Leonard Steinberg’s shock exodus from Douglas Elliman saw the star broker take several shiny listings to his new firm, upstart Urban Compass. But it appears Steinberg may have had to relinquish a number of his crown jewels in the surprise switch.
Steinberg and his business partner Hervé Senequier joined Urban Compass earlier this week, as The Real Deal reported. They brought over three boutique new development projects to their new company, a review of listings on Urban Compass’ website shows. The first is a luxury loft conversion at 7 Harrison Street, developed by Scott Sabbagh and Sean Zalka of Matrix Development along with Clarion Partners. The 12-unit building is 50 percent sold, and a 4,200-square-foot duplex penthouse will go live in the fall for about $25 million, a spokesperson for the development told TRD. The duo are also marketing a $5.25 million unit at the Carl Fischer Building at 62 Cooper Square in Noho and two units — $8.5 million and $7.25 million respectively — at 560 West 24th Street in Chelsea, being developed by Adam Gordon and Tavros Capital.
But it appears that Steinberg left behind at least two trophy listings. Along with Elliman’s Raphael De Niro, he was marketing a $36 million, 7,250-square-foot penthouse at Tribeca’s hot 250 West Street, as Luxury Listings NYC reported. StreetEasy now shows De Niro as the sole broker on the property. Moreover, Jon Bon Jovi’s 7,452-square-foot duplex penthouse at 158 Mercer Street in Soho, being marketed for $37.5 million by Steinberg and Senequier in April, isn’t listed on the Urban Compass site at this time. The two penthouses, if they were to sell for their full asking price, would each rake in more than $1 million in commission for the seller’s agent.
It is possible that Steinberg is still negotiating with the rock legend to bring that listing – and several other pricey ones – over. A representative for Elliman declined to comment. Representatives for Urban Compass couldn’t comment by press time.
Steinberg declined to comment on the penthouse listings. In a blog post Monday, he described Urban Compass as the future of real estate, and said that the company would “elevate the substance of real estate brokerage, helping our clients and customers navigate through the complex process of selling, buying or renting.”
But a number of brokers, unanimous though they were in their regard for Steinberg’s abilities, told TRD that Urban Compass’ business model remains cryptic to them, and said the company would struggle to deliver on its promises. On the rental side, a number of East Village properties belonging to Jared Kushner under the Westminster Management brand were previously Urban Compass exclusives, a high-ranking industry source said. But those units have since been listed on the open market.
Kushner’s brother Joshua Kushner is an investor in Urban Compass through his firm Thrive Capital.