Feldman Equities | History of Feldman Equities

FELDMAN EQUITIES HISTORY

One Hundred years and $2.5 billion dollars of commercial real estate projects are only two statistics which tell only a part of the Feldman Equities story.

In 1909, a young Russian immigrant by the name of "H.J." Feldman arrived in the United States. H.J. arrived in Chicago during the bitterly cold winter and found employment at the American Car and Foundry yards. His first week's wages went towards buying a pair of eyeglasses which he bought from a local street vendor. In the following years, he saved his money, and by 1920, "H.J." was in business for himself. During the "Roaring Twenties," he became one of the largest plumbing contractors in New York City. As the firm expanded, contracts were taken on that included general construction of commercial buildings.

In 1950, the company was awarded a multi-million dollar contract to rehabilitate the Sampson Air Force Base located in Geneva, New York. Shortly after the commencement of the construction, the government expanded the scope of the project due to the impending Korean War. As a result, the Feldman family was contracted to commence renovation of 550 buildings on a "crash program." The Air Force assisted by ordering factories to work around the clock to produce construction materials and by flying materials to the project.

The company then went on to build Nike and Atlas Missile bases, atomic energy facilities of all types, sewage and water treatment plants, hospitals, residential, office and industrial buildings. One of the better known projects built by the Feldman's were the three main terminal buildings at O'Hare Airport, which were completed in eleven months throughout a Chicago winter.

By 1960, the company was run by HJ and his four sons, including Ed Feldman (Chairman Emeritus). In 1960, the company was listed as one of the top 10 general contracting companies in the country. Then, in 1962, the Feldman family began a transition to real estate development. Although they continued to perform construction work, they did so only for projects owned and developed by the Feldman family. Over a 23 year period, the Feldman family built, owned and managed over 3 million square feet of office and retail space primarily located in the New York metropolitan area.

In 1985, the original family business, then led by each of the four Feldman brothers, split into four separate entities. Feldman Equities, Inc. was formed in 1985 by Larry Feldman and his father Ed Feldman. During this period, Feldman Equities developed several major properties in the metropolitan New York area, including a 40 story office tower in Manhattan known as Tower 45. Over the last 25 years, Larry Feldman, together with his father Ed have developed or acquired over 10 Million sq. ft. of office & retail properties.

Following the early 1990's recession, Feldman Equities, Inc. expanded its real estate portfolio by entering into joint ventures with several corporate and private investors, including partnerships with GE Capital, George Soros, Morgan Stanley and the Carlyle Group. These joint ventures focused on acquiring underperforming or distressed retail and office properties.

In October of 1997, the company was renamed Tower Realty Trust, Inc. and was reorganized as a Real Estate Investment Trust. The Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE symbol: "TOW"). Tower was a major owner and manager of office and retail property. Including property owned outside of New York, Tower owned 4.6 million square feet of office space, including 50 acres of land under development in Phoenix, Arizona as an office park. In addition, Tower Realty Trust was also the manager of approximately 800,000 square feet of shopping centers that were owned by Larry Feldman and his joint venture affiliates.

Larry Feldman was the Chairman and CEO of Tower Realty Trust. In May of 1999, Tower was sold for approximately $700 Million to an entity controlled by Reckson Associates Realty Corp. ("NYSE: RA"). Reckson is also a publicly traded REIT listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2002, Feldman Equities, Inc. acquired an enclosed mall in Tucson, Arizona - called the Foothills Mall. The company then conducted a highly successful expansion, renovation and lease-up program of that mall. Feldman Equities took its retail portfolio public in 2004 through a public REIT, Feldman Mall Properties, Inc. (NYSE: FMP). Larry served as FMP's Chairman and CEO through October of 2008 and retired as its Chairman at the end of 2009.
Currently, Feldman Equities is embarked upon an aggressive program to acquire distressed office assets located in Manhattan, Long Island and Florida. Typical candidates for acquisition are office buildings with a minimum size of 100,000 square feet.

