Focus on Developers

Keeping Tabs on the Developers

Following the moves of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut developers reveals a dynamic real estate market. We created snapshots from a survey that building developers responded to last fall and from other primary sources.

by Alex Padalka

American Development Group, LLC, West Hempstead, N.Y.
Principals: Perry Finkelman, president; Gary Griggs, vice president, design and construction
The condominium and rental unit developer manages its own construction but taps outside designers, favoring Kushner Studios and Reuben Gross Architects. It recently completed Park South Lofts, a 40-unit residential conversion on E. 30th St. in Manhattan. In the pipeline are the 27-story 6507 Seabreeze in Brooklyn and an 18-story Upper East Side conversion. It reported a portfolio value of $800 million.

Applied Development Company, Inc., Hoboken, N.J.
Principal: David Barry, president
Founded in 1970, Applied is all over New Jersey's waterfront. It built Port Liberté, a 1,650-unit condominium complex in Jersey City, and the Shipyard, a 1,160-unit complex in Hoboken with retail and a ferry stop. It plans to add to a residential and commercial portfolio of more than $1 billion with HarborSpire, a 55-story rental complex in Jersey City, and Hoboken's 25-story W Hotel. (http://appliedco.com)

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AvalonBay Communities, Inc., Alexandria, Va.
Principals: Bryce Blair, chairman, CEO; Timothy Naughton, president; Fredrick Harris, senior vice president of development, New York
Active in ten states, AvalonBay builds multifamily housing in New York, typically outsourcing design but handling its own construction management. Last year, the firm completed Avalon Chrystie Place, a 361-unit mixed-income rental building on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and it began work on a second building there. It also completed the first phase of 300- to 600-unit projects in Queens, Long Island, and Westchester County. Its pipeline includes a 600-unit high-rise in Long Island City and a 588-unit tower in New Rochelle. It reported 2004 revenues of $648.5 million. (www.avalonbay.com)

ATCO Properties and Management, Inc., New York
Principals: H. Dale Hemmerdinger, president; Peter DiCapua, COO; Kate Hemmerdinger-Goodman, senior vice president; Damon Hemmerdinger, senior vice president and principal of A&Co., LLC
Founded in 1922, the family-owned Atco develops and manages construction for its office, residential, and retail properties, and at times it also handles design. It recently converted a Thomas' English Muffins bakery into the 226,000-sq.-ft. Totowa Business Center in New Jersey and is developing the Shops at Atlas Park, a 12-acre, 400,000-sq.-ft., mixed-use project around a 2.5-acre park in Queens on land that the Hemmerdingers have owned for 85 years. (www.atco555.com)

Boston Properties, Boston
Principals: Edward Linde, president, CEO; Robert Selsam, senior vice president, New York regional manager
A real estate investment trust that handles development, acquisition, and property management, Boston Properties focuses on Class-A office space and hotels at its development hubs in five markets nationally - Midtown Manhattan and Princeton, N.J., along with Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Among its flagship properties is the Citicorp Building, the famous 1977 angled-roof tower now known as Citigroup Center, which it acquired in 2001. The firm's most recent New York developments are the 1.2-million-sq.-ft., 47-story Times Square Tower designed by New York-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and built in 2004, and 5 Times Square, the 1.1-million-sq.-ft., 37-story tower designed by New York-based Kohn, Pedersen, Fox and built in 2002. (www.bostonproperties.com)

Cappelli Enterprises, Valhalla, N.Y.
Principal: Louis Cappelli, president
The development firm's portfolio, which according to the company exceeds $1 billion, includes mixed-use, office, retail, entertainment, and single and multi-family residential projects in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Cappelli has several management design, and construction subsidiaries, including George A. Fuller Construction. It has developed more than 10 million sq. ft., including New Roc City, a 1.2 million-sq.-ft. entertainment center in New Rochelle, N.Y.; the $350 million City Center, a 1.1 million-sq.-ft. entertainment and retail complex, and the 35-story Trump Tower, both in White Plains, N.Y.; and the Summit, a 1.3 million-sq.-ft. corporate park in Mt. Pleasant, N.Y.. The company is currently working on Renaissance Square, a $400 million mixed-use project featuring two glass-enclosed towers in White Plains and has other New York projects planned in New Rochelle, Ossining, and the Catskills region. (www.cappelli-inc.com)

