Steven and Alex Witkoff

Up until four or five months ago, most Americans had never heard of Steve Witkoff. The real estate industry, however, was well acquainted with the name.

The New York City landlord built a business that’s been a force in Manhattan real estate for many years. But in the last couple of decades, his namesake company has been more focused on South Florida than Gotham. In another shift, the elder Witkoff has handed the reins to his son Alex Witkoff, the company’s CEO, while the elder is grappling with the daunting task of bringing an end to the conflict in the Middle East as the top diplomat in the administration of his friend, President Donald Trump. (Oh, yeah. And Russia/Ukraine.)

“Over the next few years, my dad is going to be focused on diplomatic endeavors,” Alex Witkoff said. “He’s focused on achieving world peace. My focus is on running a successful company.”

Alex Witkoff worked with his father for a decade, and held the title of co-CEO before Steve Witkoff stepped away. “We had a lot of time to work together and for me to learn his practices,” Alex Witkoff said.

As for the company’s geographic focus, Witkoff is still doing projects in New York. The One High Line residential project in Manhattan’s West Chelsea neighborhood is more than 70 percent sold, while the Faena New York hotel, also in West Chelsea, is nearing completion.

But the company’s roster of projects definitely tilts south. In a venture with Monroe Capital, Witkoff is redeveloping the Shore Club, a historic Miami Beach hotel, into a mixed-use tower with 49 condos and 75 hotel suites managed by Auberge Resorts Collection. Witkoff also built the first new golf course in Miami in 25 years as part of the Shell Bay mixed-use project. 

And the company is working on a multi-tower, 3 million-square-foot residential project next to MiamiCentral Station and Miami Worldcenter. The Witkoff property is a 4.7-acre site at 700 North Miami Avenue. Three skyscrapers will rise up to 700 feet and house 2,350 rental units and ground-floor retail.

“We’re very bullish on Miami given the migration of people from blue states to red states,” Alex Witkoff said. “There’s 1,000 people a day moving to Florida.”

Not that Witkoff is turning away from blue states entirely. The company continues to look for development opportunities in New York, and has done work in California.