Izak Senbahar is an entrepreneur, hotelier, and
real estate developer. He is president of Alexico Group LLC, which is involved in luxury residential and hotel development.[1] According to The Real Deal magazine, the combined value of the company’s projects in 2014 was approximately $2 billion.[2]
Early life and education
Born to a Jewish family,[3] he is the son of Fani and Sabatay Senbahar.[4]
Senbahar graduated from Lycée Saint Michel in Istanbul. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. and an MBA degree in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business.
Career
Before entering
real estate, Senbahar worked as a
precious metals trader at the New York City offices of
Groupe Sucre et Denrées (SUCDEN), a French
commodities broker.[5] In the mid-1980s, he joined Kiska, a Turkish construction firm, to help the company establish itself in the New York real estate market.[6] With Kiska, Senbahar oversaw the development of various properties including 353
Central Park West, a 19-story luxury condominium building.[7] Subsequently, he partnered with Steven Elghanayan to develop the Elektra, a 32-story condominium in New York City’s
Gramercy Park neighborhood; the building, completed in 1992, was later sold to
Beth Israel Medical Center (now
Mount Sinai Beth Israel).[8] In 1993, Senbahar formed Alexico Group and joint ventured with Simon Elias to develop a number of projects.
The Laurel, 2008. At 400 East
67th Street, this 129-unit condominium was designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners with interiors by Brian Callahan.[citation needed]
In 2017 Bilanz magazine ranked The Mark Hotel as the Best City Hotel in the World. In 2020 Travel + Leisure Magazine The World’s Best Awards ranked The Mark Hotel; #1 Hotel in New York City and #1 City Hotel in The Continental U.S.
56 Leonard, completed in 2017. Designed by the Swiss architecture firm
Herzog & de Meuron, this 60-story condominium tower stands 821 feet high and is the tallest building in Manhattan’s
Tribeca neighborhood.[citation needed]
56 Leonard was awarded the 2017 Engineering Excellence National Recognition Award by ACEC and the 2017 Best Projects Winner in the Residential/Hospitality Category by Engineering News-Record. In 2019, 56 Leonard was named one of New York City’s 10 Most Important Buildings of the past decade by Curbed New York, a publication for American real estate and urban design.
Senbahar released a commissioned a sculpture at 56 Leonard Street. The sculpture 48 feet long and 19 feet tall and weigh 40 tons cost Senbahar $8 million.[11]
Cultural Depictions
Film and Television
Senbahar was featured in Season 1, Episode 1 of
How Did They Build That?: Cantilevers & Lifts by the Smithsonian Channel. The show is centered on his 56 Leonard building in Tribeca, New York City.[12]
Personal life
He is married to Sarah Genske;[13] they have two children, Alexi and Oliver.[14] In an interview with The Real Deal magazine, Senbahar said that he enjoys “drumming, percussion and bongos.”[15]