Clarett Group, New York
Principal: Veronica Hackett, managing partner
The group's Clarett Capital joint venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors uses Bovis Lend Lease of New York for construction. It recently completed the Opus, a 22-story condominium tower in Manhattan, and is midway through another, the 64-unit Chelsea House designed by GKV Architects. Next up is the 54-story Sky House in Midtown. (www.clarett.com)

DeMatteis Organizations, Elmont, N.Y.
Principals: Richard DeMatteis, president; Scott DeMatteis, senior executive vice president, CEO; Alan Sullivan and Alfonso DiMeo, executive vice presidents
The family-owned group develops and manages residential, commercial, office, recreational, and school properties, primarily using its Leon D. DeMatteis Construction unit. It recently built Chelsea Tower, a 33-story Manhattan residential project, and Glen Oaks Campus, a 32-acre Queens school complex. It is building Bathgate High School and P.S./I.S. 189 in the Bronx, I.S./H.S. 43 in Staten Island, and Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts in Queens. It is planning a 34-story residential tower containing a New York City public school as well as a $102 million office building for the U.S. General Services Administration in Manhattan. It reported $560 million in assets and projects under development. (www.DeMatteisorg.com)

Dornoch Holdings, LLC, Morristown, N.J.
Principals: Frank Macios and Glen Fishman, co-founders
Founded in 2004, Dornoch's affiliates acquire and reposition underutilized residential and commercial properties in New York and New Jersey. It is planning a phased redevelopment in Paterson, N.J., with 973 residential units, 60,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and an 83,000-sq.-ft. hotel-conference center. It is also pursuing projects in Rahway and New Brunswick, N.J.

Douglaston Development, New York
Principal: Jeffrey Levine
The firm develops residential properties in New York, managing construction through its Levine Builders arm. In Manhattan, it is building 325 Fifth Ave., a 50-story, 250-unit condominium tower near the Empire State Building. It finished 555 W. 23rd St., a 336-unit rental building, last year. (www.douglastondevelopment.com)

Durst Organization, New York
Principals: Douglas and Jody Durst, co-presidents
Founded in 1915, the family-owned firm develops, owns, and manages Manhattan real estate properties, especially on Third and Sixth avenues. It recently built the 600-unit Helena, a 38-story "green" residential tower. With Bank of America, Durst is co-developing One Bryant Park, a 2.1-million-sq.-ft. office tower in Midtown designed by Cook + Fox Architects.

Elad Properties, New York
Principals: Miki Naftali, president; Yoel Shargian, Yehuda Mor, and Jay Jameson, vice presidents, construction
Mainly a residential developer, Elad favors Gal Nauer Architects. In Manhattan, it recently completed 21 Astor Place, is redeveloping part of the Plaza Hotel into condominiums, and is planning the Link, a 42-story residential tower. Its portfolio tops $2 billion. (www.eladproperties.com)

Extell Development Co., New York
Principal: Gary Barnett
Known until last year as Intell Management and Investment, Extell quietly takes on high-profile projects. With the Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C., it paid an Asian investor group and Donald Trump $1.76 billion for 77 acres of the Riverside South development on Manhattan's West Side last year. After selling three existing residential towers, it can develop 10 more on the site. In Manhattan, it is co-developing the 60-story Orion condominium tower at 350 W. 42nd St with Carlyle, and developing the 31-story 2633 Broadway, where a building collapse during demolition made headlines last year. It also recently bought the eastern blockfront of 10th Ave. between 30th and 31st streets in Manhattan for $23 million. Its biggest splash was a failed $150 million bid for the Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn.

