New York’s 15 Biggest Real Estate Machers of the Year
The Editors, Observer.com
New York City is a real estate town, meaning the people who help shape it are some of the most important in the city. After 2009, one of the worst years for the industry in memory, 2010 has been surprisingly active, even if a lot of that activity involved deals unwinding. Oh well! 2011 will be better.
Meanwhile, we bring you New York's 15 Biggest Real Estate Machers. >>
15. Fredrik Eklund
The scion of Swedish royalty, Eklund was outed by The Times as a gay porn star in a recent Styles profile. That only upped the cache of this broker to the stars — Justin Timberlake, Jessica Alba and Daniel Craig are clients — who is going in front of the camera himself soon, the star of a new show on Bravo.
14. Walter Mugdan
Director of EPA Region 2, Mugdan was the point man in getting both Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal named Superfund sites this year. He has two long, contentious cleanups ahead of him, but they are desperately needed and will help salve decades of neglect.
13. Tony Malkin
The third-generation developer went toe-to-toe with Vornado over its proposed 15 Penn Plaza, saying he was fighting for the city's skyline. Though he ultimately lost, the Empire State Building's "greening" continues apace, and it and a number of his other buildings have been snapping up leases. Plus there was that whole Mother Teresa thing...
[For complete photos and slideshow visit Observer.com]
12. Serena Boardman
Boardman has landed a number of high-profile listings, including convincing the U.S. Marshals to let her sell Bernie Madoff's former penthouse. The real news, though, is that Boardman has given birth to her first child, a daughter named... Serena. Mazel tov. She'll have her hands full in the coming year. Not being a mommy, but trying to sell a $34 million listing at coveted 834 Fifth as well as Aby Rosen's even bigger listing, the formerly $75 million, now $50 million 22 East 71st Street.
11. Diller Scofidio + Renfro
The city's hottest architects finished the first phase of the High Line last year and Lincoln Center this year. They've come a long way from designing sets for experimental theater, and will soon undertake two museums in California, for Eli Broad and Berkeley, as well as a massive installation at the Hirschhorn in D.C.
10. Tara Stacom
Tara Stacom has a portfolio of more than 11 million square feet of commercial space in the city, yet only 1 million of those really matter. That is the real estate she is selling at 1 World Trade Center. Already the Cushman & Wakefield broker has inked a flashy deal with Conde Nast as well as helping to arrange an equity stake for developer Douglas Durst. The rest should be easy.
[Complete photo slideshow at Observer.com]
9. Gary Barnett
The developer and his Extell Development company have had a string of successes this year, including a fawning profile in New York magazine. There have been a handful of lawsuits, as well, but many of them decided in the developer's favor.
8. Bill Ackman
While rogue investor Bill Ackman did not succeed in his gambit to take over Stuyvesant Town, he did break even on the deal and is still interested in placing a bid to run the complex should it go up for sale. He is now head of Howard Hughes Corp, as well, the General Growth spin-off that controls the South Street Seaport and its imminent redevelopment
[Related on Observer.com: Ten Biggest Game-Changers in Tech]
7. Dolly Lenz
It has been a year of ups and downs for Dolly. Among the Elliman broker's coups was selling the most expensive apartment downtown, even though it was unfinished. She also nabbed Benny Shabtai's coveted if difficult Park Avenue townhouse as well as nailing a number of other seven-figure deals--off hand, she seems to be in the sales lead this year. But not everything has gone well, as she parted ways with the Apthorp over unpaid commissions.
6. Larry Silverstein
It took almost a decade, but Larry Silverstein finally reached a final deal with the Port Authority to finish redevelopment of the World Trade Center this year, even if the timeline for some of the towers remains uncertain. His massive Silver Towers apartment complex on the Far West Side also opened.
5. Patrick Murphy and Ken Meyerson
It hasn't been the best year for commercial real estate in New York, but that doesn't mean there aren't still blockbuster deals to be had. The biggest belongs to this pair, who brought Societe Generale into Bear Stearn's old headquarters at 245 Park Avenue. CBRE colleagues Craig Reicher and Lauren Crowley helped seal the whopper 442,000-square-foot deal.
4. Carrie Chiang
The queen of Corcoran, Chiang has dealt many of the city's top deals this year, including Aby Rosen's manse (once going for nearly $30 million, it sold for half that--a pyrric victory!) and quite possibly William Zeckendorf's record-setting penthouse at his 15 Central Park West, at least that's the rumor. Next on her plate? The still-unsold behemoth at 610 Park Avenue.
3. Bruce Ratner
It has been a banner year for the Brooklyn-based developer. He finally broke ground on the new Nets arena, and while a long haul remains ahead to find financing for the rest of Atlantic Yards, Ratner can take solace in the completion of his Beekman Tower, one of the best buildings of the year.
2. Janette Sadik-Khan
The city's progressive transportation commissioner has had her biggest year yet. The city announced it was keeping the Times Square plazas in February, and has since added similar spaces to Columbus Circle and Union Square, completing the reengineering of Broadway. Bike lanes have continued to proliferate, though not without a noticeable backlash. Vive le street.
1. Sharif El-Gamal
The Brooklyn-born developer had done a few small deals before taking on 47-51 Park Place, better known as Park51 or, infamously, "The Ground Zero Mosque." Even actual progress at the World Trade Center site failed to draw as much attention as the former Burlington Coat Factory building that wanted to become a falafel-serving Y. The hubbub has died down, but the project is still far from assured. Still, it was the boldest move of any this year.
Also on Observer.com
New York's Most Eye-Popping Buildings of 2010
Biggest Real Estate Deals in New York City in 2010
Photos:
Top: Tara Stacom (Katie Khouri/NY Observer)
Middle: April 25, 2006 file photo of Larry Silvestein (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Bottom: Bruce Ratner, New Jersey Nets Chairman and principal owner, and President and CEO of Forest City Ratner companies, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
