class manner.”

Dacunto also found he thrived in an environ-ment where all departments were involved in the design and construction of each building, with each contributing its unique expertise. “It’s a collaborative effort,” said Dacunto.

Although he has relished his role, it often came with steep challenges. One of the biggest arrived after the firm signed the lease for the World Trade Center in July 2001. “I was going to be the person in charge of operations,” recalled Dacunto.

Two months later, the Sept. 11 attacks changed the course of history and had a deep impact on Silverstein Properties. “It was the most difficult time of my life,” he said.

At the time, Dacunto’s office was in the company’s offices on the 88th floor of the

World Trade Center. As fate would have it, he was not in the office during the attack. He was in the ground floor, at a breakfast meeting in the Marriott. “I had left a number of employees to go to a meeting,” he said. Four employees of the firm did not survive.

As the World Trade Center was rebuilt, Dacunto continued to work with Silverstein’s existing portfolio and was involved in the rebuilding of 7 World Trade Center, which Silverstein owned.

During that period and many others, Dacunto said that Larry Silverstein, chairman of the firm, was an important mentor.

“It might sound corny, but if you think about what he’s gone through, he’s constantly gone forward and progressed, no matter what anyone said or did,” said Dacunto.

After the attacks, Dacunto found himself at Silverstein’s office at 521 Fifth Avenue as 7 World Trade Center was collapsing. “Just to see the strength he had and that he understood what needed to be done was so powerful for me,” Dacunto said.

As Dacunto rose in his field, he won two other REBNY Awards—the John H. Griffin Community Service Award, in 2015, and the Corporate Management Executive of the Year Award, in 2005. Griffin was one of the colleagues who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.

“The John H. Griffin community service award was very emotional for me,” said Dacunto. “John came to work for Silverstein a month before 9/11. John was one of the last people I saw on the 88th floor on 9/11. He was a great guy, involved in community service himself. He got all of the other employees off the floor. John was a good man. To receive the award in his name was a great honor for me.”

Both at work and in his time off, Dacunto is active in charitable activities. He is a founding board member of Donate Eight, a project run by LiveOnNY, an organization that raises awareness of the need to increase organ donation registration, and is on the LiveOnNY Foundation Board of Directors. “Organ donation is an important cause for me,” he said.

He has also established a blood drive for the New York Blood Center and food collection for City Harvest programs throughout the Silverstein Properties portfolio.

Dacunto also has an active family life and enjoys spending time with his wife, Karen, and two children: Kristen, 25, and Andrew, 23. He lives in Massapequa, on Long Island.

When Dacunto has time to dine out, whether with family or business associates, it is often at Gigino Trattoria, a tiny, rustic restaurant on Greenwich Street.

“I’ve never had a bad meal there,” he said. “It’s a low-key place to relax.”

An avid martial arts student for the past nine years, Dacunto is a brown belt who is studying Muay Thai, a type of kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu.

“It’s a great release,” said Dacunto. “There is a discipline factor involved. It’s always good to have discipline. I enjoy the people I train with. I like competing. I want to keep doing it as long as I can.”

Dacunto also recharges by taking in the unobstructed view from his office at 7 World Trade Center. From his window, he has an unobstructed view that spans the George Washington Bridge to the 59th Street Bridge and everything in between.

“I don’t take it for granted,” he said. “I look out there every day.”


Bill Dacunto | The George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award

Bill Dacunto’s Success Secret: Loyalty

S19

RockefellerGroup.com

HIGHLY SELECTIVE

For nearly nine decades, Rockefeller Group has been one of the most trusted names in real estate, committed to selective investment, own-ership and development of premier properties worldwide. Today our projects extend far beyond our legacy in New York, but remain rooted in the same innovation that pioneered large-scale urban mixed-use development.

SELECTIVE premier properties worldwide. Today our projects extend far beyond our legacy in New York, but remain rooted in the same innovation that pioneered large-scale urban mixed-use development.

CN018139.indd 1 1/6/17 4:56 PM

250 PARK AVENUE SOUTH

Tudor RealtyTudor RealtyAndrew Lazarus


Pond5Lee & AssociatesDennis Someck / Justin Myers

Tusk StrategiesThe Square FootJonathan Wasserstrum

Carl HansenCBRE | Michael LaginestraCushman & Wakefield | Justin Royce

DataCoSavills StudleyJarod Stern

Alfa DevelopmentGreen Pond Real EstateDevon Binns

GlobantJLLDeborah van der Heyden / Paul Ferraro / Natalie Touzet

Little Bee BooksColliers International | John PavoneAvison Young | Gerard Picco


mParticleNewmark Grubb Knight FrankDaniel Levine

EDFColliers InternationalAlan Desino / Howard Kaplowitz

7 PENN PLAZA

Gruber Palumberi Raffaele FriedDAK Commercial Realty, LLCDavid Kahane

ComScoreCBRERob Hill / Brian Hay / Cathy Delcoco / Leah Larson-Taylor

Sinel & AssociatesLanscoSteve Kaplan

Goldstick, Weinberger, Feldman& Grossman, PCCushman & WakefieldSimeon Weber

570 LEXINGTON AVENUE

Regency AssociatesNewmark Grubb Knight FrankTodd Hershman / Larry Zuckerman

Sotheby’s Institute of ArtCBREBrad Needleman / Jason Gorman

Blue Road Management, L.P.Cushman & WakefieldDavid W. Berke

Ostrager Chang & BroitmanNeal J. Lerner & Company, Inc.Neal Lerner

Archer Capital East LLCCBRESinclair Li

Levien & Company, Inc.ARG Realty Consultants, Ltd.Alan R. Grossman

THL Credit Advisors LLCSavills StudleyStephen Berliner

261 FIFTH AVENUE

Cult Health LLCCushman & WakefieldJamie Katcher

Bristol AssociatesColliers internationalRob Gallucci

Dan Klores CommunicationsNewmark Grubb Knight FrankGreg Wang

FRED F. FRENCH BUILDING551 5th Avenue

Tata Communications USA, Inc. Colliers internationalPeter Simel

Zamir Equities, Inc.JJ Operating, Inc.Jack Jemal

Signed Pieces, Inc.Kenart Realties, Inc.Brian Biller

New Look New Life, LLCColliers internationalDmitry Levkov

Lutz & Carr, LLPJLLRandy Abend / Shannon Rzeznikiewicz

Maynard Cooper & Gale, PCCushman & WakefieldJames Frederick / Gordon Hough

200 WEST 57TH STREET

Frangella DentalSavills StudleyBrad Wolk / Jared Stern

Bethany Medical Clinic ofNew York, PLLCManhattan Realty ServicesBetty Posner

Daniel Kuhn, M.D., P.C.Newmark Grubb Knight FrankRobin Fisher / Christie Bennett

Advanced Skin Care Day Spa, Inc.Real Property Advisors, Inc.George McCarthy

Valley Physician Services, Inc.Wexler Healthcare PropertiesJosef Yadgarov / Paul Wexler

