Jack Parker Corp. is poised to expand its Manhattan holdings

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 24, 1999

The Jack Parker Corporation is very bullish on New York City for 1999. So much so, the private real estate developer is looking to expand its presence in three diverse markets - residential, hospitality and commercial.

For the first time, the company is looking at sites to develop a commercial office building in Manhattan. Although the firm owns prime Class A office space in New Jersey and Westchester, it currently has not built any in Manhattan. The requirements for the type of building The Jack Parker Corporation is interested in developing are quite specific, says Robert S. Skolnick, vice president of Development. "We are looking for a prime location to build a major property of 500,000 square feet or more with large floorplates," explained Skolnick. "We are currently researching opportunities in Midtown Manhattan, where the growth trends show the area is bursting at the seams and moving west."

Owners of the elegant Le Parker Meridien hotel, The Jack Parker Corporation seeks to expand its success in the hospitality market by building a convention-size hotel that will cater to tour groups and business travelers, as well as convention visitors. According to Skolnick, the firm is interested in building a hotel with upwards of 2,000 keys that can serve as many as 1,000 or more sit-down dinners in a grand ballroom.

"There are a number of hotel developments underway in New York City, however, none on the scale we envision," said Skolnick. "In addition there are only a handful of existing hotels in New York The Waldorf, New York Hilton and Marriott Marquis for instance - that can accommodate this type of volume. We believe that with New York City increasingly becoming a choice destination for business groups, there is a growing need for this type of hospitality and its associated amenities."

As for its residential holdings, The Jack Parker Corporation continues to scour the marketplace for appropriate sites and attempts to acquire those that are meet their specifications. The company's objective is to develop 200,000 to 300,000 square-foot rental buildings and/or assemble smaller sites where a condominium makes sense.

"We are keeping an eye on the absorption of other new 'for rent and for sale' residential properties in Manhattan and remain bullish," said Skolnick. "We have no reason to believe that this hot market trend won't continue into the new millennium."

With the volatility of the financial markets and weakness in the Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities market, The Jack Parker Corporation has recently seen opportunities to become lenders and/or partners to provide liquidity to projects and development teams that meet the developer's high standards.

The Jack Parker Corporation is one of a handful of old line, New York real estate family-owned companies that still builds, owns and manages its own properties. Among the properties in the New York metropolitan area the company has owned or developed are The Knickerbocker, Parker 72nd, Parker Gramercy, New York Towers, Parker Crescent, 444 East 86th Street, and the hotel Le Parker Meridien in New York City; a Holiday Inn at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, NY; Parker Plaza in Fort Lee, NJ; The Parker Office Building, Parker Towers and Gerard Towers in Forest Hills, Queens; and Parker Corporate Center in White Plains, NY.