Ownership
RFR
RFR is a privately held real estate investment, development and management company with a focus on select properties in the United States and Germany. Founded in 1991 by Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, RFR has built a world-class portfolio of over 100 commercial, residential, hotel and retail properties comprising 10 million square feet in the United States and 10 million square feet in Germany under ownership. Core markets in the United States includes New York, Stamford, Seattle, San Francisco, and Miami.
The company’s unique combination of European sophistication and American ingenuity has brought the firm to the forefront of the real estate industry. The RFR team expertise leads the industry in operating, developing, leasing, and managing world-class properties.
Signa Group
Founded by Austrian entrepreneur René Benko in 1999, the SIGNA Group is a privately owned investment company with a focus on the real estate, retail and media sectors. The Group is one of Europe's leading real estate investors with a portfolio of unique assets in prime locations.
With a current project volume of 12 billion euros spanning ten locations in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Luxembourg, the SIGNA Group is one of the most significant real estate developers. The company is one of the dominant investors in the attractive real estate property markets in German-speaking cities. SIGNA Real Estate focuses on sustainable urban development, future-oriented utilization concepts and unique architecture. At the beginning of 2019, the SIGNA Group decided to expand its real estate activities to the US market, and acquired the legendary Chrysler Building in New York together with RFR Group.
Architecture
Gensler
Established in 1979, the New York office of Gensler, the global design and architecture firm, is the firm’s largest outpost, with more than 600 design professionals. The firm offers a full range of design and consulting services to developers, building owners, leading institutions, and corporations. Its diverse practice areas include airports, hotels, schools, offices, retail centers, health and wellness centers, and cultural institutions. Gensler’s community of designers is committed to sustainability, innovation, and support of our local community through local professional organizations, public outreach and volunteer work. This commitment and service has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects New York State in bestowing Gensler New York its prestigious 2014 Firm of the Year award.
William Van Alen
William Van Alen (1883-1954) was the original architect of the Chrysler Building. Educated at Pratt Institute and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Brooklyn-born Van Alen worked in partnership with H. Craig Severance from 1911 to 1924 before launching his own firm. Among the buildings Van Alen designed in New York and Washington, DC, the Chrysler Building remains his most famous work. His legacy lives on in the Van Alen Institute, an organization he supported during his lifetime, when it was known as the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects. The New York City-based nonprofit uses design to catalyze positive change in cities.
The Cloud Club
Ken Fulk
Over the last 25 years, Virginia-born Ken Fulk has gained international renown as a global stylemaker. The AD100 and ELLE Décor A-list creative talent leads a team of 75 architects, designers, and branding and event specialists in San Francisco and New York. Fulk and his team envision stylish interiors for homes, private jets, restaurants, and hotels as well as high-concept brand identities and legendary private parties. In addition to his widely published residential work, Fulk has made a mark on the hospitality industry with designs for Leo’s Oyster Bar in San Francisco (named Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurant Design), Legacy Records, Noda and Felix Roasting Co. in New York, Swan and Bar Bevy in Miami, and two immersive dining experiences in Las Vegas, Sadelle's and Carbone.
David Rabin
David Rabin is a partner in several New York restaurants, lounges, and event spaces, including The Lambs Club, JIMMY at the James, The Skylark, American Bar, and Cafe Clover. He is also the bar and nightlife consultant for the Venetian in Las Vegas, where he co-created The Dorsey, Rosina, and Electra. Throughout a long and varied history in the New York hospitality scene, Rabin has been a partner in such well known nightclubs as Lotus, The Double Seven, Union Bar, Rex, and others.
Abigail Kirsch Catering
Throughout its many decades of operation, Abigail Kirsch, a leader in events and catering in the New York region, has partnered with generations of families, corporations, and philanthropic organizations. Among the many well known companies and institutions who have worked with the firm are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center, the Central Park Conservancy, Patek Philippe, Gucci, and Christian Dior. At the Cloud Club, Abigail Kirsch will continue its successful partnership with David Rabin, with whom they created the renowned roof-top lounge and event space, Skylark.
Sam Ross
Considered one of the most influential figures in the world of cocktails and spirits, Sam Ross is owner of Manhattan’s Attaboy, ranked among the top ten bars in the world, and Diamond Reef in Brooklyn, named by Esquire in its annual “Best Bars in the USA” listing. Ross and business partner Michael McIlroy previously ran Milk & Honey, helping earn its status as the originator of the modern speakeasy. Ross has been nominated for Global Bartender of the Year multiple times and was named American Bartender of the Year in 2011. His cocktail creation, The Penicillin, has been lauded by Time magazine and the Huffington Post. Ross has also consulted on well-known restaurants and cocktail lounges in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Singapore, and Dubai.
The Concourse
David Rockwell / Rockwell Group
Based in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles and Madrid, Rockwell Group is an interdisciplinary architecture and design firm that merges performance and architecture to create extraordinary experiences and built environments across the globe. Recent projects include Nobu restaurants and hotels worldwide, the Equinox Hotel, Union Square Cafe, TED Theater, and set designs for more than 60 Broadway and off-Broadway shows. The firm’s honors include a 2016 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for She Loves Me, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, and the Presidential Design Award.
Hospitality House
Hospitality House is a food and beverage advisory and retail leasing firm that provides strategy, support, and real estate services to clients around the globe. From its New York City headquarters and offices in London, the firm offers spatial planning, food service design, financial underwriting, concept and program development, and operator sourcing to all sectors of the real estate and hospitality industries
Branding & Graphics
Pentagram
Pentagram is the world’s largest independently-owned design studio. Their work encompasses graphics and identity, architecture and interiors, products and packaging, exhibitions and installations, websites and digital experiences, advertising and communications.