R & R Wellness, LLCCayenne Realty GroupTetiana Regulina

Principium Psychiatry, PLLCBergson Strategies, LLCPaul Cohen / Ralf Auwaeter

488 MADISON AVENUE

Bonobos GuideshopsRKFJustin Fantasia

Naya MediterraneanZelnik & Co.Adam Langer

841 BROADWAY

Make Up For EverSavills StudleyMarc Shapses / Oliver Petrovic

HiredCushman & WakefieldJamie Katcher / Douglas Regal

Virtual HealthPalatium GroupScott Cooper

853 BROADWAY

Media IQCushman & WakefieldFrank Coco / Owen Hane / Alex Shames

Blue MatrixRice & AssociatesElizabeth Juviler

Multimedia PlusSavills StudleyCraig Lemle / Nick Zarnin

GARDEN CITY CENTER100 Quentin Roosevelt Blvd

Catholic Health System ofLong IslandJLLJoseph Lopresti / Kyle Crennan

Grove Fund ManagementReal Estate StrategiesWayne Steinberg

Universal RobotsColliers InternationalDarren Leiderman

Creative Services Video Opticals Coldwell Banker Commercial AllianceJeff Zund

S&S Tenant’s Corp.Real Estate StrategiesWayne Steinberg

2001 MARCUS AVENUE

Cardiovascular WellnessJLLJoseph Lopresti

MELVILLE SQUARE

CORPORATE CENTER

Merrill LynchCBRERichard Freel / Vince LaManna

RUI Credit ServicesCresa Long IslandRichard Caputi

QUEENS ATRIUM

NYPD/DOTCBREJohn Morrill / Sean Wilson / Mike Lee

HOME DEPOT SHOPPING

CENTER

TargetRipcoJeffrey Howard

A Special Thank You

To the Brokers and TenantsWho Helped

Make 2016 aSuccessful Year!

Owner/Manager :: 7 Penn Plaza, NY, NY 10001

212.563.6557 :: www.feilorg.com

NOTHING BEATS 60 YEARS OF STABILITY.

Member of

CN018141.indd 1 1/6/17 6:37 PM

ROXANA Q GIRAND

[email protected]

(212) 763-3510

WWW.WESTCHESTERCAMPUS.COM

“UNIQUE, BREATHTAKING, INSPIRING”

BIKE TRAILS, FREE WIFI IN COMMON AREAS, OUTDOOR RECREATION, CULTURAL PROGRAMS,

A STATE-OF-THE-ART FITNESS CENTER, CO-WORKING AREAS AND OTHER RESORT-LEVEL AMENITIES.

THE WESTCHESTER URBAN CAMPUS OFFERS AN UNPRECEDENTED WORKPLACE EXPERIENCE

IN ONE OF THE LARGEST CORPORATE CORRIDORS IN THE NORTHEAST.

A NEW WAY OF LEASING OFFICE SPACE IN WESTCHESTER

CN018145.indd 1 1/6/17 6:31 PM

Sky’s the Limit


As president and CEO of Brooklyn-based developer Forest City Ratner Companies, MaryAnne Gilmartin—

recipient of REBNY’s Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership Real Estate Award—has been on the front lines of some of the highest-profile deals in New York City.

When the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center took place in 2001, Forest City Ratner had just closed on the loan for the skyscraper now called New York by Gehry, a 76-story, 867-foot building Frank Gehry designed at 8 Spruce Street, a few blocks away.

“There was panic inside of the company that we had too much real estate exposure,” remembers Gilmartin. Some in the company wanted to limit the height of the building to reduce construction costs.

Although Gilmartin was an advocate of building the tower to its full height, she was tasked with phoning the famous architect to broach the subject of scaling it down.

“New York is in a state of absolute turmoil,” she told Gehry. “We may have to change the height of the building.”

“What can I do to make sure that doesn’t happen, Mary Anne?” she recalls him telling her.

Gilmartin had soon negotiated an arrangement where the developers would not have to pay Gehry his usual royalties for attaching his name to a building.

“I will babysit for the families who live at the top of that building if that’s what it takes for it to keep going,” Gilmartin recalls Gehry telling her.

That conversation enabled the high-profile project to continue as planned. “It turned out to be the best thing we ever did,” said Gilmartin.

New York by Gehry was one of many iconic buildings where Gilmartin has made her mark since joining Forest City Ratner in 1994. She also led the construction of the New York Times headquarters in Manhattan and is overseeing the 22-acre Pacific Park development, formerly known as Atlantic Yards, in Brooklyn. As a result of such projects, Gilmartin has appeared repeatedly on the Crain’s 50 Most Powerful Women list.

For Gilmartin, the deal for the Times building,

first occupied in 2007, was a pivotal one she calls her “breakout project.”

“I was probably thrust into a leadership position beyond my years,” said Gilmartin. “It was a stretch for me to tell Bruce [Ratner, executive chairman of Forest City Ratner] that I really wanted to win this business, which was to be the partner to the Gray Lady, a client that moves every 100 years.”

Ratner, a longtime mentor, supported her effort to chase the business, she recalls. “We were the outlier,” said Gilmartin. “We were the Brooklyn developer. We were not a Park Avenue office developer.”

When Forest City Ratner was finally selected as the developer on Valentine’s Day, 2000, Gilmartin recalled, “It was career-changing for me. It put me in front of amazing people. It created an amazing partnership with the newspaper. It allowed me, inside of my company, to explore new ways of building.”

The controversial 22-acre Pacific Park project, begun in 2007 and opened to its first residents in 2016, was another important milestone for Gilmartin. Now known as Pacific Park, the Brooklyn development includes modular rentals and affordable units, as well as Barclay’s Center, which broke ground in 2010. The project encountered delays because of lawsuits, arguments over eminent domain, and the Great Recession.

But Gilmartin, the senior developer on the project, kept it moving. “I stepped into something that was invigorating, super challenging, controversial and really important,” said Gilmartin. “It was like drinking from a fire hose for a long time.”

Her secret for managing it was to pace herself. “I did what I do best and took it day by day,” she said.

Developing Pacific Park reinforced the importance of believing deeply in what she is doing. “You will be tested and tried and called upon to defend everything you do in a project like that,” Gilmartin said. “I believed in it from day one. I believe the community input and process that got us to where we are today has made it a better project.”