Forest City Ratner Cos., Brooklyn
Principals: Bruce Ratner, president, CEO; MaryAnne Gilmartin, executive vice president (EVP), commercial development and leasing; Jim Stuckey, EVP, commercial and residential development; Bob Sanna, EVP, design and construction
The Brooklyn-based unit of publicly owned Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland has completed 35 projects in the last 15 years totaling 12.5 million sq. ft. It develops for its own portfolio and with partners, sometimes using its FCR Construction Services division. Its portfolio includes Brooklyn's $1.5 billion MetroTech Center office complex and the Atlantic Terminal retail-office center. It is co-developing the 53-story New York Times headquarters rising near Times Square. Its development pipeline includes the planned $3.5 billion Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards community in Brooklyn that would include high-rises and a basketball arena; Beekman Tower, a 75-story mixed-use building in Lower Manhattan slated to start this year; and a mixed-use retail complex called Ridge Hill Village Center in Yonkers, N.Y. Its value of completed development is $3 billion, and it has $4 billion planned. (www.fcrc.com)

Gladstein Development Group, LLC, New York
Principal: Jane Gladstein, president
Jane Gladstein, also a principal at Metropolitan Housing Partners, develops residential properties with partners and uses outside construction managers and designers, favoring Handel Architects, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, and Ettinger Engineering. The firm is developing a 10-story residential conversion in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens and the new 11-story 255 Hudson in Manhattan's West Village. It reports a portfolio value of $540 million. (www.gladsteindevelopmentgroup.com)

Glenwood Management, New York
Principals: Leonard Litwin, principal Gary Jacob, executive vice president
The high-end Manhattan rental apartment developer manages some construction in house. In 2005, it completed Liberty Plaza, a 45-story Lower Manhattan residential tower, tapping $95 million in Liberty Bonds. (www.glenwoodnyc.com)

GPG Equities, New York
Principal: Mario Procida, president, CEO
Formed in 2002, the firm consists of Procida Realty & Construction, Second Development Services, and Gordon Group Holdings. It develops and manages construction on residential and retail projects, such as a 99-unit condominium building recently completed at 53 Boerum Pl. in Brooklyn. It is constructing a 149-unit residential complex on W. 47th St. in Manhattan and hired Richard Meier to design One Prospect Park, a 15-story, 200,000-sq.-ft. residential complex in Brooklyn. (www.procidarealty.com)

Hannah Real Estate Investors, Stamford, Conn.
Principals: Seth Weinstein, principal; Jennifer Triano, vice president, operations
Hannah outsources construction management and design services as it develops residential, office, hotel, and mixed-use projects, primarily on Connecticut waterfront and brownfields. Partnering with Clearview Investment Management, it redeveloped a brownfield in Stonington into Stonington Commons, a mixed-use condominium community. Condominiums in development include the 60-unit Adams Mill River House and the 144-unit Glen View House, both in Stamford. Hannah reported more than $150 million in projects under development. (www.HannahRealEstateInvestors.com)

Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc., Secaucus, N.J.
Principals: Leonard Stern, chairman, CEO; Emanuel Stern, president, COO
Predominantly building and managing construction on commercial projects, the firm owns about 200 properties in northern New Jersey and New York. It recently expanded its Harmon Meadow Plaza and Mill Creek Mall office-and-retail complex in Secaucus and is redeveloping a former Ford auto plant in Edison, N.J., into a 1 million-sq.-ft. retail-office-entertainment complex. (www.hartzmountain.com)

J.D. Carlisle Development Corp., New York
Principal: Jules Demchick, president
The residential and retail developer handles its own construction management through MD Carlisle Construction and uses outside designers, ranking New York's Perkins Eastman and Costas Kondylis among its favorites. In Manhattan, it recently completed Morton Square, a $200 million, three-building residential complex in the West Village; the 35-story Penmark on W. 33rd Street; and the Kips Bay Plaza retail complex. It is finishing Cielo, a 27-story Upper East Side condominium tower, and developing >> Centria, a 152-unit condominium building at 18 W. 48th St. It reported a portfolio of completed and planned projects of $3 billion.

