Douglas Durst (born December 19, 1944) is an American
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
investor and developer. He is the president of the
Durst Organization
The Durst Organization is one of the oldest family-run commercial and residential real estate companies in New York City. Established in 1915, the company is owned and operated by the third generation of the Durst family. As of 2014, it owns and ...
, which he has been in charge of since 1992.
Early life and education
Durst was born in New York City in 1944
[Durst Organization website – About Us: Douglas Durst]
retrieved June 30, 2013 to a Jewish family, the son of Bernice (née Herstein) and
Seymour Durst
Seymour Bernard Durst (September 7, 1913 – May 15, 1995) was an American real estate investor and developer. He was the creator of the National Debt Clock.
Early life and education
Durst was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Ne ...
. He is the younger brother of
Robert Durst.
Durst's paternal grandfather,
Joseph Durst
Joseph Durst (January 15, 1882 – December 31, 1973) was an American real estate developer, founder of the Durst Organization, and patriarch of the Durst family.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family, Durst immigrated to the US from Gorlice, Gal ...
, a penniless immigrant tailor from
Austria Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, eventually became a very successful real estate manager and developer founding The
Durst Organization
The Durst Organization is one of the oldest family-run commercial and residential real estate companies in New York City. Established in 1915, the company is owned and operated by the third generation of the Durst family. As of 2014, it owns and ...
in 1915. His father, Seymour, became head of the family business in 1974 upon Joseph's death. Douglas's mother died when he was a child, in a fall from the roof of the family's three-story house; the exact circumstances were never clarified.
[Wall Street Journal: "Taking the Helm to Change City Landscape" by Dana Rubinstein]
December 10, 2011 Douglas graduated from the
Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facult ...
in 1962 and the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
in 1966. He attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
's Urban Studies program for two years and then joined the family business then run by his father and two uncles, Roy and David.
[
]
Career
Douglas took over the Durst Organization in 1992 upon his father's retirement. He presided over the development of several major buildings in New York City:
*In 1999, the 48-story 4 Times Square;[The Durst Organization: Timeline]
, durst.org; retrieved July 8, 2012.
*In 2005, the 38-story Helena at 601 West 57th Street;[
*In 2007, the 57-story Epic on 125 West 31st Street;][
*In 2008, the 58-story Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park;][
Durst is a director of the Real Estate Board of New York.][ Durst is known for emphasizing density and sustainability in his projects.
]
New School University Center
Located on 14th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, the New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
university center was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and developed by The Durst Organization. The building is designed to LEED Gold
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
standards.
One World Trade Center development
In 2010, the Durst Organization bid on and won the right to invest $100 million in the One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center (also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Mer ...
development becoming a co-developer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...
.[David W. Dunla]
"1 World Trade Center Is a Growing Presence, and a Changed One"
nytimes.com, June 12, 2012.
The contract negotiated between the Port Authority and the Durst Organization specifies that the Durst Organization will receive a $15 million fee and a percentage of "base building changes that result in net economic benefit to the project." The specifics of the signed contract give Durst 75 percent of savings up to $24 million and stepping down thereafter (to 50 percent, 25 percent and 15 percent) as the savings increased. Durst had offered to work for a fixed $35 million fee, but the Port chose the incentive fee arrangement. Significant changes to the building have been made since his joining of the project.[
]
Bank of America Tower – One Bryant Park
In May 2010, Douglas Durst, former Vice President Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...
, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially opened the Bank of America Tower. It was the first high-rise commercial tower to receive LEED platinum rating in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The 55 story, 2.1 million square foot building located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street was designed by Cookfox Architects.
In June 2009, a group of banks provided Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
and Durst Organization $1.28 billion to refinance the building. Bank of America provided half of the loan. The other parts came from New York Mellon Corp., Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
, Westdeutsche Immobilien Bank, and Helaba Bank.
VIA 57 West
In the early 2000s, architect Bjarke Ingels met Durst when he was in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
with his wife, Susanne, a native of Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
. He visited Ingels' studio in February 2010.[Robbie Whela]
"New Face of Design"
''The Wall Street Journal'', July 22, 2012; retrieved October 14, 2012.
In spring 2010, Durst Fetner Residential commissioned Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to bring a new residential typology to Manhattan. In 2011, BIG opened an office in New York to supervise VIA's development and construction.["West 57th by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group"]
, ArchiTravel.com, September 20, 2012. Completed in 2016, VIA 57 West
VIA 57 West (marketed as VIΛ 57WEST) is a residential building located at 625 West 57th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. The pyramid shaped tower block or "tetrahedron", designed by the Dan ...
is a 709-unit, four sided, pyramid shaped tower of apartments on West Fifty-seventh Street.
