Frederick Elghanayan, co-founder of TF Cornerstone

From the December issue: TF Cornerstone — the real estate firm formed by two of the three Elghanayan brothers who ran the Rockrose Development Corp. before it split up earlier this year — has a strong head start on other companies launching in this climate. The firm kept 15 properties from Rockrose’s portfolio, including 505 West 37th Street, whose 837 units are set to be completed in January. The company gets its initials from the two brothers, Tom (the chairman) and Frederick (the president), at its helm. While the original empire that the three Elghanayans created may now be defunct, the empires of the ancient world, as depicted in stone busts and art books, are intact in Frederick’s office at 290 Park Avenue South. (See his desk after the jump.)  More

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From the December issue: Rental projects were long considered bulletproof, a safe backup for
more profitable and risky condos. But with the precipitous drop in New
York City rents — perhaps on the order of 30 percent from the top of
the market once incentives are factored in — it’s clear that they are
no longer a surefire bet.
“Nobody who’s got anything under construction is kidding anybody by
not admitting that rents are less than where they were when we all
underwrote these transactions,” said Veronica Hackett, cofounder and
managing partner of the Clarett Group, a developer of condos and
rentals that began leasing at the 490-unit Brooklyner at 111 Lawrence
Street in Downtown Brooklyn a month ago.

Hunter’s Point (Source: NYC Economic Development Corp.)

The city took possession of 30 acres of western Queens riverfront
property this month where it is creating plans to build the city’s
largest middle-income housing project since the 1970s, known as Hunters
Point South. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the state’s Empire
State Development transferred the property May 20 to the city, Lisa
Willner, a spokesperson for the state development agency, said. The
transfer was in two parts, with 24 acres being transferred to a city
agency that was not immediately identified, and six acres to the city’s
Economic Development Corporation (EDC), said Andrew Brent, a spokesperson
for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The city will take title to the EDC
properties soon, he said. Port Authority spokesperson Steve Coleman put the sales tag at $100 million for the 30 acres. [more]