UPDATED, 5:35 p.m., Jan. 11: Max Elghanayan, son of TF Cornerstone co-founder Frederick Elghanayan and an heir to one of New York real estate’s biggest empires, died last week at age 30, sources confirmed to The Real Deal.
The cause and manner of death is pending further studies, according to the city’s Medical Examiner’s Office. Representatives for TF Cornerstone declined to comment.
Max was a vice president at the firm, working on megaprojects such as a six-tower development on Long Island City’s waterfront clustered around the neighborhood’s iconic PepsiCo sign. The company bought the 21-acre site from PepsiCo in 2003, and developed over 2,500 rental units and 180 condominiums there. After graduating from Dalton in 2006, Max helped show apartments at the first completed building at the site, 4720 Center Boulevard.
He later graduated from Connecticut College and worked as a sculptor. At TF Cornerstone, he worked in design development, overseeing engineers and architects and managing budgets, according to a 2015 profile in Real Estate Weekly.
“I help figure out what they look like, and how to make the best use of the space,” he told the publication.
TF Cornerstone was founded in 2009 by Thomas and Fred Elghanayan, who spun the company off from Rockrose Development, which is led by their brother Henry Elghanayan. According to TRD’s ranking of second-generation dynasties from September 2017, TF Cornerstone controls over 9.9 million square feet of real estate in New York City. Its holdings include 2 Gold Street in the Financial District, 201 East 69th Street on the Upper East Side and 505 West 37th Street in Hudson Yards.
Adam Pincus and Hiten Samtani contributed reporting.
This story has been updated to include information from the city’s Medical Examiner’s Office.