Michael Shvo
Born (1972-12-29) December 29, 1972 (age 51)
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationB.A. Bar-Ilan University
OccupationReal Estate Developer
Known forFounder of SHVO, real estate development company
SpouseSeren Shvo [1]
ChildrenEmma Shvo, Judah Youval Shvo
Websitewww.shvo.com

Michael Shvo (born December 29, 1972) is a real estate developer based in New York City with offices in Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He is the Chairman and CEO of SHVO, a real estate development company he founded in 2004.[2]

Early life and education

Shvo was raised in Arsuf, Israel, by parents who were both chemistry professors.[3] He completed his military service in Israel and received a B.A. in finance at Bar-Ilan University.[3] In 1996, he emigrated to the United States from Israel with only $3,000.[4]

Career

Shvo initially managed a fleet of taxis prior to landing a job as a real-estate broker with Douglas Elliman, the largest brokerage in New York.[5] In 2003, at the age of 30, he achieved more than $300 million in sales from more than 400 deals, becoming the firm's top broker.[6] He created his own group within the firm and managed a staff of 27 people.[4]

The Transamerica Pyramid, purchased by SHVO and partners in 2020.

Shvo left the firm in 2004 to launch his own international real estate firm, SHVO. His firm develops high end properties internationally.[7] From 2003 through 2008, he performed $15 billion in real estate transactions worldwide, including Nurai, a private island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Additional developments in New York included the Bryant Park Tower,[4] The Lumiere on 53rd Street in Manhattan,[4] Gramercy Starck designed by Philippe Starck, Jade by Jade Jagger, Fultonhaus,[8] as well as Amangiri in Utah and Nizuc in Mexico. He was known for creating the marriage of fashion and real estate with his project 20 Pine Armani Casa, where Armani was hired to design the interior of the building.[9][10]

Shvo took a break from real estate in 2008, focusing on his interest in the art world. He got back into the real estate market in 2013, initially purchasing a Getty Oil gas station at the corner of 10th Avenue and 24th Street in West Chelsea, Manhattan.[11] He paid $23.5 million for the property which was a record price for per buildable square foot in Manhattan.[12]

Prior to the development of the Getty property, Shvo turned the former gas station into a public art space.[13] The inaugural show "Sheep Station" featured a white picket fence, grass and trees around the gas pumps, and 25 grazing concrete sheep sculptures by late artist François-Xavier Lalanne.[11] The site has been developed into a high-end luxury condominium named The Getty Building,[14] with Peter Marino designated as the architect for both the interior and exterior of the project.[15]

In 2018, Shvo purchased the office portion of 685 Fifth Avenue, previously the headquarters of Gucci, from General Growth Partners (GGP), in partnership with Deutsche Finance Group, for 135 million dollars. It has since been disclosed that Shvo will be converting the building into ultra-luxury residences branded as the Mandarin Oriental Residences.[16]

In 2019, Shvo made a number of purchases across asset classes. He purchased the Raleigh Hotel and the adjacent Richmond and South Seas Hotels from Tommy Hilfiger along with partners Deutsche Finance America.[17] The same year, Shvo purchased a long-vacant piece of land on Wilshire Boulevard for $130 million, which the company announced is going to be developed into the Mandarin Oriental Residences Beverly Hills, as well as 711 Fifth Avenue, previously the headquarters of The Coca Cola Company, for $937 million.[18] In 2020, Shvo acquired the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco for $650 million, and began work on a $250 million renovation in 2022.[19] Also in 2020, he acquired 333 South Wabash in Chicago, known as Big Red, for $376 million, and 530 Broadway in New York’s Soho district for $382 million.[20][21]

SHVO

Main article: SHVO

SHVO is a real estate development company founded by Michael Shvo in 2004. It purchases and develops high end properties in the United States and internationally. Notable properties purchased and developed by SHVO have included Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, Raleigh Hotel in Miami, Big Red in Chicago, and 711 Fifth Avenue in New York. As of 2021, the company has assets of approximately $8 billion.[citation needed]

Art projects

Shvo has conceived several art projects, including Documents of Desire & Disaster, a retrospective of contemporary photographer David La Chapelle’s work.[22] He partnered with Paul Kasmin Gallery & Serdar Bilgili, who owns the Akaretler area in Istanbul where the exhibition took place in December 2010.[23]

Shvo also created Getty Station, a public art installation at the former getty station on 10th avenue and 24th street in Manhattan. He purchased the property in early August 2013 and transformed into a sheep’s meadow with 25 sheep sculptures by Francois Xavier Lalanne.[22] Shvo collaborated with Paul Kasmin Gallery for the exhibit.[22]

Shvo also curated the selling exhibition Les Lalanne: The Poetry of Sculpture along with Paul Kasmin at the S|2 Gallery of Sotheby's Auction House in New York.[24] It included rare Lalanne sculptures in a midnight garden setting.[25]

In 2019 Shvo created an exhibition at the Raleigh Hotel, a property he had purchased the same year.[26] Called "Les Lalanne at The Raleigh Gardens," it is a sculpture garden in memory of the French artist François-Xavier Lalanne.[27][28]

Awards and recognition

Shvo was listed as one of "New York's City Shapers" by The New York Observer in 2007[29] and made the magazine's list of 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate in 2008.[30] He was also listed in Art+Auctions 2013 Power 100 List.[31][32]

