Irish Luxury Real Estate Development firm, KILROE Developments Ltd has gone into liquidation owing €3.8m to over three hundred companies and individual contractors.

Kilroe developments built luxury homes for Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, Johnny Ronan of Treasury Holdings and Adam Clayton of U2 and is the most prominent of 3 contractors and developers to collapse last week reports the Irish Independent.

Founded in 1997, Kilroe Developments was a potent symbol of the building boom during the last decade with a wide range of blue chip clients.

The company now owes the Inland Revenue more than €786,000, including €241,000 in VAT and €162,000 in PAYE and PRSI contributions. Employees are also owed €214,000, including wages, redundancy and money in lieu of notice.

At a stormy meeting of creditors held at the Marriot Johnstown House Hotel in Enfield, creditor after creditor claimed they are owed between 30 and 40 per cent more than the figures noted in a list of unsecured creditors supplied by the developer. More on Irish Luxury Property Developer Goes Broke

There are real estate videos and then there are luxury real estate videos

This particular video was produced for Alsop architects in London. If you want to use the word “surreal,” go right ahead – I already did. Not limited by the constraint of actually having to sell anything, Alsop apparently let squint/opera, the production company that made the film, go ahead and make something just plain interesting instead.

William Alsop himself has come in for a degree of criticism over some of his designs and he himself estimates that only 10% of them have ever been built. Those that have been built are in locations ranging from Singapore to Toronto to Manchester. He has been nominated several times for the Sterling prize, which he won in 2000 for his Peckham library design.

Squint/opera are closely associated with Alsop’s and have produced a number of videos for the company. Much has been written about Mr. Alsop, and his wikipedia page is here. My personal favorite quote is from the British newspaper, the Observer, which described him as “obviously not a man familiar with gyms.” I could say the same myself.

Squint/opera

Alsop architects
 

Larry Silverstein heads Silverstein Properties, a real estate developer and management organization. The company owns over 7 million square feet of prime residential and office space in Manhattan.

They were responsible for building the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC – at 3.1 million sq foot, the biggest privately developed office building in the US. The building is, of course, occupied by the US government. At that time, the Ronald Reagan building was the most expensive  federal building ever built ($768 million and came in for substantial criticism considering the fact that Mr. Reagan himself was against such ostentatious government expenditure. But it seems Mr. Silverstein has friends in high places

Six weeks before the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, Silverstein Properties acquired the lease to the building which marked the largest real estate transaction in New York history. Only being overshadowed by the subsequent insurance claim which took several years in court to settle. Silverstein is committing the bulk of the $5 billion settlement to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.

Silverstein opened 7 World Trade Center in 2006 – a 52 floor office tower at 250 Greenwich Street near the World Trade Center site.

Many of Silverstein’s properties are commercial, but they also have substantial interests in the luxury residential market with plans to build the tallest residential downtown tower at 99 Church Street. The property will be operated by luxury hotelier The Four Seasons. Architects for the project are Robert A.M Stern. Once completed, the building will stand 80 stories tall and have a slim profile. The lower half of the building will comprise a 175-room Four Seasons Hotel with the remaining floors given over to private condominiums. 143 luxury apartments of up to 6,500 square feet.

Clearly this company is a force to be reckoned with in the luxury real estate market.

The Ronald Reagan Building

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Photo Credits

Useful Links

Siverstein Properties

7 World Trade center

Robert A.M Stone Architects

One cannot think of the Luxury Property Development World without the name Donald Trump coming to mind. Despite Mr. Trump’s forays into other fields, such as being a TV personality and shaving people’s heads on prime time TV, his main strength is the ability to get things built, almost regardless of the obstacles.

A close brush with the bankruptcy courts back in the 1990’s caused him to either lose, or be forced to relinquish his interests in several on-going projects of the time, including a 50% interest in the Taj Mahal casino, 49% of the Trump Plaza hotel and the Trump Shuttle.

Mr. Trump also offers his name for other property developers to use and many developments bearing the Trump logo are actually not his own. This has caused a few issues and law suits in the past. For example, the Trump Tower Tampa was originally so successful that deposits were returned to the original purchasers and the prices increased. This was bad timing on their part and delays to the construction followed by the sub prime crisis bring doubts as to whether this will ever get completed. Needless to say, law suits have been filed. Mr. Trump is of the opinion that if he had been in charge, the thing would already have been built. Hard to argue with that as his track record for getting things done is excellent.

Mr. Trump has an impressive array of properties in his portfolio including several U.S golf courses and some well known Manhattan properties including the AXA Financial center and The trump Building at 40, Wall Street. Despite issues in the past, it’s hard not to be impressed with his achievements.

One recent development, the “World’s Best Golf Course,” in Scotland ran into trouble when the local authorities denied permission on the basis that the site was a designated “Site of Special Scientific Interest.” Several ecological and local groups including the RSPB, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Sustainable Aberdeenshire, opposed the project from the beginning.

Far be it for me to tell anyone how to run their business, but one might think this sort of thing would need researching before going ahead with a plan of this magnitude. Still, it’s not over yet, and if Mr. Trump can bring enough pressure to bear (money), the development may well go ahead.

If I owned a piece of property in a designated wildlife refuge that was begging for a luxury hotel condo development, I certainly know whom I’d be calling upon to get permission and promote the project.