Selling parent company Forest City Enterprise’s stake in Barclay’s Center and the Brooklyn Nets in 2015 was also challenging. The purchaser was Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say when I drive past that building every day I feel super proud,” said Gilmartin. “I have a small sense of longing for not having a piece of the building any longer.”

Nonetheless, Gilmartin adds, “Real estate has to be unemotional. It was for the good of the company. We are focused on building out housing.”

Gilmartin who earned both her undergraduate and master’s degree from Fordham University, didn’t start out intending to become a real estate developer. She began her career in New York City’s Urban Fellows program and worked for seven years in the Public Development Corp., now the city’s Economic Development Corp. When she began her career, she intended to go to law school to fight for the rights of juveniles.

It was the projects she did in the Public Development Corp. that helped her discover her true calling. “I very quickly discovered I had professional real estate development in my veins,” said Gilmartin.

When she is not working, Gilmartin spends much of her time with her family. “My first passion is always my children,” said Gilmartin. She has three: sons Devin, 19—a Crain’s 20 Under 20 who co-founded the sustainable design firm Querencia Studio—and Eidan, 17, and daughter Tess, 13.

They often like to relax at Le Garage, a Vietnamese restaurant in Brooklyn. “It’s really our outpost away from home,” said Gilmartin. “They treat us like family.”

To reboot, Gilmartin turns to Pure Barre classes. “That is where I try to keep my sanity and exercise,” she said.

Recharging is essential in her field, she finds. With any project in New York City, said Gilmartin, “they die three times before they live.”

“You have to learn how to be relentless and live with a great sense of urgency,” said Gilmartin.


MaryAnne Gilmartin | The Bernard H. Mendick Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award

For This Developer, Iconic Deals Are Par for the Course

S23

212.421.1300

resnick.nyc

Behind Every

Successful

Building Owner

is a Host of

Incredibly Talented

Brokers and

Steadfast Tenants.

Jack Resnick & Sons thanks the

following Firms and the Brokers

who represented them, as well

as our existing Tenants that

renewed their commitment to

New York City in 2016.

Galvanize315 Hudson StreetRepresented by:David A. Falk & Jason T. Greenstein,Newmark Grubb Knight Frank

Cornell University255 Greenwich StreetRepresented by:John Cefaly & Michael Burgio, Cushman & Wakefield

The Trustees of Columbia Universityin the City of New York880 Third Avenue

Bed Bath & Beyond250 Hudson StreetRepresented by:Peter Gross & Jim Gross, Douglas Elliman Commercial

East West Bank485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:David L. Levy & Jeffrey Buslik, Adams & Company

City of New York255 Greenwich Street

NetSuite8 West 40th StreetRepresented by:Jonathan Schindler, Cushman & Wakefield

Studio Medicine HC133 East 58th StreetRepresented by:Sherry Patterson, Sherry Patterson Realty Group

SDM Properties485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:John T. Pavone Jr., Colliers International

Gregorys Coffee485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:Benjamin S. Birnbaum, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank

John Jurcisin, DPM & Doris Giraldo, DDS133 East 58th Street

Binder & Binder 485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:Steven B. Strati, CBRE

Kempen & Co880 Third Avenue

Janovic Paint & Decorating Center 170 West 23rd Street

Smooth Medical, PC133 East 58th StreetRepresented by:Kelly Broderick-Smith, Cushman & Wakefield

The Hakimian Organization8 West 40th Street

Allied Sales205 West 57th Street

Robert Kuo315 Hudson Street

Waxing by Grace133 East 58th Street

Interpublic Group of Companies250 Hudson StreetRepresented by:Robert Romano, Jones Lang LaSalle

RAYMOND WEIL Genève 485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:Snezana Anderson & Bernhard Weinstabel, CBRE

ZMC Advisors110 East 59th StreetRepresented by:Alexander Chudnoff, Jones Lang LaSalle

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein250 Hudson StreetRepresented by:David Kleinhandler, CBRE

Bed Bath & Beyond315 Hudson StreetRepresented by:Peter Gross & Jim Gross, Douglas Elliman Commercial

Raymond & Feldman110 East 59th Street

Honors New York Center for Bridge133 East 58th StreetRepresented by:Howard Dolch, The Lansco Corporation

LA Gourmet 110 East 59th Street

Robin Borkowsky, MD133 East 58th Street

Icon Quik Park 422 East 72nd Street

Healthcare Associates in Medicine, PC133 East 58th StreetRepresented by:Paul Wexler & Kathleen Caracappa, Corcoran Wexler Healthcare Properties

Nyca Partners485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:Keith Caggiano, Gary Davies & Roshan Shah, CBRE

Victoria Justin Associates205 West 57th Street

Jay Rohrlich, MD, PC133 East 58th Street

Hudson Practice Management133 East 58th Street

Brookwood Companies485 Madison AvenueRepresented by:Joshua Stein & Steve Hass, Norman Bobrow & Co.

RedCap Valet1755 Broadway

Brial Corporation133 East 58th Street

LAZ Parking199 Water Street

Deena Pegler, DMD, PC133 East 58th Street

RES-1097 Resnick Thank You Ads_Crains_10.25x14_V2.indd 1 1/4/17 2:15 PMCN018136.indd 1 1/11/17 12:43 PM

Sky’s the Limit


One of the most valuable pieces of advice that Peter Riguardi, chairman and president of the New York re-

gion for commercial real estate services and investment management firm JLL, has ever received, came from his father, Edward. Ed-ward, known to some as the “dean of property management in New York,”retired as manag-ing director at Jones Lang LaSalle in the New York Transactions Group.

“He advised me that my reputation was the most important thing—and I should honor it,” said Riguardi, who leads all operations for the company in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Riguardi, the winner of REBNY’s Louis Smad-beck Broker Recognition Award and a mem-ber of the group’s Board of Governors, took his father’s advice seriously. “Every minute of the day I live by that credo,” he said.

Building a stellar reputation has allowed Riguardi to play a leading role in some of the highest profile deals in New York. In 1998 he helped orchestrate the largest leasing transaction in New York City history, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s move into 1,631,166 square feet at 2 Broadway, as part of the tenant representative team. At the time, he was vice chairman and principal of Colliers ABR Inc., which he had helped to form in 1994 as Koeppel Tener Riguardi.

Later, at JLL, which he joined in 2002, he and a team represented Bank of America when it relocated to 1.5 million square feet at One Bryant Park.

