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 manages more than 8.5 million square feet of Class A office space in Midtown Manhattan and over 1 million square feet of luxury residential rentals. It is a member of REBNY.
In 1902, Jewish immigrant Joseph Durst arrived in the United States from Gorlice, Galicia, Austria-Hungary with three dollars to his name. He found work as a tailor in New York City, and in 1912, he became a full partner in a dress manufacturer, Durst & Rubin.
Using the profits from his business, Durst bought his first building in 1915: The Century Building at One West 34th Street. In 1926, he acquired the original Temple Emanu-El at 5th Avenue and 43rd Street, from Benjamin Winter, Sr. the largest synagogue building in the United States at the time; it was demolished in 1927 to make room for commercial development. In 1927, he formed the Durst Organization.
More purchases included:
In 1929, the first residential building, a 15-story building at Fifth Avenue and 85th Street;
In 1936, the Park Hill Theater and store in Yonkers, New York;
In 1944, 205 East 42nd Street.
Shift to development and construction
In the 1950s, the Durst Organization shifted from primarily real estate management to new construction and development. They assembled the parcels for and completed the following buildings, all of which it still owns:
In 1958, a 29-story building at 200 East 42nd Street (655 Third Avenue);
In 1961, the 24-story 733 Third Avenue;
In 1966, the 32-story, 201 East 42nd Street (675 Third Avenue).
In 1968, they purchased Henry Miller's Theatre (the theater was later demolished—although the facade was preserved—to build the Bank of America Tower) and the entire block facing Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets;
In 1969, the 40-story 825 Third Avenue;
In 1970, the 45-story 1133 Avenue of the Americas;
In 1974, Joseph Durst died and his son Seymour Durst took control of the company during the real estate crash of the 1970s.
In 1984, the 41-story 1155 Avenue of the Americas;
In 1989, the 26-story 114 West 47th Street;
In 1992, Seymour Durst retired and his son Douglas Durst took control of the company. Seymour died in 1995.
In 1999, the 48-story 4 Times Square;
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;
In 2014, the Durst Organization made plans for a large residential complex in Queens, N.Y.
In 2010, the Durst Organization bid on and won the right to invest $100 million in the One World Trade Center Development, becoming a co-developer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Its contract with the Port Authority gives the company 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.
Since the company joined the project, design changes include:
The 185-foot base of the tower, the corners of which were originally designed to slope gently upward, has been squared off. In addition, instead of being clad in panels of prismatic glass, it will be covered in "hundreds of pairs of 13-foot vertical glass fins set against horizontal bands of eight-inch-wide stainless-steel slats."
The spire, originally intended to be enclosed with a decorative shell (known as a radome) described as a "sculptural sheath of interlocking fiberglass panels" will instead remain an unclad spire. As such, the height of the tower may be officially reduced by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from a symbolic 1,776 feet to the height of the roof at to 1,368 feet. Douglas Durst, the chairman of the Durst Organization, indicates that the change will save $20 million. The tower's architect, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, has strongly criticized the move. Steve Childs, the lead designer has stated: "Eliminating this integral part of the building's design and leaving an exposed antenna and equipment is unfortunate...We stand ready to work with the Port on an alternate design." After coming onto the project in 2010, The Durst Organization had proposed eliminating the radome to save costs but was rejected by the Port Authority's previous executive director, Chris Ward. Patrick Foye, Ward's September 2011 replacement, has changed the Port Authority's position. The decision is final as stated by Douglas Durst: "(the antenna) is going to be mounted on the building over the summer. There's no way to do anything at this point."
The plaza to the west of the building facing the Hudson River, which is at an elevation to Vesey Street to the North and West Street to the West, was supposed to have stainless steel steps reaching down to the streets. Instead it will be a terrace, set apart by a blocklong landscaped planter. In addition, the Port Authority has removed a skylight set into the plaza which was designed to allow natural light into the observation deck lobby below ground.
The Port Authority has approved all the revisions. Patrick Foye, the new executive director of the Port Authority states: “I think they’ve been few and minor.” Douglas Durst, the chairman of the Durst Organization, commenting on the changes: "We didn’t make the changes to save money...The changes were made in order to construct the building.”
