Christopher M. Jeffries

Last updated
Christopher M. Jeffries
Born
Christopher Michael Jeffries
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Columbia University (BA)
University of Michigan Law School (JD)
OccupationReal estate developer
Known forCo-founder of Millennium Partners
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1989;div. 1993)​
  • Lisa Jeffries

Christopher Michael Jeffries is an American real estate developer, lawyer, and philanthropist who co-founded the national real estate firm Millennium Partners, known for the development of the Millennium Towers in New York, Boston, and San Francisco as well as the redevelopment of Hotel St. Moritz.

Contents

Education

Jeffries graduated from Columbia College in 1972 and University of Michigan Law School in 1974. [1] [2]

Career

After receiving his J.D. degree, Jeffries began his career as a lawyer in the Southfield, Michigan, law firm of Keywell & Rosenfeld. [2] He then served as a principal in the leveraged buyout of Key International Inc., a metal recycling and automotive equipment manufacturing business. [3]

General Atlantic

Jeffries met Philip Aarons, who was chairing the New York City Public Development Corporation at that time and the two worked on housing developments in Staten Island. [4] The two joined General Atlantic and ran its real estate division. [4] Throughout the 1980s, he and Aarons constructed subsidized low-income housing in Manhattan and Brooklyn. [4]

In April 1990, the American Broadcasting Company decided to sell two full blocks on the East Side of Broadway between Sixty-Eighth and Sixty-Ninth Streets. [5] However, it was also a time of recession and it was difficult to get financing for almost any construction. A syndicate led by William Zeckendorf Jr. and Martin J. Raynes fell apart because they were unable to secure funding, and the latter was driven to bankruptcy in 1991 after the real estate downturn. [5] [6]

Jeffries then stepped in to take over the project, but his superiors at General Atlantic thought the deal was infeasible. As a result, Jeffries and Aarons departed General Atlantic and were given the right to proceed with their transaction from the company. Jeffries and Aarons, joined by Philip Lovett, started their own real estate firm, Millennium Partners, in 1990. [4] [5]

Millennium Partners

Millennium won the backing of Goldman Sachs and American Broadcasting Company offered them a $13 million reduction in the $105 million purchase price for the land. Eager to keep the deal alive, Jeffries came up with $1 million of his own money to secure the agreement. [5] However, further challenges lies ahead in securing the remaining $81 million in a credit-scarce market. Jeffries came up with a novel way of financing the project by developing a mixed-used, urban entertainment, retail, office, and residential complex and pre-selling different segment of the building to various owners, both individuals and corporations. The use of the building would also be differentiated by having two separate entrances for commercial and residential uses. [4] [5] [7]

By 1991, he secured financial commitments from Sony (whose space later was sold to Loews Theater), LA Fitness, Gap Inc., United States Postal Service, as well as J.P. Morgan & Co. as future tenants of Millennium Tower. [4] [5] Their initial success has allowed them to develop two other buildings in Lincoln Square, Manhattan, One Lincoln Square and the Grand Millennium. [5]

The announcement of Millennium Tower brought controversies over its density, height, and design, that Brendan Gill described the 'immense structure' as 'grossly over-scaled' and objected to the 'exceptionally busy' mix of uses. [4] [8] Those protests later helped set new zoning laws in the district. [5]

The Millennium Tower was, nevertheless, a commercial success that attracted celebrity tenants such as Howard Stern, Liam Neeson, Jon Bon Jovi, and Regis Philbin, earned over a quarter billion dollars and inspired other real estate developers to follow suit. [5] [9] According to Michael Gross, author of House of Outrageous Fortune , the children of real estate developer William Zeckendorf later used Jeffries' pioneering formula in developing 15 Central Park West as their family was investors in the Millennium Tower as well. [5]

Jeffries later partnered with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to replicate similar real estate projects that combine condominiums and hotels in mixed-used complexes in other cities, totaling $2 billion in investment. [9] [10] [11] [12] Among the cities is San Francisco, where he developed the Millennium Tower, controversial for its sinking foundations and tilting problems, and Four Seasons Hotel, San Francisco. [13] [14] [15] In addition to the under construction Winthrop Center, he has helped develop Millennium Tower, Millennium Place, and owned the historic Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston. [16] [17] [18] In Miami, he spearheaded the development of the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, which was the tallest building in the city from 2003 to 2017. [19] [20] In Washington, DC, he helped the development of The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. as well as The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown. [21] [22]

Through Millenium Partners, he owns the Hotel St. Moritz, which he developed into The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, as well as condominiums and led to a turnaround of its status, attracting prominent tenants such as Jean-Marie Messier, Sidney Kimmel, Larry Ellison, and Mitchell Rales. [23] Jeffries' condo in the building, purchased in 2002, was the highest-priced in the New York real estate market when it was sold in 2012. [24] [25]

Philanthropy

In 2018, Jeffries and his wife, Lisa, committed $33 million to the University of Michigan Law School, which is the largest donation the school has received. [26] His total contribution to University of Michigan is $40 million, including $5 million for a new campus building renamed Jeffries Hall in his honor, and $2.5 million for the law school's 1L Summer Funding Program. [2] [27]

In March 2020, he donated $25 million to the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, which is the largest single donation in the system's 105-year history. The money will be used to help advance cancer research and treatment. [28] [29]

Personal life

Outside his business career, he is most known for being the former husband of Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, the daughter of actress Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan, son of Aga Khan III. [5] The couple had been active in organizations promoting research in Alzheimer's disease. [30] They married in 1989 and their reception attracted a high-profile crowd include UN Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Senators Chris Dodd and Larry Pressler, author Jerzy Kosiński, songwriter Ahmet Ertegun, and Donald Trump. [31] [30] The couple divorced in 1993, citing abandonment. [32] [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutsche Bank Center</span> Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

Deutsche Bank Center is a mixed-use building on Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building occupies the western side of Columbus Circle and straddles the border between Hell's Kitchen and the Upper West Side. It was developed by The Related Companies and Apollo Global Management, and designed by David Childs and Mustafa Kemal Abadan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Helmsley</span> American businessman (1909–1997

Harry Brakmann Helmsley was an American real estate billionaire whose company, Helmsley-Spear, became one of the country's biggest property holders, owning the Empire State Building and many of New York's most prestigious hotels. His second marriage to Leona Roberts led to charges of false accounting and tax evasion as well as a celebrated trial, where Harry was judged too frail to plead, but Leona was fined and jailed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water Tower Place</span> Shopping mall in Illinois, U.S.

Water Tower Place is a large urban, mixed-use development comprising a 758,000 sq ft (70,400 m2) shopping mall in a 74-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall is located at 835 North Michigan Avenue, along the Magnificent Mile. It is named after the nearby Chicago Water Tower, and is owned by affiliates of Brookfield Property Partners. As reported by the Chicago Suntimes, Brookfield Property Partners handed the keys to the project back to their lender, MetLife, owing to numerous retail vacancies following the closing of Macy's and the impact of COVID and increasing crime along the Magnificent Mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump International Hotel and Tower (New York City)</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Trump International Hotel and Tower, originally the Gulf and Western Building, is a high-rise building at 15 Columbus Circle and 1 Central Park West on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. It was originally designed by Thomas E. Stanley as an office building and completed in 1970 as the headquarters of Gulf and Western Industries. In the mid-1990s, a joint venture composed of the General Electric Pension Fund, Galbreath Company, and developer Donald Trump renovated the building into a hotel and residential tower. The renovation was designed by Philip Johnson and Costas Kondylis.

Tishman Realty & Construction Co., Inc. is an American corporation founded in 1898 that owns and develops real estate. The company is known for being the contractor that built the original World Trade Center in New York City. Tishman Construction Corporation, the construction division of the company, was sold to AECOM in 2010.

Harry B. Macklowe is an American real estate developer and investor based in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">660 Fifth Avenue</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

660 Fifth Avenue is a 41-story office building on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The office tower was designed by Carson & Lundin and built for its developer Tishman Realty and Construction from 1955 to 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company</span> American multinational luxury hotel chain

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addition to 46 hotels with 8,755 rooms planned for the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">712 Fifth Avenue</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

712 Fifth Avenue is a 650-foot-tall (200 m) skyscraper at 56th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Constructed from 1987 to 1990, it was designed by SLCE Architects and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. The skyscraper's base includes the Coty Building at 714 Fifth Avenue and the Rizzoli Bookstore building at 712 Fifth Avenue, both of which are New York City designated landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hani Rashid</span> Egyptian-born architect

Hani Rashid is an architect and educator. He co-founded the New York-based architecture firm, Asymptote Architecture with Lise Anne Couture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel St. Moritz</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Hotel St. Moritz was a luxury hotel located at 50 Central Park South, on the east side of Sixth Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The structure was extensively rebuilt from 1999 to 2002, and today it is a hotel/condominium combination known as The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park.

Handel Architects LLP is an architecture firm that was founded in New York City in 1994. Led by Partner Gary Handel, the firm has offices in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">432 Park Avenue</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper at 57th Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, overlooking Central Park. The 1,396-foot-tall (425.5 m) tower was developed by CIM Group and Harry B. Macklowe and designed by Rafael Viñoly. A part of Billionaires' Row, 432 Park Avenue has some of the most expensive residences in the city, with the median unit selling for tens of millions of dollars. At the time of its completion in 2015, 432 Park Avenue was the third-tallest building in the United States and the tallest residential building in the world. As of 2023, it is the sixth-tallest building in the United States, the fifth-tallest building in New York City, and the third-tallest residential building in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Newbury Boston</span> Building in Massachusetts, U.S.

The Newbury Boston is a historic luxury hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. It opened in 1927 as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The property is a Boston landmark and anchors fashionable Newbury Street and the picturesque Boston Public Garden, located in the heart of the Back Bay.

Gary Barnett is an American businessman. He is the president and founder of Extell Development Company, a real estate development firm involved in residential, commercial and hospitality properties, including several high-profile buildings in Manhattan, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5 Beekman Street</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

5 Beekman Street is a building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is composed of the 10-story, 150-foot-tall (46 m) Temple Court Building and Annex and a connected 51-story, 687-foot-tall (209 m) condominium tower called the Beekman Residences, which contains 68 residential units. The 287-unit The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel, also known as The Beekman Hotel, occupies all three structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennium Times Square New York</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Millennium Times Square New York is a hotel at 133 and 145 West 44th Street, between Times Square and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Operated by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, the hotel has 750 guest units, as well as a conference center with 33 conference rooms. The hotel incorporates a Broadway theater called the Hudson Theatre into its base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ritz Tower</span> Residential building in Manhattan, New York

The Ritz Tower is a luxury residential building at 465 Park Avenue on the corner of East 57th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was built from 1925 to 1926 as an apartment hotel and was designed by Emery Roth and Thomas Hastings for journalist Arthur Brisbane, who was the developer. The Ritz Tower is about 541 feet (165 m) with 41 stories, making it the tallest residential building in New York City upon its completion. Because it was initially classified as an apartment hotel, the building was constructed to a greater height than was usually permitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Block 216</span> Building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Block 216 is a high-rise building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The 35-story building replaced the Alder Street food cart pod and parking lot between 9th and 10th avenues and Alder and Washington streets. At 460 feet (140 m) tall, it is Portland's fifth-tallest structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">400 Madison Avenue</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

400 Madison Avenue is a 22-story office building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is along Madison Avenue's western sidewalk between 47th and 48th Streets, near Grand Central Terminal. 400 Madison Avenue was designed by H. Craig Severance with Neo-Gothic architectural detailing.