Riguardi, who has a BA in marketing and finance from Iona College, started his career at GVA Williams in 1983. “I really enjoyed the people there,” said Riguardi. “There were a lot of personalities and characters. I liked the creativity, the entrepreneurialism and the access to senior people.” He eventually became the youngest senior vice president in the firm’s history.

In 1994, Riguardi was ready for a new chal-lenge and helped form Colliers ABR Inc., where he was vice chairman and principal. He sold the firm and joined JLL in 2002.

“They wanted to develop a business in New York City that was best in class,” recalled

Riguardi. “They basically gave me a white-board and said, `You tell us what you need to do.’ They were very supportive. It was the most entrepreneurial situation I could have entered.”

Along the way, Riguardi was fortunate to have had several mentors. In addition to his father, he said he turned to developer Jerry Speyer, whose firm Tishman Speyer controls the Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Build-ing; and Bill Lewis, managing director and co-chairman of investment banking at Lazard Freres & Co.

“I’ve had some really fortunate relationships in the industry with people who have offered me great advice,” said Riguardi.

In his current role, Riguardi oversees about 2,000 people who work from seven offices in the Tri-State area, including two in New York City. His responsibilities include broad-ening the company’s New York platform by developing key client relationships, leading major projects, maintaining senior real estate industry contacts and political relationships and recruiting new talent.

“We’ve put together a great team of pro-fessionals who respect each other and are really good at what they do,” said Riguardi. “They are market leaders. The more we work together, the bigger the results have been.”

Currently, JLL does about $350 million worth of business in New York City annually, said Riguardi. That number has grown from $10-12 million when he joined the firm.

That growth comes from a number of places, said Riguardi. “We had good people to start with,” he said. “These people have grown and elevated their careers. We’ve also recruited and attracted some really top talent from our

competitors. They have done even better here than before.”

But Riguardi acknowledges there is still work to be done. “One of the places we have not done well and achieved our goal of being top of the market has been our New York invest-ment sales,” he said. The firm has been in the middle of the pack, he acknowledges.

“We’re optimistic to have that business catch up to our other business,” Riguardi said. “Some of our people are moving on. We’re going to try to make some additions to raise us up to being the top two or three in that space.”

As he navigates internal challenges like these, Riguardi is well aware of external ones facing the industry.

“I think the biggest challenge is making sure job growth is consistent with the expansion of the marketplace,” said Riguardi. “We need to have job growth that is on pace with office development.”

Rising interest rates are also a concern. “I think everyone has been managing into it,” he said. “As the rates increase, I think it will have an effect on the pricing of publicly traded real estate stocks. Right now, I think the market can absorb the rate increase.”

Outside of work, Riguardi is active in chari-table activities and is chairman of the Amer-ican Friends of Rabin Medical Center, which supports innovative medical treatments at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center for one million patients per year, among a number of other charitable activities.

“I’m really trying to find more time and places I can make a difference in giving back to the community,” he said.

Riguardi lives with his wife Linda in both New York City and Rumson, N.J. He has four grown sons—Edward, Peter, Nicolas and Alex, and a daughter-in-law Jen who is married to Edward and is the mother of his two granddaughters, Emma and Eleanor.

“My wife and I do spend a lot of our spare time with them,” said Riguardi. “That’s my main focus.”

For vacations, the Riguardis like to escape to Paris or St. Barts.

“When I’m in Paris I love to visit the muse-ums and walk the streets from morning until night,” said Riguardo. “In St. Barts, I don’t like to do anything.” As he well knows, there will be plenty for him to do when he gets back.


Serving High-Profile Clients Comes Naturally To An Influential Broker

S25

Peter Riguardi | The Louis Smadbeck Broker Recognition Award

CN018138.indd 1 1/10/17 3:37 PM

the

MACQUESTEN.COM438 FIFTH AVENUE, PELHAM, NEW YORK 10803 | 914.667.7227

» FULL SERVICE REAL ESTATE

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

» PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY

» CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT COMPANY

» CERTIFIED WOMAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

» LEED CERTIFIED BUILDER

» ENERGY STAR CERTIFIED BUILDER

» SPECIALIZING IN MULTI-FAMILY/

MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS

Van Sinderen Plaza, Brooklyn

Mother Arnetta Crawford Apartments, Bronx

CN018140.indd 1 1/6/17 6:39 PM

JOIN OUR FEBRUARY ARGO UNIVERSITY EVENT

AIRBNB AND YOUR BUILDING

Email [email protected] for more information.

www.Argo.com

Argo Real Estate | 50 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011

What you need to know about Airbnb

and what you can do about it

This is a free event for coop and condo board members.

February 21st

The Hotel Beacon2130 Broadway, New York, NY 10023

6pm to 8pm

Wine and Cheese

CN018122.indd 1 1/10/17 10:55 AM


For Linsday Ornstein, co-leading the New York office of commercial leasing firm Transwestern has provided plenty of

opportunities to put her skills to the test.

Transwestern, which has 2,200 employees in 34 locations around the country, opened its New York office in 2011. Ornstein, who runs the office with Northeast Market Leader Steve Purpura, is a leader in all areas of the business with specific responsibility for overseeing the firm’s branding consulting practice across the Northeast region, including New York City, New Jersey and Boston. She has recently served clients such as JPMorgan Chase; New Balance; Mitsubishi; Advent International; The Children’s Aid Society and The Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty group, as they hunt for office space.

“It’s very entrepreneurial, which suits my personality and my ambitions,” said Ornstein, a Transwestern partner. “To take a storied brand like Transwestern and put our own local stamp on it and our own local spin on what we think the future of real estate brokerage looks like is really important.”

The high-energy winner of REBNY’s Young Real Estate Professional of the Year Award, Ornstein is particularly proud of the New York office’s agency leasing practice, which saw an eight-fold increase last year. “We have huge momentum and velocity on that side of the business,” said Ornstein.

The team’s transactions included securing a 10.5-year lease for Mic, a media site aimed at millennials, which moved to 1 World Trade Center this past summer. The office also negotiated a lease for 34,100 feet of space for Bustle, an online women’s publication, at 315 Park Ave. South, on two floors Credit Suisse previously occupied. In December, Transwestern represented Eurazeo, a French investment firm, in a lease for its first office in the U.S. at 745 Fifth Ave.

Ornstein brings a combination of real estate experience and marketing smarts to her work. Prior to coming on board at Transwestern, Ornstein was principal of Centric Real Estate Advisors, a boutique tenant representation brokerage, consultancy and advisory firm. She started her career in real estate at The Staubach Company in 2003, where she was initially director of marketing and later became a broker.

