Is it going to be bigger than the penthouse at the Pierre Hotel?
No, as a matter of fact, it’s going to be smaller. It’s 9,000 square feet. But the Mark is highly anticipated. When people speak of luxury, this is so far beyond luxury.
I’m taking great pride as a developer; being able to deliver to our purchasers all the things that marketing companies espouse to do, I’m proud to say that Alexico does to. We don’t try to cheat or chisel or skimp. People get what they pay for—we pick out the very best doorknobs, for instance. They don’t overpay and get …
Shlock?
Right, you said it; I didn’t.
The Sunshine Group is now part of the Corcoran Group.
Yes, and I’m proud to say that somebody I mentored, Kelly Mack, is president of it, and she’s doing a sensational job. And I’m also proud to say that, at Alexico, we have retained Corcoran Sunshine to be our selling agent for these three incredible properties—the Mark [at 25 East 77th Street], The Laurel [at 400 East 67th Street], and 56 Leonard Street, which represent approximately $1.8 billion worth of development that’s coming onto the market in Manhattan, starting now.
Some people might be surprised to hear that. There was speculation that you had been forced out of Corcoran Sunshine after the merger. What really happened?
It never bothers me what other people think. I sold my company. And I stayed on at my company for three years after the sale and continued to grow the company in a very accelerated, responsible manner, and I mentored Kelly Mack to be the next president.
When I’m in meetings with Kelly, I have visions of myself. She’s much more polite. She’s much softer. She’s much more politic. She has many more wonderful qualities than I have. But she’s extremely talented, extremely creative, and I think they’re doing a wonderful job.
Is it weird now not being part of the company that bears your name?
It’s not weird at all. I’m very proud of the fact that I founded The Sunshine Group and that I was able to bring all kinds of unique and innovative marketing techniques to the world of real estate. Now, I’m planning to unveil many new innovations and new opportunities that people will say, ‘Why haven’t I thought of that?’ And they’ll be scurrying around trying to copy it. And that’s really the greatest form of flattery. When there’s a whole group of people who have learned from me, that’s very fulfilling.
Otherwise, I would have just been a blob of protoplasm on this earth.
