Name: David Shenfeld
Title: Owner/Managing Partner
Company/firm: D.A. Development Group
Year Company was founded: 2015
Years with company/firm: 1
Years in field: 13
Years in real estate industry: 13
Address: 120 East 23rd St., 4th floor, New York, N.Y. 10010
Telephone: 201-575-0643
Email: [email protected]
Who in the commercial real estate industry do you admire most? And why?
Steve Witkoff. I admire his tenacity and drive to get deals done. If you look at his past and current projects, he is involved with some of the most high profile deals out there, i.e. Park Lane Hotel, The Edition Times Sq., The Toy Building on Madison Sq. Park, 111 Murray, etc. They say location is everything and Steve understands that as good as anyone in the game. I appreciate his aggressiveness and willingness to overpay which at the current time seems like a lot but in hind turns out to be a home run. I think prime locations only appreciate exponentially and getting to lock them in amongst a market of intense competition is admirable. He is a risk taker and is a very savvy investor. I hope to be able to achieve the same results he has with my deals.
What was the most important thing you learned in school?
That the real knowledge that would make me successful was out of the classroom. I have realized that being successful in the real world relies very little on my actual studies, but rather street smarts and building relationships. Classroom tests and projects are great for the mind to be able to tackle multiple projects and learn to multitask, however working in the real world for many years, putting in the diligent hours and being out there is where I see the real value to be.
What is one goal—either personal or professional—that you would like to accomplish during your lifetime?
One goal I would like to achieve professionally is to make a mark on the NYC skyline. I want to create unique projects that stand out and properties that people are proud to be a part of, whether it is an individual condo unit, retail space or hotel room. I want to build high-quality projects that have a reputation for being reliable and sexy while at the same time affordable. Tags: