The company, which was started in 1980, specializes in high-end residential properties, including developments like the Plaza Private Residences and the Devonshire House in Greenwich Village.
Interview conducted and condensed by
VIVIAN MARINO
Q. What kind of year did you have in 2011?
A. People were generally nervous — nervous about buying — and so there was a lot of hand-holding, but it was a steady market. There were a lot of higher-end sales. I don’t think that the overall market was a lot stronger in 2011 than it was in 2010.
Q. Can you provide any numbers?
A. It’s hard to measure, because for us at Stribling, 2010 was a very strong year.
Q. What’s your outlook for 2012?
A. I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s probably going to be a fairly flat year, much like 2011. There are too many fears about the global economy that will keep a temper on things. On the other hand, I have to tell you the demand is out there for new development offerings.
Q. Which new developments are you involved with right now?
A. We’re working on a building at 130 West 12th Street, which is a conversion of a 1920s building being developed by the Rudin family. In the two months that we’ve had it on, we sold 32 out of the 42 units.
We just finished the Devonshire House at 28 East 10th Street. We’ve got about three apartments left in that building. We had 62 units there. They came on in various stages, and in each stage we sold them out in about four to six months. And we also just finished the sky lofts at 145 Hudson Street.
We’re now embarking on three projects on the Upper East Side in the 70s and 80s. The developers on one are the developers of the Devonshire House, and the developers on the other — I’m really not at liberty to say until it’s officially announced. We’ve got another project in the works at Henry Street on the corner of Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights that will open up this spring, and we’ve got one in the East 50s on the design table that will be opening up in 2013.
Q. You sound really busy.
A. I never quite understood this idea of a shadow inventory — supposedly the apartments that hadn’t been leased in developments. I thought, well, when the market turned down, they will be rented and they’ll come on slowly — which is exactly what’s happening now. The demand for new product and the latest is really out there.
Q. What do buyers want?
A. They’re looking for simplicity of life, and what that means is not all the bells and whistles of amenities but simply apartments that have a good layout and good clean lines. People want simple or elegant.
Q. Where are the strongest markets in New York?
A. We saw a lot of action on the West Side and downtown, and the demand for Brooklyn continues. Probably the neighborhood that is the least in favor right now is the Upper East Side, especially the far east 80s and 90s.
Q. Where are the emerging neighborhoods?
A. The area that used to be called the Garment Center — there are a lot of lofts down there that people are buying. I think that Chinatown is burgeoning into NoLIta. And certainly Wall Street in terms of being populated by residential dwellers. Where we did a lot of sales is around the High Line. The High Line was very, very hot.
Q. Are you seeing a lot of foreign interest?
A. Generally, you have a solid base of about 15 percent of the buyers; now probably one-third of all the condominium deals we do are with foreigners. The Russians are looking for trophy properties. The Chinese are looking for pieds-à-terre near universities for their college-age kids. The Brazilians are looking for something around the High Line, kind of glamorous.
Q. Do you deal with many celebrity clients?
A. On my birth certificate my middle name is Elizabeth French Stribling. In my professional life it’s Elizabeth Discretion Stribling.
Q. Is your family French?
A. My grandmother’s maiden name was “French,” so it’s a family name. Interestingly enough, I’m the chairman of the French Heritage Society, a great Francophile. I have a home in the south of France and an apartment in Paris. I speak French and it’s just, perhaps, a happy coincidence.
Q. I understand you’re also an excellent French cook.
A. I studied with Marcella Hazan, Julia Child, Simone Beck, James Beard — they gave me private lessons. Julia Child made fabulous chocolate cakes glazed in dark chocolate. She made one with crushed nuts in it and sprinkled with bourbon. She liked bourbon.
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