Michael Stern

Stern might be best known for super-tall residential projects in New York, but he got started with both feet firmly on the ground in Florida, where he got his first job out of high school as a project manager. 

He started Miami-based JDS Development Group in 2002, and eventually returned to New York, where his projects included the ultra-slender supertall at 111 West 57th Street, the Copper, and the Brooklyn Tower, the latter of which he handed back to his lender, Silverstein Properties, in 2025 to avoid foreclosure.  

Stern partnered with Property Markets Group on many of his initial projects in Miami and in New York. Stern has a history of legal battles tied to his projects. He and his firm clash with architects, lenders, partners and investors. In late 2025, his partner in the company’s portfolio at the time, Italian entrepreneur Gianluca Vacchi, sued Stern alleging fraud over one of their deals. 

Stern is also known for the design of his projects; he often works with high-profile architects including French architect Jean Nouvel (Nouvel’s firm sued the developer over a bayfront project in Miami Beach) and SHoP Architects. A self-described workaholic, Stern has said he likely works 15-plus hour days. He has pushed back on the perception that he “sort of showed up overnight.” 

“I don’t think [people] realize I’ve been grinding it out since I was 20 years old,” he told The Real Deal in 2016.