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Inside JDS Development’s holiday party: PHOTOS
Resi players, developers hobnob at Morimoto for one of the last bashes of the season
It’s one of the last big parties of the real estate holiday calendar before things go dark for the winter break, and it offers “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto’s renowned sea bass. So it’s no surprise that JDS Development Group drew a packed house to its Chelsea bash.
Host Michael Stern systematically circled the party throughout the night, rubbing shoulders with some of the bigwigs of the residential world, including Corcoran Group CEO Pam Liebman, Corcoran Sunshine’s Kelly Mack and Citi Habitats’ Gary Malin. Also in attendance were developers such as DDG’s Joseph McMillan, David Von Spreckelsen of Toll Brothers City Living and a host of prominent brokers: Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund, John Gomes, Vickey Barron and Tal Alexander; JLL’s Aaron Appel; Corcoran’s Tamir Shemesh; and Nest Seekers International’s Ryan Serhant.
Asked how Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing: New York” is going, Serhant said producers are “looking for someone to replace Luis, which is hard. I’m pushing for it to be a girl.”
Malin said the rental market was hurting. “It’s been going on for two years,” he said. Though the mood at the party was festive, some expressed concern about the state of the new development.
Despite the lively crowd, some described a sharp decline in the development pipeline. One broker said he’s going on one new development pitch a month these days instead of one pitch a week, as a result.
Liebman, who annexed a corner on the upper level and held court there for a good part of the evening, said she felt confident about the market heading into the new year. She is planning a trip to China in early 2017 related to her work at Hudson Yards, where Corcoran Sunshine is marketing the Related Companies’ projects Including 520 West 28th Street and 15 Hudson Yards.
She also addressed rumors she’s being primed for a bigger role at NRT, Corcoran’s parent company. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said, noting that she’d also been courted for in-house roles at big development firms. But Corcoran had been her home for over 30 years, she noted, and it would remain so.