Harry Macklowe of Macklowe Properties. Photo: Emily Assiran
Harry Macklowe
Founder and Chairman at Macklowe Properties
Harry Macklowe for decades has been one of the most prolific developers in the New York area, trading and building billions in properties, including the supertall 432 Park Avenue, which turned out to be the ultra-luxury catalyst for the stretch of 57th Street now known as Billionaires’ Row.Along the way, he helped conceive and develop the famed Apple store at the base of the General MotorsBuilding that he at the time owned.
That was more than 15 years ago, and 432 Park’s opening was seven years ago. In the interim, Macklowe’s fortunes ebbed and flowed, and it looked like the octogenarian’s swagger in the city was fading (he mostly made news during that time for a very costly divorce). Then came the pandemic-era news that he was behind the biggest office-to-condominium conversion in New YorkCity history: the planned 56-story, 566-unit 1 WallStreet.
The project, a conversion of the old Irving TrustCompany Building, will include a Whole Foods and an amenities package for residents that includes a pool. Many units were also designed with home offices in mind — something Macklowe toldCommercial Observer in February that his people planned before the pandemic drove so many people to toil remotely.
“We thought there would be a significant population working at home,” he said. “We were not anticipating what has happened because of the pandemic. But, by serendipity, it works out perfectly.”Units are asking well north of the average price of a new-development condo in Manhattan — $2,346a square foot — as of the end of 2021. Closings are expected mid-year.
One Wall, in other words, is a comeback story for Macklowe. That tale even comes complete with dramatic tension: News broke in March that Macklowe was looking for $1.1 billion in refinancing for the project, in part to retire construction debt. Adding to the comeback narrative, Macklowe in February let slip news of his first-ever project in the Miami area: two 25-story towers next to the Dadeland Mall with 650 apartments and retail.
