Developer Brandon Miller dies at 43

Brandon Miller, principal of Real Estate Equity Corporation, has died.

Miller, 43, a second-generation developer who has done substantial projects in New York City, died Wednesday, according to online records of the New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon. Miller was hospitalized in Southampton last week, as erroneous obituaries began to circulate online.

Real Estate Equity Corporation, or REEC, run by Miller and Mark Siegel, has several commercial projects under development. It recently wrapped up construction on an East Harlem life sciences building, according to New York YIMBY. Just before the pandemic, it inked an ill-timed deal for a boutique office building at 1 St. Mark’s Place.

In 2015, REEC teamed up with Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate Group to develop 196 Orchard Street into a mixed-use condo.

Miller’s death has drawn attention in recent days because his wife, Candice Miller, is a well-known influencer and lifestyle blogger. He is also related to fashion blogger Arielle Charnas, whose husband, Brandon Charnas, is co-founder of Current Real Estate Advisors.

Michael Miller founded his real estate development company in 1978; Brandon joined in 2004, according to the company’s website, which says the company has developed over 20 million square feet throughout the United States.

Michael Miller was a developer of shopping centers in the 1970s and 1980s. With Real Estate Equities, he then repositioned properties such as 156 Prince Street and built projects such as the condominium at 985 Park Avenue. 

Brandon Miller was involved in several lawsuits, some of them unusual even for the litigious real estate industry.

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A 2019 complaint alleged that his father, Michael Miller, who had died in 2016, had instructed his assistant to forge and notarize his son’s signature on various loan documents related to a condominium project at 137 Franklin Street. That lawsuit has been settled, according to court documents.

In 2022, TD Bank sued Miller, his mother and his sister, alleging that they engaged in a series of fraudulent transfers to prevent the bank from collecting a $2.1 million judgment from his mother. 

The case stemmed from a $17.5 million commercial mortgage loan on which Miller had missed payments to the bank. His late father, reporting a net worth at the time of $74 million, had personally guaranteed up to $3.5 million of the loan.