NEWYORKCITY A Family Culture An Interview with Kenneth Fisher, Partner, Fisher Brothers Two views of Fisher Brothers’ property at 299 Park Avenue EDITORS’ NOTE Kenneth Fisher is owners with buildings that are 55 cycles and how quickly things get absorbed, and responsible for managing, mar- years old or older, which is more than price point will dictate how quickly that happens. keting, and leasing a portfolio of half the market, to go back and look Whether it is sustainable or not, New more than six million square feet at their assets and what is needed to York is never going anywhere – New York of Fisher Brothers owned Class A compete with the new inventory. will always be vibrant and important and real estate in Midtown Manhattan. In examining how best to update relevant. Meanwhile, the market tells us what He is co-Chairman of the Intrepid our buildings to compete, we began we should and shouldn’t be doing in terms Museum Foundation and a mem- introducing technology into the overall of timing. ber of the Real Estate Board of designs, and we have been successful at For Fisher Brothers, is a key differen- New York’s Board of Governors it. Our upgrades to 605 3rd Avenue tiator the family culture? Executive Committee. Fisher also have been completed, 1345 Avenue For tenants in our buildings, the ability sits on the board of The Association of the Americas and 299 Park Avenue to pick up the phone and call a Fisher family for the Help of Retarded Children, Kenneth Fisher upgrades will be completed next year. member directly is really signifi cant. It’s impor- The Jackie Robinson Foundation, It was important to make strategic tant for the tenant to have that option and it’s and The General Command & Staff College at changes both inside and out just to stay on ten- important for us to maintain strong relation- Ft. Leavenworth. ant’s short list. ships with our tenants. Is Midtown still as relevant as it once At Fisher Brothers, we all have our core COMPANY BRIEF Fisher Brothers (fisher was and is it attracting the top tenants? strengths but, when we feel we’re lacking in a brothers.com) was founded in 1915 by Martin Yes. Midtown is still very relevant. When specifi c area, we’ll bring in the best people we Fisher, who was joined by brothers Larry and New York City introduced the Midtown can fi nd to help complement us. Zachary Fisher. Over the next several decades, East rezoning, it gave owners the option to The family feel has always been a great Fisher Brothers built residential properties in demolish and rebuild existing buildings, or marketing tool for our tenants. Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Riverdale, renovate and employ new technology. If Is the family’s commitment to philan- Mount Vernon and later Manhattan. Fisher owners can amass enough air rights, they can thropy an extension of the real estate busi- Brothers began putting up commercial build- rebuild, but this can be too cost prohibitive, ness or is it looked at separately? ings in the mid-’50s. It rewrote its business plan and is too lengthy a process. However, we There is no specifi c link between the busi- in the mid-’70s, adopting a new strategy that are seeing older buildings with premier loca- ness and what we do philanthropically and called for selling off its residential properties tions undergoing extensive renovations to there has never been. We aren’t philanthropic while continuing to develop and manage com- better compete, giving tenants viable alter- in the hope of benefi tting from it from a busi- mercial real estate investments, and diversify- natives to moving West and Downtown. So ness perspective. It is completely separate and ing its investment portfolio into non-real estate Midtown is still relevant, and will be better distinct. sectors. With the decision to capitalize on the than ever. We do what we do because it has been fi rm’s capabilities as a builder and manager, Where does the New York real estate in our DNA throughout the generations and the partnership formed Plaza Construction market stand today and is it sustainable? because we feel it is important to give back. in 1986 and Sandhurst Associates in 1992 to New York has always been the financial While our charitable efforts are known for provide onsite management for other building capital of the world. There are two differ- being military-centric, we also do a lot of owners. ent cycles now – the residential cycle and other things with the police, fi remen and all Fisher Brothers has emerged as a highly the commercial cycle. We used to feel that fi rst responders. diversified financial investment force. Assets these were seven-year cycles, and they were What are the keys to effective currently under management exceed $6 bil- 40 years ago; I can’t say it’s the same thing philanthropy? lion, with a substantial portion strategically today. We can’t run a foundation without hav- invested in a broad spectrum of financial Supply and absorption dictates where ing some business sense. I don’t like to use markets and ventures, including opportunistic the markets stand. We have a lot of supply the word “competitive” – we don’t really com- overnight investments in treasuries and repos, coming online – we have done very well pete with other foundations. Our approach, as well as building refi nancing and construc- with 111 Murray Street, and with House 30, whether it relates to the Intrepid, Fisher House, tion loans. which is our rental building. We have intro- Fallen Heroes Fund or other causes we sup- duced fantastic amenities into both, as we port, has always been to act as though it were Will you discuss Fisher Brothers’ invest- are with our commercial buildings. We have a business. ments in its New York City buildings in designed these buildings not only to com- The prospective donors have a much order to remain relevant and competitive pete, but to be premiere in terms of what different mentality today. There are many with so much new product in the market? we’re offering in relation to the rest of the more tools available to them so they can It’s an interesting time in New York City market. check on a specific foundation and how it’s real estate. There has been a lot of new prod- The real estate markets can be challenged being run, so it is important to be able to uct that has come online. This has forced the at times, but everything works around the show results.• 74 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2018 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 41, NUMBER 4.