Lefrak Organization, New York
Principal: Richard Lefrak, president
The firm has developed hundreds of commercial and residential buildings in the region since 1901, including LeFrak City in Queens and Manhattan's Battery Park City. It has invested $1 billion in Newport in Jersey City, N.J., which has 11 million sq. ft. of office, retail, and residential space so far and at build-out would feature 9,000 living units and 9 million sq. ft. of commercial overall on 600 acres.(www.lefrak.com)

Leviev Boymelgreen, Brooklyn
Principals: Shaya Boymelgreen, Lev Leviev
The partnership of Boymelgreen Developers, Africa Israel Investments, and Leviev Group, a diamond manufacturer, has $1.3 billion in residential and retail properties, including 6 million sq. ft. completed or under construction in New York. It recently topped out 88 Leonard St., a 21-story, 387,000-sq.-ft. residential tower designed by Costas Kondylis, using $120 million in Liberty Bonds. Its other residential buildings in the works are: the 23-story Beacon Tower in Brooklyn; RKO Plaza, a 15-story mixed-use complex in Queens; and Manhattan's 15-story 500 W. 23rd St. (www.levievboymelgreen.com)

Metro Homes, LLC, Hoboken, N.J.
Principals: Dean Geibel, managing partner; Paul Fried, partner
The firm develops mixed-use residential and retail buildings, most recently completing Prospect Hill, an 80-unit complex in Hoboken, N.J. Typically handling construction management through its Commerce Construction arm, the firm selected New York's Bovis Lend Lease to build Trump Plaza, a two-tower $415 million condominium project in Jersey City it is codeveloping with the Trump Organization. It is also planning Esperanza, a 224-unit mixed-use complex in Asbury Park, and Gulls Cove, a 432-unit mixed-use project in Jersey City. The firm reported a portfolio of projects completed and under development topping $800 million. (www.metrohomesllc.com)

Moinian Group, New York
Principals: Joseph Moinian, CEO; David Moinian, partner; Daniel Gohari, leasing director; Elad Dror, residential director
Moinian develops residential, office, and retail projects, employing outside construction managers and design firms. In Manhattan, it recently completed the residential conversion of the 283-unit 20 West St., the 27-story 90 Washington St., and a 47-story residential rental building, the Marc, on the West Side. It is currently working on the Atelier, a 500,000-sq.-ft. condominium building on 42nd St. and 11th Ave. (www.moiniangroup.com)

Northland Investment Corp., Newton, Mass.
Principals: Lawrence Gottesdiener, chairman, CEO; Robert Gatof, president; Mark Consoli, COO
Northland develops residential and commercial projects across New England, primarily with outside construction managers and design firms. Its Hartford 21, a 36-story residential, office, and retail project, is under construction in Hartford, Conn. (www.northland.com)

On the Level Enterprises (Angelo Cosentini and John Carson), New York
The firm is developing Blue, a blue-glass pixilated, multi-angled condominium tower designed by Bernard Tschumi and slated for completion this fall in Manhattan. The outfit has planning and construction management units, specializing in mid-rise residential work, such as Horatio House in Manhattan and Rose Hall in Brooklyn. It reported $150 million in work completed or in development.

RAL Cos. and Affiliates LLC/ RAL Development Services LLC, New York
Principals: Robert Levine, CEO; Vincent Cangelosi, director of development; Stuart Taft, director of acquisitions
RAL develops residential, commercial, and hotel projects for its own account and third parties, also handling design and construction management. In Manhattan, it recently did a gut rehabilitation and conversion of 270 Broadway, a 500,000-sq.-ft. office building, into condominiums, and similar work at 80 Chambers St. The firm was slated to begin converting a 1 million-sq.-ft. building in the planned Brooklyn Bridge Park into 450 condominiums and retail space. It reported $1.4 billion in development. (www.ralcompanies.com)

RFR Holdings LLC, New York
Principals: RFR Holding-Aby Rosen, Michael Fuchs, Jason Brown, Philip Herman, Frank Mangieri; RFR Realty-Mark Granata
The firm primarily develops, restores, and leases office buildings, as well as some residential projects. It completed the façade restoration of Lever House at 390 Park Ave. and repositioned the Seagram Building. RFR uses outside firms for design. Most recently, it developed Park Avenue Place, a 38-story condominium tower in Manhattan, and it is renovating the Gramercy Park Hotel. (www.rfrrealty.com)