Before that, Ornstein worked in the tech sector,

founding and managing Ads On Tags, a new advertising medium, and serving as marketing director for Camdens, an ecommerce firm. Early in her career, she was an associate at the public relations firm Nike Communications. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and top of her class as a communications major at the University of Pennsylvania.

One thing that drew Ornstein to Transwestern is its culture, shaped by an unusual compensation model. In a traditional brokerage model, brokers are paid on commission. No so at Transwestern. When Transwestern gets paid by clients, Ornstein explains, the revenue goes into a single bucket, which gets divided up and paid out via

bonuses at year’s end. That means all team members are incentivized to work together.

“It’s entirely different from the way all the other brokerage shops run,” she said. “We’re one team. There are no silos. We all work together collaboratively.”

Helping to shape the culture of the New York office has been important to Ornstein. It recently won the number one spot in the Crain’s Best Places to Work ranking. “That is hugely meaningful for me,” said Ornstein. “It speaks to the culture we’ve built.”

Ornstein also takes pride in serving the nonprofit sector. Finding space for nonprofits in New York City can be challenging, given the cost of leasing. However, Ornstein said there is a solution for everyone. The key, she has found, is tuning into a client’s needs.

“It’s understanding what motivates the nonprofit and their board and the constituency they serve, and finding the right balance—always mindful of budget,” she said.

Whether serving private-sector clients or nonprofits, Ornstein tries to bring her expertise

in marketing to her work. In her tenant advisory role, for instance, she focuses on branding and space design. And in her agency leasing role, she develops the strategy and marketing approach for her assignments.

“Given that marketing and branding is such a huge part of my background and what I enjoy, bringing that into my real estate practice has been hugely beneficial, both for my clients and for my own satisfaction,” she said.

Ornstein juggles her career with a busy personal life. She resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband Gus and their three children: Maya, 10; Zoe, 7, and Remy, 2. Her secret to juggling it all is organization. “I pack 36 hours into 24, every day,” said Ornstein.

The family spends considerable time on sports and outdoor activities, from tennis to hiking. Gus, a former pro football player, played for teams including the New York Jets—and also played first base for the Yankees. He is now athletic director of Fieldston School.

One of Ornstein’s favorite ways to relax is hiking through local parks. “We like to explore the parks around New York City a lot,” said Ornstein. “We go to Riverside Park, Central Park and Palisades Park in New Jersey.”

For vacations, the Ornsteins like to go to Mexico every year and are skiing buffs. “If there’s any reason to go out West, I’ll go,” said Ornstein.

Ornstein, who started the women’s varsity golf team at University of Pennsylvania, also plays in many charitable golf tournaments. But given her busy schedule, she said, “It’s not nearly as often as I’d like.”

Ornstein spends considerable time on other charitable activities. Since 2005, she has served on the cabinet for Israel Bonds, sold to support Israel; and has been co-chair of the Community Outreach Group at the Mandell School, a New York City private school, since 2009.

She is also chairman of the junior board of Green Chimneys, a nonprofit that provides nature-based therapeutic treatment and education for children with special needs. Through the program, she has mentored a young girl for 15 years.

She is also the incoming chair of the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association of New York, which often gets involved in charitable projects around the city. This past Thanksgiving, as part of that involvement, Ornstein’s family cooked for people in need. “My two-year-old was washing potatoes,” said Ornstein. “It was a great day.”


Linsday Ornstein | The Young Real Estate Professional of the Year Award

Sky’s the Limit

A Rising Star Helps Transwestern Make Its Mark on New York

S29

Exclusive Leasing Agent:

FAITH HOPE CONSOLO [email protected]

212.418.2020

345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth Avenue345 Fifth AvenueDirectly Facing the Main Entrance to the

Empire State Building

www.faith-consolo.com www.elliman.com

5,565 SF Ground Floor with 60’ Frontage on Fifth Avenue.

Space can be divided or extended vertically to the second and third fl oors.

345fifth.com

39117 Crains NY Business10.25x14.indd 1 1/10/17 2:20 PMCN018131.indd 1 1/10/17 3:38 PM

Sky’s the Limit


J ed Walentas, principal of Two Trees Man-agement Company, attributes his passion for real estate to the fact that his parents

took their work home with them.

His father, self-made billionaire David Walen-tas, founded Brooklyn-based Two Trees, which owns and manages a portfolio it devel-oped that is now worth more than $4 billion, nearly 50 years ago. Its holdings include more than 2,000 apartments, and 3 million square feet of commercial and industrial real estate in New York City, largely in DUMBO. His mother, Jane Walentas, a former art director for Estée Lauder, partnered with her husband in running the family firm.

“When you run a business that affects so many people’s lives, there’s no real ‘being at work’ or ‘not at work,’” said Walentas. “It’s an all-consuming thing. That was the way my parents sort of ran the business. From a very early age, I was completely immersed in it, running around on job sites as a two and three year old.”

The civic inclinations of the Walentas family, who provide grants to neighborhood schools through their Walentas Family Foundation, also rubbed off on Walentas, who is recipient of REBNY’s Kenneth R. Gerrity Humanitarian Award.

“It is what you talk about at dinner,” said Walentas. “It’s what you talk about in the car.” Active in improving public education in New York City, Walentas is also a member of the advisory board of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty group and chairman of the board at Creative Time, which commissions and presents public art projects.

Walentas didn’t work for the family firm immediately after graduating from the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania. He joined the Trump organization. However, when his father en-couraged him to join the family business, he didn’t resist and came on board in 1997.

“It wasn’t so much a conscious decision, really,” Walentas said.

His father soon tasked him with building a 3,000-square-foot office for Two Trees in Dumbo and converting the Clock Tow-er Building, nearby at 1 Main Street, into a 250,000-square-foot building with 124 con-dos. The triplex penthouse went into contract

in June for $18 million, after being on the market for five years.

Those early projects led to bigger ones. Asked which were the most challenging, Walentas rattles off 300 Ashland, near Fort Green’s Academy of Music, “from a pure construc-tion standpoint.” The development at 300 Ashland includes 390 units, among them 90 affordable ones, a cultural center occupied by Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Public Library, and a public plaza. The list also includes the 32-story Mercedes House proj-

ect on the Far West Side of Manhattan “which we built through the recession in 2008”; and the 300-unit Dock Street project at 60 Water St. in DUMBO.

“The first time we tried to get the Dock Street site rezoned, we failed,” he said. “It was a chal-lenge we didn’t meet. That one we screwed up once before we got it right. Dealing with government and communities is always a challenge—in a healthy way.”

The Domino Sugar factory project is one of Walentas’s key priorities at the moment. In 2013, Two Trees acquired the former indus-trial site on the Williamsburg waterfront for $185 million. Walentas plans to convert it into office space and create 2,800 apartments. The development will include a five-acre park, for which construction has already begun. Walentas and his team hope to complete the park by the summer of 2018.

Regardless of the project, Walentas says he and his team keep one big goal in mind.

“We always try to leave neighborhoods better off after our projects were done than before,” he said. “I feel we’ve accomplished that every place we’ve worked. In DUMBO, there’s a very stark contrast to what it was 20 years ago.”

Along the way, Walentas said he has been

helped by a number of mentors, of which chief among them is his father. Bruce Ratner, chairman of Forest City Ratner, and Mary Anne Gilmartin, president and CEO, were also influential in his career, he said.

“They treated us with tremendous respect and decency before we had accomplished much,” he said. “I’ve always remembered and appreciated that.”

Alan Wiener, group head of Wells Fargo Multi-family Capital, who handles financing for Two Trees, has also been a trusted guide, Walen-tas has found.

“He has always treated me like a grownup, probably at times when I didn’t deserve to be, and looked out for us in terms of the things we did,” said Walentas.

Bruce Beal, Jr., president of Related Com-panies, and his team, have also helped him, though they have never worked together on a project. “Those guys have always looked out for me and answered questions and shared their experiences both good and bad,” he said. “They’ve treated me and our broader family here incredibly well.”

Walentas gives back in his own way. Much of his attention, at the moment, is focused on bringing new educational options to local children. The Dock Street project includes a new 300-seat public middle school for science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) studies, which began teaching students in September. “Seeing the school open at Dock Street is one of my proudest moments,” he said.

But Walentas believes there is far more to be done to educate children in the city. He be-comes impassioned when talking about the gaps in education for children from economi-cally disadvantaged families.

“I think it’s the best fundamental economic investment we as a society can make,” said Walentas. “The cost of not educating a kid is almost incalculable. You add up the public health issues, lost productivity, increased rates of incarceration—when you think about all of the real social and economic costs, to me, it will become the civil rights issue of our generation.”

To unwind, he plays golf and tennis and goes skiing.

Then it’s back to New York, where he and his wife, photographer Kate Engelbrecht, are raising two children, Theo, 5, and Filo, 3, in NoHo. “I’m born and raised in New York,” said Walentas. “I love our city.”


Jed Walentas | The Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award

A Real Estate Scion’s Personal Passion: Educating the City’s Young People

S31

AdventurelandDennis Karr | Newmark Grubb Knight Frank

Davenport Theatrical EnterprisesGregory Kraut and Jonathan Cohen | Avison Young

1501 Broadway

The Preferred Home for the Theater Industry

CN018123.indd 1 1/10/17 3:35 PM

Sky’s the Limit


When it comes to improving energy use and the cost of building management of New York’s older

commercial and residential building stock, the choice to renew or rebuild both have their advantages. Updating an older building to 21st-century efficiency requires far fewer resources than razing it and replacing it. New construction, meanwhile, gives builders a blank slate to implement new technology that revolutionizes how buildings perform and how tenants interact with their residences or offices.

Systems now available enable tenants to cus-tomize the temperature in a cubicle, summon an elevator as they park their cars and adjust the lights and music when they enter a room. Building managers can regulate HVAC sys-tems, turn water on and off, shut down a laun-dry room, monitor security cameras and field alerts from tenants, all remotely from an app.

According to Mariel Ibrahamini, co-founder and CEO of Disrupt CRE, an annual conference that showcases new technologies for the real estate industry, managing anything about a building will soon be as easy as using a smartphone.

“More and more, the internal brain of the build-ing is like the operating system of your phone,” she said. “The role of the facilities manager is evolving into more of an IT function.”

Energy efficiency and savings is the goal of many building technology tools, often bring-ing increased productivity as a collateral benefit. A new app from Oakland, Califor-nia-based Comfy, is popular in co-working spaces. It allows each individual to regulate the temperature of his or her own cubicle from a smartphone, eliminating the all-too-common office scenario where half the staff is bundled up against a chill while the other half is peeling off clothing in an overheat-ed conference room. Comfy’s automation system puts an end to the costly raising and lowering of office temperatures.

For residential buildings, Cozy, from Radia-tor Labs in Brooklyn, is a smart slipcover of sorts that harnesses the power of the steam radiator to regulate the temperature in old, overheated apartment buildings. Controlled by an app, the cover, which is placed over the radiator, monitors the level of heat being generated and raises or lowers it accordingly. It boasts of an energy savings of up to 35%.

Crowd Comfort, from Crowd Comfort, Inc. in Boston, provides comprehensive moni-toring in commercial spaces through an app that allows users to troubleshoot from their smartphones. The app gives management real-time notification and photos of problems arising in a building, allowing staff to prioritize and respond accordingly, and saving build-ing owners huge costs on paperwork and manpower. The information allows building managers better control of assets to better serve their tenants.

Data Hoist, in Elgin, Texas, is another com-pany integrating multiple systems for smart buildings. It uses elevator analytics to regu-late elevator availability, troubleshoot, and customize in-elevator advertising. It works on any number of elevators in a building, from one cab to an entire bank, and can be applied across all elevator systems.

San Jose, California-based Cisco Systems’ Digital Ceiling provides site-specific light-ing that takes sensor technology one step further. As it illuminates, Digital Ceiling uses integrated sensors throughout the envi-ronment to gather data and coordinate all

building services via comprehensive apps like Crowd Comfort. Digital Ceiling is designed to be used connectively with building applica-tions across the board.

Daylight dimming gets even more high tech with programmable glass now coming onto the market. Called View Dynamic Glass, it uses an electrochromic metal-oxide coating that reacts with exterior light to filter out sun rays, reduce glare and adjust to cloud cover and nighttime conditions. Developed by View, a company based in Silicon Valley, it has already been successfully incorporated into numerous hospitals, college campuses, com-mercial and government buildings in the U.S. — including a Marine Corps air station and NASA Sustainability Base, both in California.

Such customized control of temperature and light in interior environments will lead to vast reductions in electrical consumption and less strain on the energy grid. But engineers are also coming up with alternative sources of en-

ergy to further reduce reliance on the power grid. One such technology coming down the line in building construction is piezoelectric-ity, which generates electricity in materials like flooring which can then be harvested and used as an auxiliary power source.

