Ian Bruce Eichner (born June 25, 1945) is an American real estate developer and founder of The Continuum Company, LLC.

Biography

Eichner was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in New York City.CUNY TV: "Ian Bruce Eichner Founder & Chairman, Continuum Company"
October 29, 2013 His father went to fight in World War II and abandoned the family thereafter. His stepfather, Herman Eichner, was an Austrian immigrant and professor. He went to

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

and worked for

Republic Steel Republic Steel is a Mexican steel manufacturer that was once America’s third largest steel producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, ...

while in high school and

Sears Roebuck Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwa ...

while in college. In 1962, he attended the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

for a year and the graduated from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

with a B.A. in history and then with a J.D. from the

University of Cincinnati College of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. History The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest conti ...

in 1969.New York Times: "Commercial Property/The Ian Bruce Eichner Phenomenon; A Deal-Maker's Comeback" By CLAUDIA H. DEUTSCH
May 15, 1994 He then took a job with the office of

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...

and then as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn with Eugene Gold. In 1969, he purchased and renovated his first building in

Park Slope, Brooklyn A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

on borrowed money. Using the proceeds from the sale of his first building, he started buying apartment buildings in

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...

and converting them into

cooperatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

. From 1971 to 1975, he worked for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice services. He purchased the Franklin Arms in

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...

which he profited $1 million and lost it all after purchasing the Hotel Margaret in Brooklyn Heights which burned to the ground after a construction accident. He ultimately built a new building on the site and made his money back. A mentor of his, Ron Altman, introduced him to

Victor Smorgon Victor Smorgon (2 January 1913 – 3 July 2009) was an Australian industrialist, arts patron and benefactor, who was founder and former head of the Victor Smorgon Group. Biography Smorgon was born in 1913 in Heidelberg, a German settlement ...

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

who invested $4 million to build a high rise. He had several novel ideas in the buildings he built thereafter: he built buildings with the smallest units on the lower floors and the larger units on the taller floors; and he built the lobbies first (as people want to see the lobby before they move in); and he would build model apartments on the higher floors (with their spectacular views). Smorgon's investment was profitable and Eichner went on to build

Cityspire CitySpire (also known as CitySpire Center) is a mixed-use skyscraper at 150 West 56th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1990 and designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the building measures tall with 75 ...

1540 Broadway 1540 Broadway, formerly the Bertelsmann Building, is a 44-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Mer ...

, 180 Montague in Brooklyn Heights (later sold to Charles E. Smith's Archstone), and the Continuum on South Beach in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

. The 1990s were difficult and Eichner lost Cityspire to the

Bank of Nova Scotia The Bank of Nova Scotia (), operating as Scotiabank (), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada's Big Five banks, it is the third-largest Canadian bank by deposits and ...

, 1540 Broadway to bankruptcy and ultimately to Bertelsmann A.G. as its headquarters, and the

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (commonly referred to simply as The Cosmopolitan or The Cosmo) is a resort casino and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by The Blackstone Group, Stonepeak Partners, and Cherng Family Tru ...

, a $4 billion project, to

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

after he was unable to refinance a loan (it was ultimately completed and sold it to the

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

.Wall Street Journal: "Eichner Lands $420 Million to Build NYC Condo For Super-Rich" by Elliot Brown
October 6, 2014 He developed 45 East 22nd Street, a 777 feet tall, 64 story tower in the

Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan of New York City, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally ...

of Manhattan. Eichner also developed a 32 story tower in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, which will be the neighborhood's tallest building, and is proposing to construct four high-rise apartment complexes in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue to the north, ...

. The latter development has notably gained criticism from

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The botanical garden occupies in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park, Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park, ...

President Scot Medbury for the impacts that the high rises could have on the direct sun light of the gardens.The Indypendent: "Highrises Could Cast Shadow Over Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Warns Garden President" by Indypendent Staff
May 24, 2018

Manhattan Club settlement

In 2017, the New York District Attorney announced a settlement with Eichner over his misleading claims and false promises related to the Manhattan Club timeshare. Eichner and his associates offered a "boutique hotel" but many customers were never able to book rooms, faced rapidly rising maintenance costs, and were foreclosed if they were unable to pay, leading others to sell their shares for $1. Eichner and associates were required to pay $6.5 million as part of the settlement and were barred from the timeshare industry.

Personal life

He was briefly married during college. He is currently married to his second wife, Leslie Ann (née Hollander) Eichner. They have two daughters together, Lindsay and Alexandra. He has homes in

East Hampton, New York East Hampton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York United States. It is located at the eastern end of the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town i ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a Neighborhoods of Miami Beach, Florida, neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eichner, Ian Bruce 1946 births American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from New York City University at Buffalo alumni 20th-century American Jews University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Living people 21st-century American Jews