Philanthropy and charitable activities
Durst is a director of The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
, The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
, Project for Public Spaces
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization based in New York dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities, in an effort often termed placemaking
Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the pla ...
, and the Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...
. He is a trustee of the Old York Foundation, which was established by his father, to help educate people about the history and ongoing problems of New York City. Durst is also a prominent environmentalist and operates one of the largest organic farms in New York State.[
]
McEnroe Farm
In 1987, Durst purchased a piece of land from Ray McEnroe, the owner of an organic farm in Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...
, some 100 miles north of Manhattan. He purchased the land to dispose of his horses' manure in an environmentally friendly way. Durst later partnered with McEnroe, and now the farm is 500 acres, and among the top 25% of organic farms in the United States.
Personal life
In 1967, he married Susanne Durst, a Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
national whom he met in Denmark after college.
Children
They have three children:[
*Anita Durst, the founder of Chashama, a charity dedicated to locating affordable or free studio and gallery space for artists in New York City.
*Alexander Durst, vice president at the Durst Organization responsible for development, project management, and operations. He is married to Eva Billeci, senior project manager at the Durst Organization.
*Helena Rose Domino, vice president at the Durst Organization; she is also a board member of Just Food, ]Governors Island
Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
Alliance, the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board as well as President of New York Water Taxi
New York Water Taxi (NYWT) is a water taxi service based in New York City. It offers sightseeing, charter and commuter services mainly to points along the East River and Hudson River. It is one of several private operators of ferries, sightseei ...
and Circle Line Downtown.[Durst Domino birth announcement]
retrieved June 30, 2013.
Health
Douglas Durst suffered a severe leg injury in 1972 when a coal-fired water heater exploded in a Newfoundland house where he was then living with his wife and young family. "I should've died there," Durst would later tell ''The New York Times''. "It changed my whole outlook on life. I had to get more serious about what I was doing", he said, moving back to the family real estate business following months of recuperation. After suffering more than four decades of pain, despite many years of surgery, part of Durst's lower right leg was amputated in 2015. He walks today with the help of a prosthesis.
Robert Durst
Douglas and his brother Robert had a contentious childhood. As children, they were both put in therapy to help resolve their differences. When they became adults, both eventually worked in the family business. As oldest brother, Robert believed he would be the natural successor to his father as the leader of the Durst Organization. When their father Seymour chose Douglas over him in 1992, Robert estranged himself from his entire family and in 2006 sued for his share of the Durst family trust. A $65 million settlement was reached that divested Robert of all future share of the Durst family wealth. In 2001, Robert Durst was charged with murdering a neighbor and dismembering his body in Galveston, Texas. Pleading self-defense, he was acquitted of the murder charge. Douglas was interviewed by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' in January 2015, and was quoted as saying about Robert: "There's no doubt in my mind that if he had the opportunity to kill me, he would."
Douglas Durst told ''The New York Times'' in December 2015 that he believed, until 2001, in his brother's innocence regarding Kathleen McCormack Durst's "disappearance" in 1982. Contrary to his brother's assertions to the documentary filmmakers of '' The Jinx'', he was never privy to his father's meetings with a lawyer and private detective tasked with investigating Kathleen's disappearance.[ "I'm going to be a witness in Los Angeles" for the prosecution of his brother for the murder of Susan Berman, whom investigators believe Durst murdered because she knew details of Robert's role in his wife Kathleen's death, "so they don't want me to talk too much about anything after 2001", Douglas Durst said. On June 28, 2021, Douglas Durst appeared in court as a witness for the prosecution in the Susan Berman murder trial, saying he was not happy to testify against his brother and only appeared under threat of subpoena. He said Robert's wife Kathie told him she was going to seek a divorce from Robert. Robert told him and his wife Kathie vanished a couple of days after he put her on a train to New York City from their lakeside house in Westchester County, and that was the last time he saw her. "His tone was very neutral," Douglas Durst said. "There was no great anxiety in his tone. It seemed a little strange.” Douglas said growing up as children his brother Robert "Treated me miserably. He would fight with me at every chance. He would embarrass me." Douglas said Robert would "like to murder me”, and he has not spoken to Robert since 1999.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durst, Douglas
1944 births
Living people
Jewish American philanthropists
People of Galician-Jewish descent
American real estate businesspeople
Businesspeople from New York City
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Douglas Durst
20th-century American businesspeople
Philanthropists from New York (state)
American amputees