2016 Women in Real Estate: Adelaide Polsinelli

Name: Adelaide Polsinelli

Title: Senior Managing Director and Principal

Company Name: Eastern Consolidated

Email: [email protected]

Years in real estate: More than two decades.

Telephone: 212-499-7700

How did you get your start in real estate?

I assisted my aunt when she sold a building on West Broadway in the 1980s and saw how she had been manipulated by a shrewd investor. As a result, I vowed to become an advocate for inexperienced owners who needed protection and guidance during the selling process, which in many cases, was their only real estate transaction.

I earned a degree in real estate and finance at NYU and started my career in the commercial real estate business at a small boutique brokerage firm. Later, I was recruited by a national firm where I worked before joining Eastern Consolidated.

What real estate associations or organizations are you a member of?

RSA, REBNY, SPONY, CHIP, ICSC, Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida, SBO

What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

I represented a national private investor who purchased all the shares in a 20,600-square-foot SoHo co-op at 61-63 Crosby for $42 million, or over $2,000 a square foot, far more than if the owners had sold their units individually. Eastern Consolidated brokers Peter Hauspurg and Michael Coghill represented the sellers, seven loft apartment owners, many of whom were artists who had owned their apartments since the building first went co-op in the early 80’s, when SoHo was a gritty, unsafe section of downtown instead of what it is today—one of the most sought after retail neighborhoods in the world.

The new owners are planning to reposition the building to attract major retailers on the first and second floors, and rent the upper floors as office space. They are experienced developers who have a track record of repositioning residential properties for commercial use.

What recent honor, achievement or recognition has meant the most to you and why?

I was named Eastern Consolidated’s 2015 Broker of the Year and Investment Sales Broker of the Year. It was an honor to be selected from Eastern Consolidated’s roster of outstanding brokers, and I was pleased that I was able to contribute to the bottom line in 2015, which was a record year for the firm.

What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you?

I believe in being proactive rather than reactive and manage my time by staying focused on deal-making during the working hours and answering the bulk of my emails in the evening.