References

  1. ↑ Columbia College Today. New York City: Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development. 1989. p. 59.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lisa and Christopher Jeffries, '74, Commit $33 million to Michigan Law for Student Support". www.law.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  3. ↑ "Home". Millennium Partners. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rothstein, Mervyn (1995-12-03). "West Side Story: Three Partners And an Idea". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Gross, Michael (10 March 2015). House of outrageous fortune : Fifteen Central Park West, the world's most powerful address. pp. 100–101. ISBN   978-1-4516-6620-5. OCLC   905980380.
  6. ↑ Seal, Mark. "The Man Who Ate Hollywood". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  7. ↑ "Christopher and Lisa Jeffries". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  8. ↑ "Millennium Tower, Building Review". www.cityrealty.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  9. 1 2 "Here's One Developer Who (Maybe) Knows When to Quit REAL ESTATE: MILLENNIUM'S COMPLEX EDIFICES - April 12, 1999". archive.fortune.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  10. ↑ Frey, Jennifer (August 24, 1999). "Striking It Ritz". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  11. ↑ Baker. H. (2017). Hotel design, planning and development. Magnum Publishing LLC. pp. 153–158. ISBN   978-1-68250-339-3. OCLC   1001867444.
  12. ↑ "Millennium Partners Garners Hospitality Industry Deal of Year". www.hotelnewsresource.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  13. ↑ Halbfinger, David M. (1997-06-03). "Millennium Partners Raises $300 Million". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  14. ↑ "San Francisco's leaning tower of lawsuits". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  15. ↑ Hudson, Kris (2010-06-01). "Luxury Chain Cuts the Flowers, Sends Out Wash at Some Hotels". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  16. ↑ "Millennium Partners Celebrates Construction Commencement of $630 Million Millennium Tower Boston Development, Marking New Era for Downtown Crossing". www.businesswire.com. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  17. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (2002-04-10). "COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE; What's in a Name? For Ritz-Carlton, About 25%". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  18. ↑ "Millennium Partners Completes $122 Mln Buy of Ritz-Carlton Boston". www.crenews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  19. ↑ admin. "Millennium Partners Closes On $215 Million Construction Financing for Four Seasons Hotel and Tower M". Hotel-Online. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  20. ↑ "Miami's 10 Tallest Office Buildings". www.cpexecutive.com. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  21. ↑ Haggerty, Maryann (June 5, 1998). "RITZ-CARLTON TO RETURN TO D.C." Washington Post. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  22. ↑ Deane, Daniela (December 21, 2003). "Reluctance for Ritz in Georgetown". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  23. ↑ "50 Central Park South at The Ritz-Carlton, Building Review". www.cityrealty.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  24. ↑ Toy, Vivian S. (2012-03-08). "Bounteous Closet Space and Park Views for $77.5 Million". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  25. ↑ Zeveloff, Julie. "The Broker Who Sold Sandy Weill's $88 Million Penthouse Is Now Selling New York's New Most Expensive Condo". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  26. ↑ "Couple's $33M gift the largest in history of University of Michigan Law School". mlive. 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  27. ↑ Harmon, Matt. "Regents approve building renovations, rename South Hall after $33M donation". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  28. ↑ "Henry Ford Receives $25 Million Gift, Largest Single Donation in its History". www.henryford.com. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  29. ↑ Di Mento, Maria (March 16, 2020). "N.Y. Real Estate Mogul Gives $25 Million to Henry Ford Health System (Gifts Roundup)". www.philanthropy.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  30. 1 2 "Gala reception for Princess Yasmin Aga Khan". UPI. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  31. ↑ Kilian, Michael. "MARRY-MAKERS". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  32. ↑ "Princess Yasmin Aga Khan Wed to Christopher Jeffries". The New York Times. 1989-02-05. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  33. ↑ "JUDGE GRANTS DIVORCE TO PRINCESS AGA KHAN". Deseret News. 1993-12-11. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.