Lori Shabtai Joins Town Commercial
By Lauren Elkies Schram May 19, 2015 9:00 am
reprints
Lori Shabtai, who left Winick Realty Group in February 2014 and two months later launched Lori Shabtai and Associates, has joined Town Commercial as a broker, Commercial Observer has learned.
“I am comfortable in a boutique venue, especially one that will allow me to still interact globally and regionally with tenants and landlords as their broker,” Ms. Shabtai emailed CO. “I also love the opportunity of working with a smaller team of diversified talent. I so admire the vision and synergy of Town. The DNA of the brand is compelling, modern and elegant.”
Ms. Shabtai was an executive vice president at Winick, where she got her start in real estate in 2005. She left Winick, she said at the time, so she could “take a little break.”
Yesterday she said of deciding to close up her shop: “Lori Shabtai and Associates was an amazing journey but it was at a stage that required more manpower and I realized I was ready to join forces again. I was thrilled when the opportunity at Town presented itself. … This team understands the long-term necessity of honoring the integrity of the real estate—presenting the unique and important dance and interaction between retail, residential, hotel and office, which I believe will be unprecedented.”
Ms. Shabtai, who exclusively represents YogaWorks, will be based in Town’s office at 730 Fifth Avenue at West 56th Street. She will join Jonathan Butwin, who assumed the role of running the division when it started last September, as CO reported.
“Lori is one of a few true powerbrokers in the retail leasing and sales business with a reputation for delivering impeccable service with unwavering integrity and dedication,” said Andrew Heiberger, the founder and chief executive officer of Town Residential, the parent company of Town Commercial, in prepared remarks. “She is poised to make an immediate impact helping to grow the retail arm of our already successful commercial division.”
Her past deals range from populating the 350,000-square-foot retail development Columbus Square on the Upper West Side, to bringing the outdoor apparel-maker R.E.I. to a 39,000-square-foot space in Soho’s Puck Building (Puck Building owner Kushner Companies‘ chief executive officer, Jared Kushner, is the publisher of CO), to representing Valery Joseph in its lease of 2,267 square feet for a hair salon at 25 Central Park West.
