MAG Partners Hires Andrew Staniforth as Co-Head of Development

MaryAnne Gilmartin’s MAG Partners has hired Andrew Staniforth as co-head of development, Commercial Observer has learned.

Staniforth will lead development across MAG’s portfolio in New York City and other major markets alongside fellow co-head Aida Stoddard, who joined the development firm in 2023.

Staniforth is no stranger to working with Gilmartin, as he was the MAG founder’s intern at the old Forest City Ratner Companies in 2011 and eventually moved up to vice president of development at the now-defunct firm. At that company, he worked on projects such as the luxury apartment building at 461 Dean Street next to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, the mixed-use Pacific Park Brooklyn development and the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum renovation in Long Island.

Staniforth started in his new role at MAG on Friday.

“It’s funny to think back to my early days at Forest City and realize the people who shaped me have stayed in my corner for the last 15 years,” Staniforth said in a statement. “MaryAnne has been one of them since day one.

“The work that interested me at the start is the same work that interests me now: the hard projects that change our city the most,” Staniforth added. “MAG Partners has built a pipeline of exactly that kind of work — and the team to execute.”

Staniforth was most recently CEO of Assembly OSM, a modular construction company that spun out of SHoP Architects in 2019. He left his post as CEO last year.

Before that, Staniforth was a principal at L&L Holding Company, where he led the 1.2 million-square-foot Terminal Warehouse redevelopment project in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

In his new position at MAG, Staniforth will lead development on 122 Varick Street, the firm’s 149-unit residential project being built in Manhattan’s Hudson Square under New York City’s 485x program in partnership with Global Holdings.

“A great development company is ultimately a collection of people who know how to execute, collaborate, and see around corners,” Gilmartin said in a statement. “As our platform grows, we are intentionally building leadership depth across every part of the business. Aida has already helped shape the culture and development approach of MAG Partners in an extraordinary way, and Andrew joining her as co-head of development marks an exciting next chapter for the company.” 

Founded in 2020, MAG has a New York City residential portfolio that includes the 480-unit Ruby at 243 West 28th Street in Chelsea, the 188-unit Mabel at 335 Eighth Avenue also in Chelsea and the 194-unit Anagram Turtle Bay at 300 East 50th Street in Midtown East.

Late last month, MAG secured $148.7 million to refinance a construction loan for the Mabel, as CO first reported. The financing was provided by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and arranged by JLL.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.