The Durst Organization Explained

Type:Private
Key People:Douglas Durst (chairman)
Jonathan Durst (president)
Founders:Joseph Durst
Location:One Bryant Park, New York City, New York, United States

The Durst Organization is one of the oldest family-run commercial and residential real estate companies in New York City. Established in 1915,[1] the company is owned and operated by the third generation of the Durst family. Durst is the owner, manager, and builder of 13 million square feet of premier Manhattan office towers. The Durst residential portfolio has 3,400 units across 3 million square feet. Durst is recognized as a world leader in the development of high-performance and environmentally advanced buildings where people live, work, and thrive. It is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).[2] Forbes magazine estimates the Durst family fortune at $8.1 billion.[3]

Early history

In 1902, Jewish immigrant Joseph Durst arrived in the United States from Gorlice, Galicia, Poland with three dollars to his name. He found work as a tailor in New York City, and in 1912, he became a full partner in a dress manufacturer, Durst & Rubin.

Using the profits from his business, Durst bought his first building in 1915: The Century Building at One West 34th Street. In 1926, he acquired the original Temple Emanu-El at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street,[4] from Benjamin Winter Sr.[5] [6] the largest synagogue building in the United States at the time; it was demolished in 1927 to make room for commercial development.[6] In 1927, he formed The Durst Organization.[7]

More purchases included:

Shift to development and construction

In the 1950s, The Durst Organization shifted from primarily real estate management to new construction and development. They assembled the parcels for and completed the following buildings, all of which it still owns:

In 1974, Joseph Durst died and his son Seymour Durst took control of the company during the real estate crash of the 1970s.[8]

In 1992, Seymour Durst retired and his son Douglas Durst took control of the company. Seymour died in 1995.

One World Trade Center development

In 2010, The Durst Organization bid on and won the right to invest $100 million in the One World Trade Center Development, becoming a co-developer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.[11] Its contract with the Port Authority gave the company a $15 million fee and a percentage of “base building changes that result in net economic benefit to the project.” The specifics of the signed contract give Durst 75 percent of savings up to $24 million and stepping down thereafter (to 50 percent, 25 percent and 15 percent) as the savings increased.

Since the company joined the project, design changes include:

The Port Authority has approved all the revisions. Patrick Foye, the new executive director of the Port Authority states: “I think they’ve been few and minor.” Douglas Durst, the chairman of The Durst Organization, commenting on the changes: "We didn’t make the changes to save money...The changes were made in order to construct the building.”

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Company Overview of The Durst Organization Inc.. https://archive.today/20130410163536/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=6540698. dead. April 10, 2013. Businessweek. 2 April 2013.
  2. Web site: Member Firms.
  3. Web site: Durst family. Forbes.
  4. http://www.durst.org/about/timeline.php The Durst Organization: Timeline
  5. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49232241/ The San Bernardino County Sun: "N. Y. Church Site Sold for $7,000,000 for Skyscraper Use"
  6. Lauren Robinson.The Museum of the City of New York: "Temple Emanu-El", nytimes.com. October 11, 2011.
  7. Alan S. Oser. New York Times: "Seymour B. Durst, Real-Estate Developer Who Led Growth on West Side, Dies at 81", nytimes.com. May 20, 1995
  8. News: Chronicle. Daniels. Lee A.. November 8, 1991. The New York Times. 2008-10-06.
  9. Web site: Queens Plaza Park. July 11, 2019. The Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190202012241/http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/queens-plaza-park/30457. February 2, 2019.
  10. News: Durst's LIC Clock resi tower gets new look. The Real Deal. April 5, 2018.
  11. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/1-world-trade-center-is-a-growing-presence-and-a-changed-one/ New York Times: "1 World Trade Center Is a Growing Presence, and a Changed One" By DAVID W. DUNLAP
  12. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304543904577394473619775032 Wall Street Journal: "Pointed Spat Over World Trade Spire - Developer's Plan to Alter Top of New Tower Arouses Architects' Ire
  13. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324432404579053244111977258?KEYWORDS=world+trade+center Wall Street Journal: "A Beacon Diminished" By JAMES PANERO
  14. http://transportationnation.org/2011/10/19/patrick-foye-named-new-executive-director-of-ny-nj-port-authority/ Transportation Nation: "Patrick Foye Named New Executive Director of NY-NJ Port Authority" By Jim O'Grady