A Bayside native who rose to the highest echelons of New York City’s real estate sector has decided to retire after nearly half a century.
Norman Sturner announced he would step down from disposition as chairman of Murray Hill Properties, the company he co-founded in 1971.
“It’s been nearly 50 years since I started on this road with a dream to make my mark on New York City,” Sturner said. “I want to thank the thousands of people I have had the pleasure to know and work with over these many years. It has been a wonderful experience that has brought so much joy into my life. So now, as I take leave of MHP, with its glorious history and shining reputation, I am proud to leave the company under the keadership of my son, David, and know that he and Rudy will accomplish great things together at Banyan Street.”
Growing up in Bayside, Sturner attended Bayside High School, where he met his future wife Harriet Katz when they were teenagers. He worked as a short-order cook and was accepted at St. John’s University at 16 years old. He graduated from St. John’s with a degree in accounting.
After school, he first worked as a certified public accountant and then moved on to become one of the largest mutual fund dealers in the country, owning a seat on the Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington stock exchange. In 1971, he and his business partner, Neil Siderow, purchased a building on the verge of default for $70,000, which led to additional purchases that launched Sturner’s career in real estate investment, buying and selling more than 150 properties worth more than $10 billion.
His career culminated with the merger he and his son David orchestrated with Miami-based Banyan Street Capital, creating a $3 billion powerhouse that encompasses 12 million square feet of commercial and retail space in New York City and Miami.
“Norman has been an invaluable resource to Banyan during its entry into the New York marketplace; no one else knows as much about the Manhattan office market,” Banyan Street Capital Founder and CEO Rudy Touzet said. “We are incredibly grateful to Norman, not only for the company he built, but for the time he spent with us, and we are especially thankful he will continue to be an advisory resource going forward.”
In addition to leading Murray Hill Properties, Sturner is an approved receiver by The New York State of Court Administration, a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, a member of the Association for a Better New York, vice president of the executive committee of the Realty Foundation of New York, and a mentor to the Young Jewish Professionals Real Estate Network and the Jewish Braille Institute. As a member of the board of directors of the Grand Central Partnership since 1999, Sturner was chairman of the Partnership during the final restoration of Grand Central Terminal to its former glory and was recently honored for the sixth year in a row by The Commercial Observer as one of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate.
“The privilege of being able to work side-by-side with my father for the last 25 years has been enriching and enlightening, to say the least,” Murray Hill Properties President and CEO David Sturner said. “From humble beginnings to a New York City real estate icon is a dream come true to reality for a truly deserving man. My father has the gift of understanding what it takes to surpass any hurdles thrown in his way and will always find a way to conclude a transaction. Building MHP from the ground up and growing it into a full-service operating company with a stellar track record and reputation over the past 50 years is a testament to the man he is and the legacy he leaves for the next generation.”
