2024 Ones to Watch Industry Leaders: Shlomo Banbahji, CORE Consultants

“Shlomo has skillfully led CORE Consultants’ growth into a premiere expediting, zoning, and permitting consultancy serving the New York City real estate industry. His expertise, desire to continuously learn and develop professionally and excellent communication skills make him a highly successful business and team leader.” - Jonathan Imani, AIA, President at CORE Consultants.

In the last 12 months what accomplishment are you most proud of? I recently obtained a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) for a 155-unit, luxury residential development in the Bronx, designed by CORE Consultant’s affiliated firm IMC Architecture. This complex, large project required a continuous support throughout the zoning analysis, approvals, permitting and certification phases. Through strategic planning, proactive filings, and meticulous negotiations with the Department of Buildings and other entities, I secured the TCO within the predetermined timeline. This enabled the ownership to commence leasing on schedule in May.

In the last 12 months what was one of the biggest challenges you faced as a leader and how did you overcome it? My team at CORE Consultants recently provided expediting services for another IMC Architecture-designed project: the 35,000 s/f Ascend Charter School at 1833 Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn. The school had to meet a critical, state-required TCO deadline in order to be allowed to open for educational activities for the current academic year – a very challenging requirement when dealing with multiple public agencies. We successfully navigated the process, with early filings and advanced document preparation, obtaining the TCO a month before the deadline.

Best advice for new leaders: Communication is the cornerstone of success and cultivating loyal clients.