James P. Stuckey

James P. Stuckey is an award-winning [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ratner's+James+Stuckey+to+be+honored+for+leadership-a0154079719 "Ratner's James Stuckey to be honored for leadership"] , "Real Estate Weekly", October 25, 2006] New York City Real Estate Developer credited with the creation and completion of many of the most high profile public/private large scale New York City real estate developments. He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Verdant Properties, LLC..

Career

Mr. Stuckey is the President, CEO and founder of VERDANT PROPERTIES, LLC™, a real estate development, ownership, acquisitions and consulting Limited Liability Company. He has over thirty years of public and private development experience, completing many of the most complicated real estate projects in the United States with total values exceeding over $20 billion. Currently, Verdant Properties, LLC™ is overseeing the development of a $50 million, 132 unit affordable housing project in Flushing, Queens, and several hundred units of affordable and market rate homes in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

From January 1994 though June 2007, Mr. Stuckey was responsible for the creation and completion of several billion dollars of highly visible public/private commercial real estate development projects at Forest City Ratner Companies.

As President of the Atlantic Yards Development Group, Mr. Stuckey led the development of Atlantic Yards, the proposed new home of the New Jersey Nets Basketball team, 6,430 units of housing and over 600,000 square feet of commercial development in the heart of Brooklyn. This $4.0 billion dollar development, being designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, will create affordable and middle income housing, eight acres of open space and thousands of new construction and permanent jobs. Mr. Stuckey had primary responsibility for the overall project, including land acquisition and site assemblage, public and environmental review and approval processes, business negotiations (including government financial incentives), and design and development. He was responsible for overseeing the project’s LEED Certification for Neighborhood Development, a system that integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green buildings into the first national system of design. He served as the lead negotiator of the project’s historic Community Benefits Agreement.

During his tenure at Forest City, Mr. Stuckey also oversaw the development of 15 MetroTech Center South, a 675,000 square foot, class A office building, the first to commence construction in New York City after the September 11th tragedy. The anchor tenant for this building, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, was the fourth largest former tenant of the World Trade Center. This building commenced construction within 60 days of the tragedy, and was completed for occupancy within eighteen months. In addition, Mr. Stuckey completed a 320,000 square foot transaction with the Bank of New York for new office space constructed above Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn. The Bank of New York was also required to relocate in the aftermath of September 11th.

Other completed projects at Forest City included 330 Jay Street, a 1,150,000 sq ft., 32 story building with court, city agency and commercial office space; Harlem Center, a 150,000 square foot, class A office building built above a Forest City Ratner four level retail development; the headquarters and trading floors for the New York Mercantile Exchange; the 42nd Street Retail Development featuring Madame Tussauds and the 25 screen AMC Megaplex; the 460 room Times Square Hilton Hotel; the headquarters for the New York City Fire Department at MetroTech and the 463 room Embassy Suites Hotel and Retail Center at the World Financial Center.

Prior to joining Forest City Ratner Companies, Mr. Stuckey was Managing Director at Gronich & Company, overseeing real estate and development advisory services. In this capacity, Mr. Stuckey represented major developers in New York City, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo and Albany and assisted major tenants in their relocation decisions. He negotiated the business transaction for Disney for the restoration of the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street with the City and State of New York. The Theater has been the home of numerous Disney productions (including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mary Poppins). Mr. Stuckey also represented the Russian Federation and its various organizations and was awarded the 1991 Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award by the Real Estate Board of New York for the creation of the Russian Trade and Cultural Center at the World Trade Center.

Before joining Gronich & Company, Mr. Stuckey served under Mayor Edward I. Koch as President of the New York City Public Development Corporation (currently known as the City’s Economic Development Corporation). In addition to overseeing the day to day operations of this 200 person corporation, he was responsible for implementing in excess of $15 billion in commercial, industrial, and waterfront real estate development projects. Mr. Stuckey played a key role in the development of MetroTech Center, Citibank Center, Times Square Redevelopment, Astoria Motion Picture Studios, the South Street Seaport and the Teleport projects. He oversaw and managed the City’s sixteen industrial and office parks, including the Bathgate, College Point and Staten Island Corporate Parks. Mr. Stuckey redeveloped the Brooklyn Army Terminal into a one million square foot industrial complex, a facility which remains nearly one hundred percent occupied. He assisted in the retention and creation of over 100,000 jobs within New York City, including those associated with Shearson Lehman Hutton, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs.

