Michael Shvo

Back in the early 2000s, Michael SHVO was the persona of the opulent, hard-
partying Manhattan real estate broker. He convinced developer Shaya Boymelgreen that Giorgio Armani (the clothing designer) should design a new condominium that Boymelgreen was planning at 20 Pine Street. He got John Legend to perform at the opening for the condo. He caroused and did business with names like Philippe Starck and Jade Jagger. The price of his shoes, the make of his automobile, and his trademark black Armani T-shirts wound up as tabloid fodder.

But something interesting has happened with Shvo in the past few years: He has become a serious developer.

It’s not completely uncommon for a good broker to make the leap to good developer. (Harry Macklowe’s done it. David Levinson of L&L has done it. There are plenty of other examples.) But in the last two years Shvo has landed on the scene with characteristically high volume and high extravagance.

Exhibit one: The Coca-Cola Building at 711 Fifth Avenue, which Shvo picked up in late 2019 for $955 million. Exhibit two: The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco that Shvo purchased in October of 2020 for $650 million.

Exhibit three: The 1.2 million-square-foot Big Red skyscraper in Chicago that Shvo closed in the summer of 2020 for $376 million. Exhibit four: Mandarin Oriental condominiums on both Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and in Beverly Hills, Calif., that Shvo is in the middle of finishing. Exhibit five: The Raleigh Hotel in Miami, which last month got approval for a redesign by Peter Marino.

While some might feel trepidation about jumping into an office market at this particular moment, Shvo is selling something slightly different than a standard office with a coffee bar in the amenity space. “[We’re] focused on three main criteria: design, culture and service — the holistic approach of giving a tenant the true great experience at the office,” Shvo told CO in February. “So when you walk into a Shvo building, you’re gonna feel like you walked into a Four Seasons hotel.” 

And, with flight to quality being one of the animating success stories in the office sectors, Shvo might be onto something.