Corcoran takes it on the chin as turf war goes public

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 22, 2006 by Linda Barr

Following a very public spat over the luxury Cipriani Club Residences at 55 Wall Street, Corcoran president, Pam Liebman, this week wished Prudential Douglas Elliman well in its endeavor to sell the remaining homes there.

Her tone was in stark contrast to the bickering reported in the New York Times last week when the paper revealed how Corcoran and marketing guru, Louise Sunshine, had been yanked from the project.

The Times reported that Corcoran brokers had been escorted off the premises by developer, Steve Witkoff, who paid $500,000 to break the long-standing contract he had with them to sell the 106 fully furnished, fully serviced club residences which are the latest evolution of the famed Cipriani brand.

"I hope Douglas Elliman delivers sales and can meet whatever goals they have set," Liebman told REW this week.

"It is good for New York when these projects sell and very good for Wall Street. Louise and I are very passionate about the emergence of the financial district and the creation of a true 24 hour neighborhood."

While she said she felt PDE did not have "the depth of organization" that Corcoran enjoys, she added, "They are free to pursue projects as long as they maintain ethical standards and follow the rules of the Real Estate Board of New York in their pursuit of projects."

Despite reports of a sudden exit from the project, Libeman said she had anticipated the move and indeed received "a very nice call" from Amy Witkoff breaking the news.

"I was not surprised," said Liebman. "I was aware this was an account Prudential Douglas Elliman very much wanted to have.

"The Witkoffs are a great New York real estate family and we hope to do more business with them in the future. Sometimes things don't work out in one arena, but can be very successful in another."

Indeed Corcoran will continue to market Witkoff's Woolworth building, one of the numerous prestige assignments that the company currently has on its roster that includes Extell's Stanhope at 995 Fifth Avenue, the Ariel developments on Broadway and W99th Street, The Orion, The Avery and the Altair, among others.

Liebman admitted Witkoff's decision to "go in another direction" was disappointing, pointing out that Sunshine had worked the job for several years. "She created terrific marketing for them and it looks like they are going to continue to use it."

Howard Lorber, chairman of PDE, told REW, "Yes, we will continue to use the marketing campaign--it was developed by [Richard] Pandiscio, the outside marketing company, not by Louise Sunshine."

According to one source, former Interview magazine creative director, Pandiscio, stamped his trademark genius on the branding campaign early on. "But credit where credit's due, Louise [Sunshine] was there every step of the way with this project.

"Pandiscio was the designer and he is great at what he does, but there was a lot of input from Louise. She does things exceptionally well--that's how she built such a successful company."

Sunshine--who sold her firm to Corcoran parent, NRT in 2005 and stepped down as chairman to become a consultant for Corcoran's development properties--declined to comment for this report.

In a statement issued by a PR firm promoting the project and representing Guiseppe Cirpriani, Steve Witkoff said, "The marketing and advertising campaign for the Cipriani Club Residences resulted from Pandiscio Co. creatively devising and collaborating with Sunshine, Witkoff and Mr. Cipriani, himself."

The PR firm said no other statements would be forthcoming from any of the other parties involved in the project.

Meanwhile, Lorber has assigned brokers Dolly Lenz and Laura Cardonavo to run the Cipriani job and said, "We are very excited about new development business and have around $5 billion of projects ongoing." According to sources, fewer than 30 of the homes have been sold. When sales started last September, prices, including the furnishings, were pegged at $700,000 to $3 million.

There has been speculation that, following an initial spate of sales at knock-down marketing prices--a ploy often employed to kick-start sales at a new development--business dried up. "If they were selling successfully, they wouldn't be pulled off the job," said one broker.

However, a second source commented that Sunshine's less pro-active role since the sale of her firm to Corcoran is what prompted an old-school developer such as Witkoff to switch to Prudential Douglas Elliman. "They hired the Sunshine Group and, after the merger, got Corcoran. It's anyone's guess what happened, but the whole thing has got everyone talking."