On March 26, 2007 by D. Bell
Dawnay, Day, the London-based investment bank, has invested $250 million (£127 million) on homes in Harlem, New York, as a foundation to building an American arm with property worth more than £5 billion, The Times has learnt.Dawnay, Day’s investment in East Harlem represents a huge gamble on the rapid gentrification of the couple of square miles north of 100th Street, which for more than a century has served as a ghetto for the poorest immigrant communities and until recently was a no-go zone for the largely white middle classes of neighbouring Lower Manhattan.The privately owned bank with more than $4 billion of assets — controlled and run by Guy Naggar and Peter Klimt — has just opened a 45-man office in downtown Manhattan, from where it is trading as Dawnay, Day US Real Estate Management. The venture is the bank’s first foray in North America as it seeks residential and commercial property in the New York area and other large cities across the United States.
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note when an individual buys in harlem it’s never characterized as a “huge gamble”…is it? this is speech clearly from the outside looking in harboring all the stereotypical notions of harlem.
it’s kind of funny when i speak to outsiders around the U.S. and they ask me about harlem. i tell them they would be hard pressed to find a Condo (not a co-op) in Harlem for less than Half-a-Mil…and then ask them what’s Half-a-Mil buy in your town? Ha ha ha.
So in London/Europe I can see the media seeking to pump this up as some wild gamble. In truth it’s probably the most low risk real estate investment they could make with their $250M. I know it sounds wacky but a financial firm investing $250M in real estate in Manhattan does not even rise to the level of news worthy, here in Manhattan.
I love their little blurb on the history of harlem. Laughable at best! But hey, it’s money in harlem right?