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Donald Trump’s Blog
 

SC Global Developments is a luxury real estate developer based in Singapore that deals almost exclusively in high –end residential properties. Perhaps their most well-known development is The Marq, a luxury condominium development on Paterson Hill. The Marq was marqueted (sic) in an unusual, “invitation only,” preview and set a new record for luxury condominiums in Singapore – a single unit selling for $31 million which pushed the price over $5,000 psf for the first time.

SC Global managed this feat by including some unusual features – each unit in the Marq includes, amongst other things, a 15 meter cantilevered lap pool and takes up an entire floor of the building. The first release sold out within 7 days.

SC Developments is listed on the main board of the Singapore Stock Exchange and quotes them selves as having a market capitalization of approximately $700 million US. They also own a 42% stake in AV Jennings Ltd, one of Australia’s leading housing developers.

Company details:

SC Global Developments Ltd (formerly: ANA Hotels Singapore Ltd)
    
Incorporated in :    SINGAPORE
    
Incorporated on :    15 Nov 1977
    
ISIN Code :         SG1W16938290
    
Registered Office :    47 Scotts Road #18-01
                                     Goldbell Tower
                                      Singapore 228233
    
    
Telephone:    65 67349119
Fax:                 65 62355115
    
Secretary:    Fong Keng Chee
                       Lee Wan Ling

SC Global Developments was originally incorporated in Singapore on 15 November 1977 under the name of ANA Hotels Singapore Pte Ltd, as a subsidiary of ANA Enterprises Ltd. It acquired a hotel from People’s Realty Co Ltd and commenced business as Century Park Sheraton in 1978. It was converted into a public company on 28 October 1982 and took on the name ANA Hotels Singapore Ltd. In February 2000, the company’s principal activity was changed from hotel proprietor to property developer and the name was changed to SC Global Developments at an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders.

They have gone from strength to strength and are now considered to be one of Singapore’s premiere luxury residential real estate developers.

SC Global Developments
 

Mitsui Fudosan is a well-established Luxury real estate developer based in Tokyo, Japan, originally established in 1673 with the opening of the Echigo-ya clothing store in Nihonbashi by Takatoshi Mitsui, founder of the House of Mitsui.

The Mitsui Company real estate section was founded in 1914 and became a separate entity in 1941 as the Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd with 3 million Yen and wholly owned by the Mitsui family. 1961 saw the beginning of their foray into residential and vacation property and subsequently they building of Japan’s first skyscraper, the Kasumigaseki Building.

Japan’s First Skyscraper

The company has been at the forefront of luxury property development in Japan, building both residential and commercial properties. Notable properties include, but are not limited to:

• LaLaport Funabashi, Japan’s first large-scale regional shopping center, now called LaLaport Tokyo-Bay in 1981.
• Tokyo Disneyland by Oriental Land Co., Ltd., a joint-venture company set up in partnership between Mitsui Fudosan and Keisei Electric Railway Co., Ltd in 1983.
• Tsurumi Hanaport Blossom, the first factory outlet mall in Japan (Osaka) in 1995
• Nihonbashi 1-Chome Building (Coredo Nihonbashi) (Tokyo) in 2004.
• Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza (Tokyo) in 2005.

Mitsui continues to grow, expanding into overseas ventures. Two upcoming projects are the St Regis Hotel & Residences in Singapore (planned completion 2008) and The Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove, a luxury condominium development East of Sentosa Island in Singapore.

The Oceanfront comprises five towers, 12 to 15 storeys high, each with a special curtain wall feature, exemplified by curve lines and planes that create a dynamic yet contemporary space. All 264 exquisitely designed apartments, ranging from spacious two-, three-, four-bedroom units to penthouses (Villas, Sky Suites and Sky Villas) feature full-height glass panels in the living and dining rooms to best take advantage of the magnificent waterfront views. All apartments will have a private lift lobby and most will include balconies. The early bird average price was set at $1,300 per square foot and sold 85% in the first four days of being offered. Prices for individual condominiums ranged from $1.5 million to more than $8 million. Completion of this project is expected 2009.

Mitsui Fudosan

Landmass is a luxury residential property company that specializes in the acquisition, design, refurbishment and development of luxurious apartments and houses in prime London locations such as Mayfair, Belgravia, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill and Kensington SW1, SW3, SW7,SW10, W1 AND W8.

The company offers a number of client services ranging from acquisitions to a full service including Space Planning, Lifestyle Blending, and Finishes. “A 110% solution for 100% of our clients’ requirements.”

Landmass concentrate their efforts on premium quality and claim “not to be the cheapest developers around.” According to the Managing Director, Alan Waxman:

“Development has always required design flair, an attention to detail and application of processes and actions to get the job done on-time and on-budget – this is especially vital in property development and I strongly believe that these skills have been fundamental in allowing Landmass to grow to what it is today.

“My passion for this company comes from many places but it would be fair to say that the variety of properties and clients that I have, and continue to work with, makes each day a new and exciting challenge. Combine this with a fantastic team and developing properties in one of the most famous and important cities in the world makes me feel very proud of what Landmass has achieved to date.”

Landmass has a very small team of experts in-house: Tara Ford, interior designer; Damien Paul, construction manager; Francesca Matthieu, Acquisitions Director and the MD, Alan Waxman.

Their recent projects include a stunning 3-4 bedroom apartment in 3 Sheridan Court, Kensington, London, SW 5. The property was completely refurbished to the highest standards and sold for £2.25 million after completion.

Landmass have been written up by The Times, The Sunday Express and several up-market luxury real estate  magazines. The articles are available for download from their website.

Unlike the larger luxury real estate development companies, Landmass offer bespoke, personal service.

Landmass London