Energy saving will also come from buildings that generate their own electricity in oth-er ways, according to Robert Ionna, senior principal and managing director of the New York office of Syska Hennessy, an engineer-ing firm. He predicts individual buildings will eventually generate electricity locally using their own fuel cells. Further energy savings will come from increased reliance on variable refrigerant flow technology which allows for simultaneous heating and cooling through one system. But overall, according to Ionna, the future of smartbuilding management lies in sensor technology that will anticipate what you need before you need it. And, he says, it is not that far in the future.

“Given how fast cellphone technology devel-oped, we are probably only a couple of years away from this really making a stamp on the market,” said Ionna. “When it does, everyone is going to want to do it, to save money.”

And save money it will. Ionna notes that the cost of sensors is now $5 or $10 each, down from $1,000 not too long ago. “It’s just a matter of figuring out the right data points to analyze,” to make buildings overall more comfortable and efficient, he said.

Ibrahamini agrees that broad-stroke, compre-hensive systems applied in smart buildings are the wave of the future.

“When I walk into a building, scan my badge or go through a turnstile, or park my electric car, the building will know when I arrive and the elevator will be there waiting for me,” said Ibrahamini.

The smart-building technology revolution may occur sooner than we think, and for the moment it is being driven not by building managers, but tenants and shareholders. If anything, the transformation to smart buildings is being slowed by entrenched legacy systems that hold buildings hostage to outdated ways of doing things. Ibrahamini predicts owners and developers will come around once they have analyzed the risk and can see the potential return on investment that advanced building technology brings.

“It’s all very new and the normalization of these tools is going to take a long time,” Ibrahimi said. “Education will play a big role, and at the mo-ment people don’t know what’s out there.”


What’s New Now and What’s the Future in Building Management Technology

S35

STACI L. GOODMAN

Associate

(212) 372-2089

[email protected]

BRENT M. OZAROWSKI

Executive Managing Director

(212) 372-2246

[email protected]

BRIAN S. WATERMAN

Vice Chairman

(212) 372-2299

[email protected]

ALEXANDER RADMIN

Associate

(212) 372-2387

[email protected]

FOR LEASING INFORMATION, CONTACT:

At 133 W 52nd, discover a building-within-a-building that’s completely yours

— all 55,000 RSF. It’s the space you need to turn aspiration into innovation.

133west52nd.com

EVERYWHEREYOUR VISION

YOUR LEGACY BEGINS HERE

CN018134.indd 1 1/10/17 3:47 PM


Population density is a constant concern among urban planners, and as New York City hurtles toward the nine-mil-

lion mark, and structures get taller and taller, sustainable building methods are becoming more the norm than the exception, as they once were when programs like the LEED rat-ings system came to the fore back in 2000.

Local building codes grow increasingly strin-gent, calling for more recycled materials in construction, energy-efficient LED lighting and HVAC systems, low-flow toilets, tighter control of water runoff and more exposure to natural light and better air quality for resi-dents and office workers. Courtyards, green roofs and setbacks with lushly landscaped common terraces reinforce the notion that green is good and that we should all do our part to preserve the environment.

And while subway platforms and sidewalks may seem perilously crowded, high density may be best for sustainability, according to architect Dan Kaplan, senior partner, FXFowle Architects.

“It’s pretty clear at this point that concentrat-ing folks in the city to use the shared resources of infrastructure, energy, water and roads has the lightest impact on the environment,” said Kaplan, whose firm designed Circa Central Park, an 11-story mixed-used residential build-ing designed to manage natural light as effi-ciently as possible and maximize park views.

The green-building trend getting the most buzz is “passive house” design. This is a system whereby a structure functions as a hyper-sealed envelope encapsulating a highly stable environment with little variation in temperature. To measure the airtight efficien-cy of the seal, a giant fan either blows air into the home or building, or pulls air out of it, in what is known as a blower-door test. This pin-points the amount and location of air entering and escaping through openings like window and door frames, PTAC units (through-the-wall air conditioners), or cracks in masonry. Whether newly constructed or renovated, the most successful passive house buildings have the lowest level of air loss and therefore the lowest variations in temperature, according to Stas Zakrzewski, founding principal, Zakrze-wski + Hyde Architects, who is also a member of the board of the nonprofit advocacy group New York Passive House.

Less variation in temperature means less fuel consumption—a savings for the environ-ment as well as on an energy bill. Estimates

say passive house criteria add 7 – 8% to the cost of construction, but that is recovered in energy savings over five to six years. Energy consumption can drop by as much as 75 – 80 % per year, noted FXFowle’s Kaplan. It is also cost-effective because property owners are not spending on boilers, radiators or pipes but investing in features like more energy-efficient windows which are increasingly affordable.

For many property owners, it’s not just about energy savings, said Zakrzewski. “Folks who have allergies have fewer of those types of issues in this kind of controlled environment,” he said.

Currently in New York, there is 500,000 square feet of passive house design under construction, and 2.3 million square feet of passive house structures in the design phase, said Zakrzewski. That is up from only 20,000 square feet five years ago, the Zakrzewski said.

The City of New York is a big proponent of passive house desing, issuing numerous RFPs for compliant affordable housing, among other projects. Zakrzewski predicts that blow-er-door testing will be mandated citywide as early as next year.

A dormitory on the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island is also slated to be built un-der passive house design standards. “It is the wave of the future,” said Kaplan.

Another energy-saving trend coming to the fore involves more-efficient use of light and heat from the sun. Increasingly, new build-ings are being oriented to take maximum advantage of sunlight throughout day. Con-structing a building so that it faces the sun at its strongest intensity can reduce reliance on mechanical heating systems, while canny use of design features like vertical sunshades or ordinary blinds can keep a space cool and reduce air-conditioner use. Solar orientation also exploits the use of natural light, likewise saving money on energy.

“Orienting a building to the climate and using the sun wherever possible should be a driver,” said Gunnar Hubbard, principal sustainability

practice leader at Thornton Tomasetti, an engineering consulting firm in New York City. “These aren’t new ideas, there just aren’t enough people doing it.”

If sophisticated products like View Dynamic Glass, which automatically filters sun and glare, are out of reach, Hubbard has a more low-tech suggestion for commercial space, “Put the desks along the window.”

In almost every sector of building mainte-nance and structure, products designed with sustainability in mind are coming down in price, making eco-friendly buildings more ac-cessible to all levels of the market. Matt Palla-dino, project manager for general contractors EW Howell, based in Long Island City, noted how ubiquitous low-flow and dual-flow toilets have become since their prices plummeted. Likewise LED bulbs, the cost of which has dropped by 75%. Palladino credits the public sector with driving the trend by mandating their use.

“Municipalities adopt the standards first then the private sector can ride the coattails to reap the benefits of lower cost and quicker return on investment,” he said.