Reckson Associates Realty Corp., Melville, N.Y.
Principals: Scott Rechler, president, CEO, chairman; Michael Maturo, executive vice president (EVP), CFO; Philip Waterman III, EVP , chief development officer
Reckson manages and develops Class A office and retail properties, handling its own construction management and design. Last month, it completed a 277,000-sq.-ft. office project in Melville. It is building University Square, a 316,000-sq.-ft. office in Princeton, N.J.; has office and retail projects in the works in Rye Brook, N.Y., and Stamford, Conn.; and has partnered with Charles Wang on a bid to develop 5 million sq. ft. around the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. It reported 2004 revenues of $524 million (www.reckson.com)

Related Cos. L.P., New York
Principals: Stephen Ross, chairman, CEO; Jeff Blau, president
A developer and owner, Related's portfolio exceeds $15 billion in value, including its work on the 2.8 million-sq.-ft. Time Warner Center in Manhattan. Last year, it finished the $50 million Astor Place, a 21-story, 140,000-sq.-ft. condominium tower in Manhattan on the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art campus. In a joint venture with Vornado Realty Trust of New York, it recently won rights to redevelop the Farley U.S. Post Office in Midtown Manhattan into Moynihan Station, which would add or renovate 300,000 sq. ft. for a new rail station, build 850,000 sq. ft. of new commercial space, and include another 1 million sq. ft. of air rights for another building on an adjacent site. (www.related.com).

Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., New York
Principal: Jack Resnick
The family-owned firm has developed, built, or managed more than 5 million sq. ft. of commercial space as well as several thousand residential units in Manhattan. Its most recent development projects are residential properties, such as the Gershwin at 250 West 50th St., completed in 1998, and 200 Chambers Street, a 30-story condominium tower designed by New York-based Costas Kondylis and Partners that is currently under construction in Lower Manhattan. (www.resnicknyc.com)

Rudin Management Co., New York
Principals: Jack Rudin, chairman; William Rudin, president; Eric Rudin, Beth Rudin DeWoody, John Gilbert, executive vice presidents
Founded in 1902, the family-owned firm manages 14 office and 22 apartment buildings, developing most through its construction management unit. It works with outside architects and engineers, such as New York-based FXFowle, Jaros, Baum & Bolles, and Severud Associates. It recently completed a $100 million renovation of 32 Ave. of the Americas. (www.rudin.com)

Silverstein Properties, New York
Principal: Larry Silverstein, president, CEO
The firm has developed, owned, and managed more than 20 million sq. ft. of office, residential, and retail space - half in its purchase of the World Trade Center weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Now, it is building the 52-story 7 World Trade Center. Its pipeline has 10 million sq. ft. of office space for the new World Trade Center and the 1.8-million-sq.-ft. River Place residential complex in Manhattan. (www.silversteinproperties.com)

Swig Equities LLC, New York
Principals: Kent Swig, president; Paul Sygrove, executive vice president, director of investments
The development and management firm's roster of $1.6 billion in office and residential properties includes the purchase and renovation of four Manhattan office buildings: the 36-story, 400,000-sq.-ft. 80 Broad Street; 34-story, 324,000-sq.-ft. 48 Wall Street; 350,000-sq.-ft. 44 Wall Street; and 320,000-sq.-ft. 5 Hanover Square. Its Falcon Pacific Construction affiliate oversees construction efforts.

