Real estate is one of the best investment opportunities. Investors who choose the right assets might benefit from stable cash flow, large profits, tax breaks and other advantages. In 1985, Laurence Gluck founded Stellar Management, a New York-based real estate agency. This corporation has become well-known as one of the largest owners and operators of residential and commercial properties in America. Read more about the entrepreneur, investor and lawyer and his journey to success at queens1.one.
An ex-lawyer
The businessman was born on January 29, 1953, to a Jewish household and raised in the Bronx with two siblings. Gluck’s mother was an accountant, while his father worked for a catering company and operated a restaurant. In 1968, the family relocated to Queens. At Queens College, Gluck earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and then a doctorate in law from St. John’s University School of Law.
Following graduation from university, Gluck had internships at several law firms before getting a job at Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law company based in New York City. In 1980, he joined Dreyer & Traub, where he specialized in property law.
Stellar Management
Having accumulated some capital and borrowing some from friends and family, Gluck made his first real estate investment, buying a building in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood. In 1985, together with lawyer Steve Witkoff, Gluck established the real estate agency Stellar Management. The first part of the company’s name is derived from the names Steve and Larry (short for Laurence). In its early years, the corporation invested in low-cost apartment buildings in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
In 1997, Witkoff went solo and started his own company, the Witkoff Group. As a result, it became a market leader in the ownership and development of first-class residential, hotel, office, retail and multipurpose projects in major cities across the United States and abroad. Gluck continued to run Stellar Management, which focused on repositioning and renovating rented housing in New York.
In 2004, Gluck started purchasing old residential complexes developed with government subsidies through the Mitchell-Lama program. This program was sponsored by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell and New York State Assembly member Alfred A. Lama to provide affordable rental housing for small and middle-income households. Following the expiration of the subsidies, Gluck replaced tenants with fixed rents with tenants paying market rates. The latter frequently paid two or three times more. As a result of his actions, Gluck frequently faced criticism from residents and other entrepreneurs.
In 2005, the investor borrowed $250 million to buy and renovate a residential complex in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood, the Riverton Houses. He intended to convert 1,232 apartments into market units by 2011, but the Great Recession hampered his plans. In 2010, Stellar Management eventually lost its building after failing to pay back a 225 million dollar loan.
Nonetheless, throughout the 2010s, the company executed some successful projects. For example, the company led a group that acquired several properties in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood in 2012 and converted them into the One SoHo Square commercial complex. However, tenants continued to sue the firm, accusing it of misrepresenting the amount of work completed, particularly apartment repairs.
Personal life
Laurence Gluck married a woman named Sandra. The couple raised three daughters. The businessman died at the age of 71 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease affecting the musculoskeletal system. Stellar Management was taken up by his wife Sandra and his eldest daughter, Amanda. Furthermore, throughout the final two decades of his life, thinking about the future of the company, Gluck established a group of business partners with the purpose of ensuring efficient leadership of Stellar Management. Adam Roman, Matthew Lembo and Ryan Jackson became its key leaders. The executive team, in collaboration with the Gluck family, continued to ensure the ongoing development of the real estate agency.
As an industry leader, Laurence Gluck has left a lasting mark on the New York City landscape through his dedication and commitment to excellence. Stellar Management thrived under his direction, earning a reputation for quality and innovation in real estate development and management. Since its inception, the firm has continually exhibited effective property ownership and management for a diverse range of residential, retail and office users. The organization takes a practical approach to investing money, combining skilled project management with direct construction, repair and other procedures. It owns and manages properties in several of New York’s most popular neighborhoods.