By Kim Velsey 12/11/12 7:45pm

Profiles in Development

Michael Bolla.

Shtetl Fabulous: Upper East Side Developer Michael Bolla Puts His Money on Reviving the Jewish Lower East Side

The members of the Upper West Side’s Carlebach Shul had nearly polished off their halibut and grilled squash when the band struck up “Killing me Softly,” and Roberta Flack took the stage inside the St. Regis ballroom. Ms. Flack, clad in a rustling black gown, leaned in close to the microphone, and, to the great disappointment of many guests, launched into a speech rather than her famous song.

“I’m here to honor a special friend of mine. Someone I’ve known more than a year—a couple of years—and who is very dear to me,” were the opening lines of a brief address that ended with Ms. Flack handing a large hunk of engraved glass to Michael Bolla, whom the synagogue was honoring as “the force behind the recent and much publicized Jewish revitalization of the Lower East Side.”

Ms. Flack vanished almost immediately, but Mr. Bolla remained until almost midnight, basking in the praises of his fellow congregants.

Shouldering the burden of the Lower East Side’s salvation is a far cry from Mr. Bolla’s last project, which saw the 44-year-old real estate broker and developer restoring antique Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers and Italian plaster ceiling medallions at a mansion in Chelsea. Read More

By Kim Velsey 6/05/12 6:34pm

5 Photos

Wenzhi Zhang show at Madison Jackson

Lacquer Art Is Only the Latest Unusual Attraction at Michael Bolla’s Madison Jackson Condos

Things are never boring at 371 Madison Street. While some condo conversions even make great views and amenities look dull and depressingly generic, Madison Jackson never fails to entertain (and it hasn’t even opened yet!).

Besides 24-hour-a-day vegan and kosher room service, a juice bar and a pool with single-sex swimming hours to cater to Orthodox Jews, the converted public school on the Lower East Side has recently taken to embracing the arts as well.

The edgy showrooms of design and art collective BOFFO just closed this weekend, but the building is now hosting a show by Chinese artist Wenzhi Zhang.

The show, “Women of Esther,” materialized after Prudential Douglas Elliman broker and developer Michael Bolla found a book about the preeminent Chinese lacquer artist on a colleague’s coffee table and was immediately captivated. Read More

By Michael Ewing 3/30/12 10:22am

houses of the holy

"No, Joshua, this isn't your school - this is our home!" (Image Courtesy of The Lo-Down)

Abba and Imma Return to the LES: New Condo Building Targets Jewish Resident, Fair Housing Act Be Damned

The Lower East Side’s Jewish population has dwindled over the recent decades, but a new kosher, school-converted condominium building will hit the market in the spring and restore some of the neighborhood’s historic character and Jewish community. The condominiums at 371 Madison Street has received its certificate of occupancy and will begin selling condominium targeted at Jewish families, the The Times reports. Read More