Louis Kestenbaum

American real estate developer (born 1952)

Louis Kestenbaum

Born| 1952 (age 72–73)
Occupation| Real Estate Developer
Known for| Founder of Fortis Property Group
Spouse| married
Children| Joel Kestenbaum
Parent| Zvi Kestenbaum
Website| fortispropertygroup.com

Louis Kestenbaum (born 1952) is an American real estate developer who is the founder and chairman of New York City-based Fortis Property Group.

## Biography

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Kestenbaum was born to a Hasidic Jewish family, the son of Rabbi Zvi Kestenbaum.[1] His father lost most of his family in the Holocaust[2] and founded the ODA Primary Health Care Network, a federally subsidized health care center that serves the Hasidic community in South Williamsburg.[3] He is a follower of the Satmar Hasidic dynasty.[2]

Kestenbaum operated a sportswear company.[4] In the early 1980s, Kestenbaum paid $4 million for Austin, Nichols and Company Warehouse, a vacant 500,000-square-foot industrial property at 184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He used part of the building for his company and leased the remainder.[4] Kestenbaum later converted the building to apartments and tripled his rental income using the proceeds to buy other properties in the neighborhood.[4] He went on to develop Northside Piers in Williamsburg.[5]

In 2004, he co-founded the Fortis Property Group with his son and Jonathan Landau, a modern Orthodox Jewish attorney from Cleveland, Ohio.[5] Within two years, the company acquired over $3 billion in properties, primarily Class A office buildings in Dallas, Boston, and Norfolk, Connecticut.[5] In 2009, Kestenbaum purchased a portion of the real estate portfolio of prolific Brooklyn real estate developer Isaac Hager who declared bankruptcy.[6] Initially focusing on smaller projects and asset purchases, in the early 2010s, he began a ground-up development.

Since its founding, Fortis has acquired or developed more than $3 billion of commercial real estate across the United States.[3]

## Projects

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Development projects he has been involved with include:

* The redevelopment of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.[7]
* 161 Maiden Lane.[8] Failed.

## Personal life

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His son, Joel Kestenbaum, works with him at Fortis.[9] Kestenbaum has continued the work of his father who restored more than 50 Jewish cemeteries in eastern Europe.[10]

## References

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1. ^ "Louis Kestenbaum". Fortis Property Group. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
2. ^ a b "Congress Honors Memory of Rabbi Zvi Kestenbaum at 30th Anniversary of U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad". Yeshiva World. June 24, 2015.
3. ^ a b Hartocollis, Anemona (March 18, 2014). "Bidder for Long Island College Hospital Has Checkered Record in Role of Rescuer". The New York Times.
4. ^ a b c "Brooklyn's miracle makers". Crain's New York Business. August 19, 2012.
5. ^ a b c Kathryn Brenzel; Mark Maurer (November 1, 2016). "The Fortis of solitude. The Long Island College Hospital controversy has thrust a mid-sized player that values its privacy into the limelight". The Real Deal.
6. ^ Mairer, Mark; Small, Eddie (May 1, 2018). "Isaac Hager's higher power - The developer is gaining outer borough market share, despite a trail of foreclosures and lawsuits from his early real estate days". The Real Deal.
7. ^ "Louis Kestenbaum and Joel Kestenbaum of Fortis scores $300M for LICH redevelopment". PR web. January 20, 2019.
8. ^ Bendix, Aria (April 4, 2019). "A 58-story residential skyscraper in Manhattan is tilting to the side, and there's a battle over who's to blame". Business Insider.
9. ^ "Joel Kestenbaum". Fortis Property Group. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
10. ^ "Washington - Chasidic Jew Instrumental in Preserving European Cemeteries Honored by Members Of Congress". Vos Iz Neias?. June 19, 2015.