Louis Kestenbaum (born 1952) is an American real estate developer who is the founder and chairman of New York City-based Fortis Property Group.
Louis Kestenbaum | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 (age 71–72) |
| Occupation | Real Estate Developer |
| Known for | Founder of Fortis Property Group |
| Spouse | married |
| Children | Joel Kestenbaum |
| Parent | Zvi Kestenbaum |
| Website | fortispropertygroup |
Biography edit
Kestenbaum was born to a Hasidic Jewish family, the son of Rabbi Zvi Kestenbaum.[1] His father lost most of his family in the Holocaust[2] and founded the ODA Primary Health Care Network, a federally subsidized health care center that serves the Hasidic community in South Williamsburg.[3] He is a follower of the Satmar Hasidic dynasty.[2]
Kestenbaum operated a sportswear company.[4] In the early 1980s, Kestenbaum paid $4 million for Austin, Nichols and Company Warehouse, a vacant 500,000-square-foot industrial property at 184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He used part of the building for his company and leased the remainder.[4] Kestenbaum later converted the building to apartments and tripled his rental income using the proceeds to buy other properties in the neighborhood.[4] He went on to develop Northside Piers in Williamsburg.[5]
In 2004, he co-founded the Fortis Property Group with his son and Jonathan Landau, a modern Orthodox Jewish attorney from Cleveland, Ohio.[5] Within two years, the company acquired over $3 billion in properties, primarily Class A office buildings in Dallas, Boston, and Norfolk, Connecticut.[5] In 2009, Kestenbaum purchased a portion of the real estate portfolio of prolific Brooklyn real estate developer Isaac Hager who declared bankruptcy.[6] Initially focusing on smaller projects and asset purchases, in the early 2010s, he began a ground-up development.
Since its founding, Fortis has acquired or developed more than $3 billion of commercial real estate across the United States.[3]
Projects edit
Development projects he has been involved with include:
- The redevelopment of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.[7]
- 161 Maiden Lane[8]
Personal life edit
His son, Joel Kestenbaum, works with him at Fortis.[9] Kestenbaum has continued the work of his father who restored more than 50 Jewish cemeteries in eastern Europe.[10]
References edit
- ^ "Louis Kestenbaum". Fortis Property Group. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
- ^ a b "Congress Honors Memory of Rabbi Zvi Kestenbaum at 30th Anniversary of U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad". Yeshiva World. June 24, 2015.
- ^ a b Hartocollis, Anemona (March 18, 2014). "Bidder for Long Island College Hospital Has Checkered Record in Role of Rescuer". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c "Brooklyn's miracle makers". Crain's New York Business. August 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c Kathryn Brenzel; Mark Maurer (November 1, 2016). "The Fortis of solitude. The Long Island College Hospital controversy has thrust a mid-sized player that values its privacy into the limelight". The Real Deal.
- ^ Mairer, Mark; Small, Eddie (May 1, 2018). "Isaac Hager's higher power - The developer is gaining outer borough market share, despite a trail of foreclosures and lawsuits from his early real estate days". The Real Deal.
- ^ "Louis Kestenbaum and Joel Kestenbaum of Fortis scores $300M for LICH redevelopment". PR web. January 20, 2019.
- ^ Bendix, Aria (April 4, 2019). "A 58-story residential skyscraper in Manhattan is tilting to the side, and there's a battle over who's to blame". Business Insider.
- ^ "Joel Kestenbaum". Fortis Property Group. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
- ^ "Washington - Chasidic Jew Instrumental in Preserving European Cemeteries Honored by Members Of Congress". Vos Iz Neias?. June 19, 2015.