Incorporating nature into building design is also something of a new standard, whether it be new construction with beautifully orches-trated, landscaped setbacks on multiple floors, or renovations that turn the once-ne-glected roofs of 100-year-old warehouses into green roofs, common areas or vegetable gardens. The purpose is twofold: enhancing quality of life through exposure to green plants while keeping rainwater from becom-ing undesirable runoff that gets discharged across pavements.

At Via Verde, a low-income complex in the Bronx developed by Jonathan Rose Com-panies, residents cultivate vegetables on the roof. Circa Central Park was designed to expose nature to residents by providing views of the park, a large courtyard, a rooftop lounge and three-level outdoor space. In Dan Kaplan’s view, living with access to greenery, daylight and sky is critical to the well-being of city dwellers and key to perpetuating the important notion of sustainability. He called it the architectural mission of our time, which is a unique period in the history civilization.

“In the pre-modern world, humankind was in opposition to the natural world which seemed scary and dangerous,” said Kaplan. “Mod-ernism and the Industrial Revolution were all about conquering the natural world, while the current post-industrial phase is about living in harmony with it.”


Sky’s the Limit

Eco-friendly and Green-building Trends

S37Mitti Liebersohn [email protected]

Arthur [email protected]

Gregory E. [email protected]

Michael [email protected]

James [email protected]

Nathan [email protected]

Exclusive Leasing Agent:

For inquiries regarding units 1,500 – 26,000 rsf please contact:

FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR COMES TO NYC

1ST

NYC BUILDING WITH

PROVEN BREAKTHROUGH

AIR PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

Fresh air means a healthy, happy more productive work environment.

WE ARE PROUD TO BE THE

Kamber Management Company LLC

KAMBER 16-0004 Crains full_10.875x14.5.indd 1 10/24/16 11:33 AMCN018127.indd 1 1/6/17 6:36 PM

westwoodra.com

Steven VeghDirect: 212 335 [email protected]

SOLDManhattan, NY

$39,000,0003 – 6 Story Elevator Bldgs

130 Residential Units135,000 SF

SOLDManhattan, NY

$16,000,0006 Story Elevator Bldg55 Residential Units

58,000 SF

SOLDSOLD

$21,500,000Brooklyn, NY

6 Story Elevator Bldg28 Residential Units

4 Commercial

SOLDBrooklyn, NY


Parking Garage70,000 SF

SOLDBronx, NY

$26,000,0002 - 9 Story Elevator Bldgs

98 Residential UnitsAffordable Housing

95,000 SF

SOLDBrooklyn, NY

$36,000,0003 – 5 Story Elevator Bldgs

144 Residential UnitsHAP Contract125,000 SF

SOLDBronx, NY

$9,075,0003 – 5 Story Walkup Bldgs

76 Residential Units5 Parking Spots

49,000 SF

SOLDSOLD

$9,000,000Bronx, NY

4 – 5 Story Walkup Bldgs57 Residential Units

52,000 SF

SOLDBrooklyn, NY


14 Residential Units3 Commercial

15,000 SF

SOLD Manhattan, NY

$11,450,0005 Story Walkup bldg.41 Residential Units

5 Commercial40,000 SF

SOLDAtlantic City, NJ

$14,650,000251 Residential Units

Garden Style ComplexHAP Contract

SOLDManhattan, NY


136 Residential Units7 Stores

100,000 SF

SOLD Manhattan, NY



SOLDManhattan, NY


58 Residential Units5 Stores

52,000 SF

SOLDBronx, NY


416,000 SF HAP Contract

SOLDRego Park, NY



SOLDBrooklyn, NY

$161,000,0008 Story Office Bldg

Office Redevelopment550,000 SF

SOLDBronx, NY

$140,000,000Portfolio Sale38 Buildings

938 Residential Units24 Commercial

SOLDEast Harlem Portfolio

$347,500,00047 Buildings

1,130 Residential Units51 Commercial

712,500 SF

Some closed transaction in 2016Over $1.5 Billion In Deals

Thank you to all who helped make it happen…

CN018121.indd 1 1/6/17 6:29 PM

MOVING FORWARD

on MANY FRONTS

We are actively seeking to participate in

investment partnerships or acquire

properties for our own account.

Our range of activities include

Ownership

Strategic Acquisitions

Agency Representation

Tenant Representation

Property Management

Handler-re.com

Scott Galin, Principal

646.747.4688

HRE-1145 Handler Corporate 2017 REBNY Crains_10.875x14.5.indd 1 1/4/17 10:45 AM


REBNY SNAPSHOT: NYC REAL ESTATE MARKETA Market In Transition: Changing conditions shape the residential and retail sector

Manhattan Retail Corridors Undergo ShiftAverage asking rent: Available ground floor space only

Fall 2015 vs. Fall 2016

Brooklyn$891

Staten Island$466

Queens$523

Bronx$400

8% 7% 6% 3%

20%Financial District

from $308 to

$369/sq. ft.

8%Columbus Ave.

66th-79th Streetfrom $375 to $403/sq. ft.

5%Fifth Ave.

42nd-49th Street from

$1,203 to $1,259/sq. ft.

S41

-11% Madison Ave.

57th-72nd Streets from $1,613 to $1,433/sq. ft.

-11% West 34th Street:

5th and 7th Avenues from $836 to $745/sq. ft.

-23%Broadway

14th-23rd Streetsfrom $510 to $390/sq. ft.

”The market is really strong for two-, three- and four-bedroom

homes. There are people who see their choices and are making

rational decisions. They are looking at prices and floor plans,

deciding what is best for them and buying.”

— Joseph Cohen, principal and co-founder, East River Partners.

Sky’s the Limit

SOURCE: REBNY 3rd Quarter 2016 New York City Residential Sales Report

$13.6 billionPosted by NYC residential sales market for citywide total consid-eration 3Q16, a new all-time high

12,293The number of housing permits issued through October 2016, down from 56,248 in 2015

-18%Drop in REBNY’s Real Estate Broker Confidence index from 2Q2016 (7.04) to 3Q2016 (5.79)

Avg. price (in thousands)

Manhattan$1,997

24%

11% Growth in Average Residential

Home Sales Price3Q2015 vs. 3Q2016

ST

ILL

RIS

ING

SO

UR

CE

: RE

BN

Y M

anha

ttan

Ret

ail R

epor

t Fal

l 20

16

SOURCE: REBNY Statistical Abstract 2016

SOURCE: REBNY Statistical Abstract 2016

SOURCE: REBNY 3rd Quarter 2016 Broker Confidence Index Report

Documents

Sky's the Limit - Crain's New York Business