Robert K Futterman

Early life and education

Futterman was raised in Jericho, New York, the son of Rosalie and Louis Futterman. His mother was a painter; and his father was a businessman and manufacturer. Originally intending to get into the music business, as a student at the University of Maryland, he represented the school in negotiations with concert promoters Bill Graham (promoter) and Ron Delsener. Not seeing any opportunities in music, he left university and went to Zuma Beach in California to sell ice cream.

Career

In 1983, he returned to New York City to work at Garrick-Aug Associates, a Manhattan retail brokerage firm, where he earned $250 a week as a retail-store canvasser, making cold calls to landlords that had retail space for rent. He was quite successful and was soon promoted to salesman. By 1993, he was running Garrick-Aug’s New York City operations.

In 1998, after noticing that very few real estate firms specialized exclusively on the retail sector (landlord and tenant representation, new construction, leasing, sales, and market analysis), Futterman founded Robert K. Futterman & Associates (RKF). He has since expanded the company into one of the country's largest independent real estate firms specializing in retail leasing, consulting services, and investment sales. As of 2011, the company has arranged sales and leasing transactions valued at nearly $20 billion. RKF is headquartered at 521 Fifth Avenue in New York and also has offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Rutherford, New Jersey, Miami, and San Francisco.

Transactions

He has been involved in most vertical retail projects in New York, including Herald Center, the Manhattan Mall, The Shops at Columbus Circle at Time Warner Center, and 270 Greenwich Street (also known as 101 Warren Street); among others.

Additionally, Futterman has served as an advisor to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey for the World Trade Center redevelopment, and has also worked on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for Grand Central Terminal. He is a member of the Retail Real Estate Board of New York and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Miracle Mile Shops

Futterman has also been involved in the repositioning and rebranding of Desert Passage, a failing, low-traffic mall, into Miracle Mile Shops, a 475,000-square-foot Las Vegas retail shopping and entertainment powerhouse. He has been the leasing and marketing advisor since the onset of the rebranding. As of 2011, Miracle Mile Shops saw 24 consecutive months of impressive sales and traffic increases at the center. RKF recruited national retailers including Ben Sherman, QuikSilver, Marciano, Trader Vic’s, among many others. The mall has continued to grow to over 170 shops, restaurants and entertainment venues that serve approximately 80,000 people each day and nearly 30 million visitors per year. Miracle Mile Shops has been one of the most successful repositionings of a major mall in the U.S.

Awards

Futterman is a four-time recipient of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) Retail Deal of the Year. He has been recognized for the following:

Personal life

Futterman has been married twice. His first wife was Marjorie Futterman; they had two sons together: Jesse and Kevin. He is remarried to clothing designer, Hollie Watman.

Felony conviction

On August 21, 2011, Robert K. Futterman was arrested on drunk driving charges on Sag Harbor Turnpike with four children under the age of 16 in his car. He was charged with multiple counts including violations of Leandra’s Law, which make it a felony on the first offense to drive while intoxicated with children younger than 16 years old in the car. On February 3, 2012, Futterman pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Criminal Court to the aggravated felony count, and the misdemeanor count of driving while impaired by a drug. “Prior to sentencing he must complete 1,000 hours of community service in Suffolk County with conditions including alcohol and narcotics counseling and regular testing,” the spokesperson for the Suffolk County DA said.