William Zeckendorf, Jr.

William Zeckendorf Jr. (October 31, 1929 – February 12, 2014) was an American real estate developer. Son of William Zeckendorf Sr., he was the second of three generations of one of New York's great real estate dynasties. While keeping a lower profile than his famously flamboyant father, Zeckendorf Jr. was highly successful in his own right. Like his father, he became known for large-scale projects that transformed neighborhoods.

The New York Times called Zeckendorf Jr. Manhattan's "most active real estate developer" in 1986. At the time he was a partner in 20 projects worth well over $1 billion.

Early years William Zeckendorf Jr. was born on October 31, 1929, in New York City, the son of Irma (née Levy) and William Zeckendorf. Raised in Manhattan, he received his early education at the Collegiate School and graduated from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in 1948. He studied for two years at the University of Arizona in Tucson before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He served as an intelligence officer during the Korean War. He had one sister, Susan Zeckendorf Nicholson.

Career Following his discharge from the army in 1953, Zeckendorf joined his father's company, Webb & Knapp, working alongside Zeckendorf Sr. on such high-profile developments as Century City in Los Angeles, Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, and L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C.

Zeckendorf's other major projects in New York include the Four Seasons hotel, designed by I. M. Pei and Frank Williams; the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Times Square; the Rihga Royal Hotel (now the Hotel London); and Citylights, the first condominium in Queens West, a 74-acre riverfront development in Long Island City. In addition to his West Side apartment towers, Zeckendorf developed residential properties on the Upper East Side, in Midtown East, and in Battery Park City. In all, these projects brought the city of New York more than 4,000 new condominium and rental apartments.

In a rare venture outside of New York, Zeckendorf served as the managing development partner for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, a 3.7 million square foot complex on the Federal Triangle in Washington, D.C., completed in 1998.

Debt Zeckendorf's policy of bringing in multiple partners to reduce his risk failed to protect him from major losses after the real estate market downturn in the late 1980s. By 1989, Zeckendorf found himself stranded in debt. When Zeckendorf was unable to renegotiate his debts, he lost his real estate holdings in New York. According to The Wall Street Journal, a habit of personally guaranteeing loans along with giving outside investors a greater share of profits than is customary contributed to Zeckendorf's financial problems.

Santa Fe Zeckendorf spent the last 15 years of his life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, having vacationed there for years before that. By the time he relocated, he had been developing properties in Santa Fe for more than a decade. His projects include two luxury hotels, the Eldorado Hotel and the Hotel Santa Fe, and two residential complexes: Los Miradores, condominiums near St. John's College, and the Sierra del Norte subdivision off Hyde Park Road. ended in divorce. Their sons, William Lie and Arthur William, founded Zeckendorf Development in 1992, are the third generation of Zeckendorfs to become prominent developers. Their properties in Manhattan include luxury condominium towers at 15 Central Park West, 50 United Nations Plaza, and 520 Park Avenue.

Following his father's example, Zeckendorf was a trustee of Long Island University for 37 years, serving as board president from 1984 to 1992. Also like his father a knowledgeable wine collector, Zeckendorf was active for many years in La Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, a society of Burgundy connoisseurs.

Zeckendorf died of respiratory failure in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the age of 84.