MARC PALERMO
Real estate veteran Marc Palermo knows all the right people.
It’s been the recipe for success in his 23-year career in the real estate industry, one that’s taken him from the hospitality side, to the development arena, and now to his current position in brokerage at Douglas Elliman, as senior vice president of new development marketing.
While a college student studying liberal arts in Miami, Palermo was a self-described “rudderless” 19-year-old working in a restaurant to pay for school when he met the late Tony Goldman, the legendary real estate developer who pioneered the revitalization of the South Beach neighborhood of Miami, as well as Soho in New York City.
Goldman frequented the restaurant where Palermo waited tables and, eventually, the two got to talking and became friends, which led to Goldman offering Palermo a position at a restaurant in one of his hotels.
It was 1991, and South Beach was just beginning to change,. Goldman was busy opening nightclubs, restaurants and hotels, building what would soon become a huge nightlife scene. “It was a full court press of gentrifying,” Palermo told Broker’s Weekly.
Goldman told the New York Times in 2000 that he didn’t like to be called a developer, and instead thought of himself as a “long-term investor” in the revitalization of historic neighborhoods.
Palermo hit the ground running with Goldman, learning about how to reposition properties while still preserving the historical integrity of the buildings. For two years, Palermo worked with Goldman on renovating properties that later become home to restaurants and high-profile retailers such as Kenneth Cole and Armani.
In 1993, he moved to New York City to work in some of the restaurants that Goldman was opening in Soho at night, as well as working in the office during the day, looking at opportunities for the business to grow. Goldman’s son Joey was in charge of the New York properties, and Palermo worked with him on re-positioning former loft buildings on Greene Street.
Palermo recalled his first big project in New York, working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the National Trust to transform Stone Street, a cobblestoned street in Lower Manhattan, from a back alley delivery zone to a bustling street of bars and restaurants.
By 2004, with years of experience in hospitality and commercial real estate, Palermo joined IMI resort holdings, a real estate company that worked with developers creating residential resort partnerships, like the Four Seasons, L’Auberge, Viceroy Hotels, and golf communities in Texas and Florida.
As vice president, Palermo focused on residential relationships. He worked on projects in Miami with the Related Companies, in Philadelphia with Philadelphia Management, and Viceroy Hotels out of Los Angeles, on projects in Mexico and Anguila.
MICHAEL SHVO
After four years involving a considerable amount of traveling, when his wife became pregnant, Palermo decided it was time to move back to New York. One of the real estate companies he frequently worked with was Michael Shvo’s firm. It was 2007, and Shvo was in the process of expanding his firm when Palermo jumped on board.
“Michael was extremely creative, he’s also a good manager in a sense that he understands how to help himself by helping his people do their best work,” said Palermo. “He always had great ideas and was able to run with them and bring interesting projects to market.”
After three years of working for Shvo, Palermo decided to switch gears and work on the brokerage side of the business. The market had slowed, and was still in the midst of a recession after the financial collapse of 2008. Palermo knew from his experiences with Goldman in the hospitality industry how important it was to understand all aspects of an industry.
“You really have to know every side of the business,” said Palermo. “Tony taught me that early on. When we’d buy or build a restaurant, we’d spend time in the dishwashing area, then we knew what people weren’t eating.”
Warburg Realty CEO Fred Peters sold Palermo his first apartment, and he already had a great relationship with the company. “He said why don’t you come work with us? We’d love to see what you know and we’ll teach you what we know,” said Palermo. “He was a great mentor.”
His first year as a residential agent, Palermo chose to “sit back” and learn the business. He focused on putting his name out there, going to open houses, and getting to know neighborhoods. “Deals don’t come overnight, you have to plant a lot of seeds,” he said.
By his second year in the business, he had forged solid relationships and was one of the top agents in his office. He focused on Lower Manhattan, which he had gotten to know very well during his time working for Goldman in the mid-90’s.
After three years at Warburg, he joined Douglas Elliman in 2014 in large part to work with highly regarded development marketing expert, Susan de Franca, “She’s another great mentor,ˮ he said of de Franca. The executive team here is like a family, and the doors are always open and there’s great collaboration when it comes to working with developers on projects.”
Some of Palermo’s most memorable projects include mega-tower 432 Park AvenuE (pictured top) which he called “truly one of the great ones,” the 88-story 125 Greenwich, FiDi’s 15 William, and Soho’s 565 Broome Street.
After more than 20 years in the business, Palermo has seen his share of cycles in the market. Though he sees some volatility with the transition to a new administration in the White House, he is confident the market will regain its footing, and among agents and brokers, the mood is optimistic. “We always come out on top,” he said. “You can look all the way back and you’ll see the same things happen.”
Reflecting on his career in real estate, Palermo said he still finds himself seeking out the best mentors to teach him more. “You can never stop learning in this business,” he said. “As long as I am challenged and learn something new from architects or research people, I think I’m in the right place.”