Personal life

Shvo resides in New York City and The Hamptons with his wife, Seren Shvo.[1][22] The couple has two children, Emma and Judah.[33][34]

In 2016, Shvo was indicted on charges that included felony tax fraud and falsifying business records.[35] [36] He pleaded guilty to the charges in 2018,[37] and paid $3.5 million in taxes and penalties.[38] SHVO was subsequently removed from major development projects in New York City, including Aman New York at 730 Fifth Avenue and 125 Greenwich.[39][40]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b "Look who's Shvo-ing up". Real Estate Weekly. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  2. ^ Barbanel, Josh (20 May 2013). "Shvo Revs Up Pace, Again". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b Y Net News: "Ex-Israeli buys NYC site for record price" by Navit Zommer October 10, 2013
  4. ^ a b c d Dunn, Jancee (8 January 2014). "No Business Like Shvo Business". New York Mag. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  5. ^ Sherman, Gabriel (25 October 2004). "Big Dealer Michael Shvo Bolts Elliman; For Start-Up". New York Observer. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  6. ^ Gaines, Steven (2005). The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan. Hachette Digital, Inc. ISBN 9780759513884.
  7. ^ Marino, Vivian (1 October 2013). "Michael Shvo The 30-Minute Interview". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  8. ^ Lockhart (25 January 2006). "Catching Up with Shvo: Fultonhaus, 20 Pine, and Friends". Curbed. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. ^ Abelson, Max (21 April 2009). "10 Pine: The Conniption". New York Observer. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Kids don't really see sheep in the middle of New York at a gas station". The Real Dal. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  11. ^ a b Heyman, Marshall (16 September 2013). "Sheepish at the Station". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  12. ^ Lescaze, Zoe (10 September 2013). "Do Art Collectors Dream of Concrete Sheep? Gas Station Gives Way to Les Lalannes Meadow". Gallerist NY. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  13. ^ Hughes, C.J. (22 October 2013). "Manhattan's Vanishing Gas Stations". New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  14. ^ "The Getty: The Little High Rise in New York". Departures. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  15. ^ Wilson, Reid (15 September 2014). "300 Lafayette Filings, Permits for Shvo's 239 10th Avenue, More". New York Yimby. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  16. ^ "Michael Shvo | GGP | 685 Fifth Avenue". The Real Deal New York. 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  17. ^ Clarke, Katherine (12 February 2019). "Fashion Mogul Tommy Hilfiger Sells Miami Beach Hotel He Aimed to Restore". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Mandarin Oriental to open first condo-only U.S. location in Beverly Hills (PHOTOS)". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  19. ^ Li, Roland (22 March 2022). "S.F.'s Transamerica Pyramid is getting a $250 million redesign, the biggest in its 50-year history". SF Chronicle. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  20. ^ "SHVO JV Completes $376M Purchase of Chicago's Big Red". Commercial Search. 2020-08-13.
  21. ^ "Shvo partnership buys NYC retail building for $382M". SP Global. 2020-03-11.
  22. ^ a b c d Jovanovic, Rozalia (9 October 2013). "Condo Kingpin Turns Chelsea Gas Station Into High-Art Sheep Pasture". Blouin Art Info. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  23. ^ Edstrom, James (5 December 2013). "Michael Shvo In Art & Auctions Power List". Time Square Gossip. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Les Lalanne: The Poetry of Sculpture". Fahrenheit Magazine. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  25. ^ Kinsella, Eileen (19 November 2013). "Buyers Flock to Sotheby's "Les Lalanne: The Poetry of Sculpture"". Blouin Art Info. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  26. ^ Marr, Madeleine (14 November 2019). "Gorillas and sheep are taking over South Beach at this new sculpture garden". Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  27. ^ Kallergis, Katherine (8 November 2019). "Michael Shvo to unveil tropical gardens with LaLanne exhibit at the Raleigh". The Real Deal. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  28. ^ Loiseau, Di Benoit (5 December 2019). "Art Basel Miami Beach 2019. La guida di Vogue" (in Italian). Vogue. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  29. ^ Shott, Chris (4 December 2007). "New York's City Shapers". The New York Observer. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  30. ^ Medchill, Lisa (14 May 2008). "The 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate". The New York Observer. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  31. ^ Velsey, Kim (4 December 2013). "Michael Shvo, Developer Who Brought Us That Gas Station Sheep Meadow, Makes Art+ Auction's Power 100 List". New York Observer. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  32. ^ Garvey, Marianne; Brian Niemietz; Lachlan Cartwright (5 December 2013). "Anthony Weiner is in talks for a NYC radio program, says insiders, on either WOR or WABC". New York Daily News. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  33. ^ "Seren Ceylan ikinci kez hamile". CNN (in Turkish).
  34. ^ "5 dakikada magazin turu (17 Haziran 2020)". Posta.com (in Turkish).
  35. ^ "Manhattan Developer Shvo Accused of $1 Million Tax Evasion". Bloomberg.
  36. ^ "Michael Shvo, Manhattan Real-Estate Developer and Art Collector, Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion". The Wall Street Journal.
  37. ^ "Prolific developer Michael Shvo indicted on tax evasion charges". Curbed.
  38. ^ "Shvo settles tax evasion case". The Real Deal.
  39. ^ "Michael Shvo benched at 125 Greenwich Street: sources". The Real Deal.
  40. ^ "Inside the ugly dispute between Michael Shvo and his partner pal". The Real Deal.

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