Partner
Kenneth Browne is a Partner at Urban Development Partners where he manages the sourcing, evaluation, and structuring of new acquisitions. Mr. Browne also oversees the various facets of individual development projects including budgeting, financing, marketing, construction and asset management.
From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Browne was a Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for The Athena Group where he was responsible for acquisitions, financing, and development activities for new development including approximately 1,100 luxury residential units and 300 hotel rooms in Jersey City in three mixed use projects with total development costs of approximately $1 billion.
Prior to Athena, he was a Senior Vice President for the Starrett Development Corporation and its subsidiary, HRH Construction Corporation where he managed all pre-development due diligence and financial analysis for new development. Additionally, Mr. Browne oversaw the construction of over $500 million of commercial and luxury residential buildings in New York City. Ken Browne received his BSBA from Villanova University and his Master's in Business Administration from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Partner
Gary Davis is a Partner at Urban Development Partners. He is a licensed architect and urban planner and directs all development conceptualization and design within the firm.
Prior to forming Urban Development Partners, Mr. Davis was Executive Vice President for the Athena Group for eight years. He managed the development of all projects including 838 Fifth Avenue, Liberty Lofts and the recently completed 111 Central Park North. Prior to joining Athena, Mr. Davis was Executive Vice President of Development for Ian Schrager Hotels from November 1998 to September 1999 and responsible for the design, development and pre-construction of the 800-room Hudson Hotel in New York City. He was also responsible for the design, development and pre-construction of the St. Moritz Hotel in New York.
From 1987 to 1998, Mr. Davis was Senior Vice President of Development at Edward J. Minskoff Equities, a New York based real estate acquisition and development company, where he was involved in the oversight of design and construction for new commercial buildings as well as the modernization and extensive renovations of existing projects including the IBM Building, 712 Fifth Avenue, 60 Broad Street, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, The Federal Aviation Administration Building in Queens, NY, Corporate Square at Rock Spring Park in Bethesda, Maryland and The Roosevelt Raceway Center in Hempstead, NY.
From 1981 to 1987, Mr. Davis was a principal in the architectural design firm of Pilat Davis Architects, P.C. in New York. Prior to forming Pilat Davis Architects, Mr. Davis was a project architect for Eisenman Robertson Architects in New York. His professional experience also includes work for Gwathmey Siegel Architects and Johnson Burgee Architects.
Mr. Davis received his B.A. degree from Wesleyan University and a Masters in Architecture from Princeton University. He was awarded the Master’s Thesis Award from Princeton University along with full tuition, teaching fellowship, and the Butler Traveling Fellowship. Mr. Davis is currently lecturing in the Case Studies Studio in the Master’s of Real Estate Program at Columbia University.
Partner
Kenneth P Browne is a Partner at Urban Development Partners where he manages all construction from pre-development budgets through occupancy. Prior to joining Urban Development Partners, Mr. Browne was Senior Director at Tishman Speyer where he was Project Executive for the Top of the Rock Observation Deck, the redevelopment of the historic New York Times building and the redevelopment of the Met Life building at 200 Park. Most recently he was a Project Executive for the base building-tenant coordination for the Goldman Sachs World Head Quarters Building in lower Manhattan. From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Browne was the President and COO of Forest City Ratner where he was the head of the new construction division to build in-house projects for both Commercial and Retail Sectors. Notable projects included:
• 9 Metrotech South - 700,000 sf Office Development
• Atlantic Terminal Retail – 470,000 sf retail mall built over the active LIRR Terminal in Brooklyn
• Atlantic Terminal Office – 355,000 sf office tower built on top of the Atlantic Terminal Retail Mall
• Harlem Center Retail – 150,000 sf retail development
• Harlem Center Office – 146,000 sf office building built on top of the existing fully occupied retail building
• Worth Street – 370,000 sf, 329-unit rental apartment building with 2 levels of parking.
Mr. Browne was Executive Vice President from 1992 to 1997 and President and COO from 1997 to 1998 at A J Contracting Company, Inc., where he established the core and shell division of a $250 million construction management and general contracting company. He oversaw $300 million in new construction, building upgrades and interior renovation including:
• Atlantic Center shopping Plaza – 800,000 sf Retail Center
• New York Public Library Science
• Columbia University Butler Library – Multi-phase building upgrade
• Christie’s Inc – auction house and offices.
From 1978 to 1992 Mr. Browne went from Senior Vice President to Executive Vice President and ultimately President of HRH Construction Corporation, where he was responsible for all activities related to marketing, estimating, purchasing and project management for a $500 million construction management and general contracting company with 300 + employees. He oversaw the construction of the following projects:
• World Wide Plaza, $500 million commercial/residential/retail complex
• 565 Fifth Avenue – Office Building
• Ramada Hotel at Times Square
• 750 Lexington Avenue – office building
• 125-135 East 57th Street – office building with high-end retail complex
• Herald Center – retail complex, East/West Tower – mixed use high-rise building
• 599 Lexington Avenue – office building
• 40 Broad Street – office Building
• 900 Third Avenue – office building
• AT & T Headquarters
• Trump Tower – mixed use complex
• 101 Park Avenue – office building
From 1972 to 1978, he was Vice President and Partner at Ferguson Construction Company. Prior to this, Mr. Browne was Project Manager and Superintendent at Diesel Construction from 1965-1972.
Mr. Browne has worked closely with the following clients:
Donald Trump – The Trump Organization
Jeffery Katz – Sherwood Equities
William Zeckendorf – Zeckendorf
Sherman Cohen – Cohen Brothers Realty
Edward Linde – Boston Properties
Bruce Ratner – Forest City Ratner Companies
Irving Fischer – Aquarius Management Corp.
Mr. Browne received a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Pratt Institute, New York.
Senior Associate, LEED AP
Jesse Wark is a Senior Associate and LEED Accredited Professional at Urban Development Partners and is responsible for feasibility analysis, site selection, entitlement and pre-development of new development opportunities.
Prior to joining Urban Development Partners, Mr. Wark attended Columbia University where he received his Masters of Science in Real Estate Development with a focus in real estate finance and urban development. Before entering Columbia, Mr. Wark worked as an architect with LD5 Architecture in New York City where he was involved in the design of multiple development projects including the Pacific Blue community, a collection of 8 multifamily / mixed-use buildings with 106-units and a total project cost of $50M. From 2003-2006, Mr. Wark was an architect with 1100 Architect and was involved in the design and completion of several development projects in both local and foreign markets including Naha City Gallery, a multi-family rental development with attached art gallery.
From 2001-2002, Mr. Wark was a Designer for MVRDV in the Netherlands where he worked on several large-scale development projects, including the Parkrand Building, a 320-unit multifamily rental project on the edge of Amsterdam.
Mr. Wark has also been an adjunct professor in architecture for both NJIT and Pratt University.
Mr. Wark received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas and his Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University.
JV Partner
Urban Development Partners have formed a joint venture with the Argo Corporation, a long-established provider of Asset Management services for financial institutions, building owners and developers. For the past fifty years this family run company has been managing residential and commercial properties and currently has 10,000 units under management. The firm offers a full spectrum of professional management, sales, leasing and marketing services. Mark Moskowitz is the President and CEO of the Argo Corporation.