In 2004, Mr. Stuckey was appointed a Commissioner to the New York City Public Design Commission (formerly the Art Commission of the City of New York) by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and was subsequently elected President of the Commission by his fellow Commissioners in February 2007. He currently serves as a member of Caron New York’s Advisory Board, and as a Governor of St. John’s University’s Board of Governors. Mr. Stuckey has served as a member of the Board of Directors of both the New York City Public Development Corporation and the New York City Financial Services Corporation, and was appointed by Mayor Edward I. Koch and Governor Mario Cuomo to the Westside Task Force. Under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, he served as a member of the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority.

In addition to these posts, Mr. Stuckey served as Chairman of the Board for the Center Against Domestic Violence, as a Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York’s Board of Governors, and is a current or past member of the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, the NYC Transit Museum, the Young Presidents' Organization, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, the Urban Land Institute, and the Council on Urban Economic Development. He also served as Vice Chairman of Community Board 2 in Staten Island, and as a Trustee of the Jacques Marquis Center of Tibetan Art. He is listed in Marquis “Who’s Who in America”. In 1990, he wrote a regular column on business, political and world affairs for the Staten Island Advance, a Bertelsmann Publication, with a circulation of over 80,000.

A native New Yorker, Mr. Stuckey received both his Bachelor and Masters' degrees with honors from St. John's University and was listed in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. In 2002, Mr. Stuckey completed his second Masters Degree in Sacred Scripture from St. Joseph Seminary’s Institute for Religious Studies. He is a recipient of both the Pietas and President’s Metals from St. John’s University. Mr. Stuckey is an Associate Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and regularly lectures at Harvard and Columbia Universities. He has also taught at St. John’s and Yale Universities, John Jay College and Pratt Institute. He and his family currently reside in New York City. He is an accomplished musician, capable of playing ten instruments, and enjoys writing, bicycling, sailing, kayaking, drawing, and golfing.

Atlantic Yards

As President of the Atlantic Yards Development Group, Stuckey led the development of Atlantic Yards.Opponents of the project have portrayed the developers as "dollar-oriented," and have mounted a campaign to stop what they characterize as a development that will destroy the neighborhood. Mr. Stuckey says the reason he undertook the project was the opposite, saying "it had to have a public purpose."

Designed and overseen by Architect Frank Gehry supporters say the proposed $4.0 billion dollar complex would provide the community 6,430 housing units and the Barclays Center would serve as the future home of the New Jersey Nets Basketball team. Site work began on February 20, 2007. On June 13, 2007 Mr. Stuckey resigned citing a desire to "pursue new challenges." [Schuerman, Matthew. [http://www.observer.com/2007/stuckey-leaves-atlantic-yards "Stuckey Leaves Atlantic Yards"] , "New York Observer", June 13, 2007.]

Completed Projects

* Forest City 330 Jay Street – convert|1150000|sqft|m2|abbr=on., 32 story building
* MetroTech Center
* Harlem Center – a convert|150000|sqft|m2|abbr=on., class A Office Building
* The 460-room Times Square Hilton Hotel
* The 463-room Embassy Suites Hotel & Retail Center at the World Financial Center
* Negotiated with Disney the restoration of the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street
* Played a key role in the redevelopment of Times Square
* Redeveloped the Brooklyn Army Terminal – convert|1000000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. industrial complex
* A complete listing can be found at http://www.verdantproperties.com

References

Sources

* Schuerman, Matthew. [http://www.observer.com/2007/stuckey-leaves-atlantic-yards "Stuckey Leaves Atlantic Yards"] , "New York Observer", June 13, 2007
* Engquist, Erik. [http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/2006/05/james_stuckey_b.html "James Stuckey: Building in Brooklyn"] , "Crain's New York Business", May 29, 2006
* [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ratner's+James+Stuckey+to+be+honored+for+leadership-a0154079719 "Ratner's James Stuckey to be honored for leadership"] , "Real Estate Weekly", October 25, 2006
* Stabile, Tom. [http://newyork.construction.com/features/archive/2006/02_cover.asp "Owner-Developer of the Year"] , "New York Construction", February 2006.