JDS Development Group

JDS Development Group is a privately held New York City-based real estate development and acquisition firm. The firm was founded in 2002 by Michael Stern and specializes in luxury residential, hospitality and mixed-use projects and has more than 7 million square feet of property under development.

Among its projects are 111 West 57th Street, 626 First Avenue and the record-setting Walker Tower in Chelsea (where a sold penthouse clocked in at more than $50 million).

JDS has had clashes with unions in recent years, even being used as a poster child for irresponsible practices in 2015 by New York City laborer unions over its use of non-union labor in erecting one of the city's tallest towers, located at 111 West 57th Street. The 1,428 foot Billionaires' Row supertall also known as Steinway Tower topped out in 2019.

JDS also has focused across the East River, building or buying smaller-scale residential and mixed-use properties in Brooklyn and partnering with the Chetrit Group on larger-scale projects in that borough. The firm built the Monad Terrace and Echo Brickell in Miami, and is also developing the mixed-use 1 Southside Park project in Miami's South Beach, including a hotel, office space, commercial space, residential units, parking spaces and a refurbished Southside Park and fire station.