Thor Equities, New York
Principals: Joseph Sitt, chairman, CEO; Noreen Ehlrich, CFO; Soman Gera, senior vice president, asset management
Founding Thor in 1986, Sitt focused on real estate after divesting from a successful line of women's clothing in 1998. Thor pursues large retail projects in inner cities and "inner-ring" suburbs nationally, and has a retail, office, and residential portfolio of $1.4 billion. It is developing a mixed-use, 60-story tower at Willoughby Square in Brooklyn and assembling a development site in Coney Island to create a lavish resort. (www.thorequities.com)

Tishman Speyer, New York
Principals: Robert Tishman, chairman; Jerry Speyer, president and CEO
Founded in 1978, Tishman Speyer has developed or acquired more than 74 million sq. ft. of property worldwide valued at more than $20 billion. Among its local holdings are New York City landmarks such as the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center. It develops mixed-use, retail, office, and residential projects, and participates in public-private projects through master planning. One of its recently announced assignments is as co-developer with Med-Mac Properties of New York on the redevelopment of a municipal garage site in Queens Plaza into an office complex. It also broke ground in October on Court Square Two, a $290 million, 15-story, 528,000-sq.-ft. tower for Citigroup in the Long Island City section of Queens. The company has in-house design and construction management capability but will hire outside professionals such as Norman Foster, who designed the company's almost completed 46-story, 856,000-sq.-ft. Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan. (www.tishmanspeyer.com)

Trump Organization, New York
Principal: Donald Trump, chairman and president
The owner and developer has a high public profile with notable condominium properties in Manhattan such as Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, and Trump World Tower in Manhattan and office properties such as the 72-story, 1.3-million-sq.-ft. 40 Wall Street, which the company redeveloped in 1998. On several current projects that will bear the Trump name it is not a majority development partner, including two condominium towers nearing completion in the Riverside South development - a $91.2 million, 18-story tower being built by New York-based Bovis Lend Lease and a $125 million, 31-story tower being built by New York-based HRH Construction. A Hong Kong-based investor group is majority partner on those projects. Other buildings Trump is codeveloping include: the $350 million City Center, a 1.1 million-sq.-ft. entertainment and retail complex, and the 35-story Trump Tower condominium tower, both in White Plains, N.Y., partnering with Cappelli Enterprises of Valhalla, N.Y.; and a two-tower $415 million condominium project in Jersey City, N.J., partnering with Metro Homes of Hoboken, N.J. Bovis and HRH work on many Trump projects, as do two New York-based architecture firms - Costas Kondylis and Partners and SLCE. (www.trump.com)

Vornado Realty Trust, New York
Principals: Steven Roth, chairman, CEO; Michael Fascitelli, president, trustee
The publicly traded real estate company owns or manages about 87 million sq. ft. of properties around the country, including 19 office properties comprising 12.9 million sq. ft. in Manhattan. A joint venture between Vornado and the Related Cos. won development rights last year to convert the Farley U.S. Post Office in New York into Moynihan Station, a project that entails construction or renovation of 300,000 sq. ft. for a new rail station, 850,000 sq. ft. for new commercial space, and up to 1 million sq. ft. of air rights to build on an adjacent site. (www.vno.com)

Westminster Communities, LLC, Florham Park, N.J.
Principals: Jeffrey Freireich, managing director, Sam Gershwin, president
The Kushner Cos. unit handles site selection, planning, development, and construction for mixed-use redevelopments in New Jersey and New York. In New Jersey, it is building: the $600 million Landings at HarborSide in Perth Amboy, with 2,100 residential units and 150,000 sq. ft. of retail space; Wesley Grove, a 750-unit residential and retail complex in Asbury Park; and similar projects in Atlantic City, East Brunswick, and Cranford. (www.westminstercommunities.com)

Zeckendorf Development, LLC, New York
Principals: William Zeckendorf, owner, founder, co-chairman; Arthur Zeckendorf, owner, co-chairman
Descendants of a real estate development family active since the early 1900s, the firm's development activity slowed after 1995, when it opened the Millennium Tower, a 75-unit condominium completed in 1995 in partnership with Sumitomo Real Estate Sales and Goldman Sachs & Co. in Manhattan. Last year, the Zeckendorfs broke ground on 15 Central Park West, a $1 billion residential project on the site of the former Mayflower Hotel north of Columbus Circle, a block-wide tract assembled by a previous owner over a 30-year period. The Robert A.M. Stern-designed building, scheduled for completion in the spring of 2007, will include 20- and 43-story wings.