	FELDMAN EQUITIES HISTORY One Hundred years and $2.5 billion dollars of commercial real estate projects are only two statistics which tell only a part of the Feldman Equities story. In 1909, a young Russian immigrant by the name of "H.J." Feldman arrived in the United States. H.J. arrived in Chicago during the bitterly cold winter and found employment at the American Car and Foundry yards. His first week's wages went towards buying a pair of eyeglasses which he bought from a local street vendor. In the following years, he saved his money, and by 1920, "H.J." was in business for himself. During the "Roaring Twenties," he became one of the largest plumbing contractors in New York City. As the firm expanded, contracts were taken on that included general construction of commercial buildings. In 1950, the company was awarded a multi-million dollar contract to rehabilitate the Sampson Air Force Base located in Geneva, New York. Shortly after the commencement of the construction, the government expanded the scope of the project due to the impending Korean War. As a result, the Feldman family was contracted to commence renovation of 550 buildings on a "crash program." The Air Force assisted by ordering factories to work around the clock to produce construction materials and by flying materials to the project. The company then went on to build Nike and Atlas Missile bases, atomic energy facilities of all types, sewage and water treatment plants, hospitals, residential, office and industrial buildings. One of the better known projects built by the Feldman's were the three main terminal buildings at O'Hare Airport, which were completed in eleven months throughout a Chicago winter. By 1960, the company was run by HJ and his four sons, including Ed Feldman (Chairman Emeritus). In 1960, the company was listed as one of the top 10 general contracting companies in the country. Then, in 1962, the Feldman family began a transition to real estate development. Although they continued to perform construction work, they did so only for projects owned and developed by the Feldman family. Over a 23 year period, the Feldman family built, owned and managed over 3 million square feet of office and retail space primarily located in the New York metropolitan area. In 1985, the original family business, then led by each of the four Feldman brothers, split into four separate entities. Feldman Equities, Inc. was formed in 1985 by Larry Feldman and his father Ed Feldman. During this period, Feldman Equities developed several major properties in the metropolitan New York area, including a 40 story office tower in Manhattan known as Tower 45. Over the last 25 years, Larry Feldman, together with his father Ed have developed or acquired over 10 Million sq. ft. of office & retail properties. Following the early 1990's recession, Feldman Equities, Inc. expanded its real estate portfolio by entering into joint ventures with several corporate and private investors, including partnerships with GE Capital, George Soros, Morgan Stanley and the Carlyle Group. These joint ventures focused on acquiring underperforming or distressed retail and office properties. In October of 1997, the company was renamed Tower Realty Trust, Inc. and was reorganized as a Real Estate Investment Trust. The Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE symbol: "TOW"). Tower was a major owner and manager of office and retail property. Including property owned outside of New York, Tower owned 4.6 million square feet of office space, including 50 acres of land under development in Phoenix, Arizona as an office park. In addition, Tower Realty Trust was also the manager of approximately 800,000 square feet of shopping centers that were owned by Larry Feldman and his joint venture affiliates. Larry Feldman was the Chairman and CEO of Tower Realty Trust. In May of 1999, Tower was sold for approximately $700 Million to an entity controlled by Reckson Associates Realty Corp. ("NYSE: RA"). Reckson is also a publicly traded REIT listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2002, Feldman Equities, Inc. acquired an enclosed mall in Tucson, Arizona - called the Foothills Mall. The company then conducted a highly successful expansion, renovation and lease-up program of that mall. Feldman Equities took its retail portfolio public in 2004 through a public REIT, Feldman Mall Properties, Inc. (NYSE: FMP). Larry served as FMP's Chairman and CEO through October of 2008 and retired as its Chairman at the end of 2009. Currently, Feldman Equities is embarked upon an aggressive program to acquire distressed office assets located in Manhattan, Long Island and Florida. Typical candidates for acquisition are office buildings with a minimum size of 100,000 square feet.
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