Stellar Management’s Larry Gluck Dies At 71
Larry Gluck, a co-founder of one of New York City’s largest owners of commercial buildings, Stellar Management, has died at 71.
“Larry passed away peacefully at home surrounded by friends and family after a courageous battle with ALS,” Stellar Management said in a statement provided to Bisnow. “A visionary leader in the real estate industry, Larry’s dedication and commitment to excellence have left an indelible mark on New York City’s landscape.”
Gluck was diagnosed with the disease in 2013, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the news of his death. He is survived by his wife, Sandra, and his three daughters, Amanda, Dana and Heather.
The family-run firm will continue to operate with Sandra and Amanda Gluck at the helm. They will be assisted by an executive team featuring some of the firm’s managing partners, including Adam Roman, Matthew Lembo and Ryan Jackson.
Gluck co-founded Stellar almost four decades ago with Steve Witkoff. Stellar’s footprint consists of more than 1M SF of retail, 12,000 apartments and 2M SF of office across 100 buildings, with an additional 1M SF of developments underway.
Its holdings include the 170K SF office tower at 220 Fifth Ave., the 695-unit luxury Upper East Side apartment building Yorkshire Towers, and the two-building One SoHo Square mixed-use property, which was valued at nearly $1.4B when Stellar refinanced the building's mortgage for $900M in 2021, according to the Morningstar Credit database.
Gluck’s career began in aviation litigation, before moving into real estate law at Dreyer & Traub, according to TRD. During that time, he met some of the industry’s most prominent figures, including Peter Kalikow, Donald Zucker and Donald Trump.
His first acquisition was 540 Henry St. in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood. After working with Witkoff to buy and flip 915 Post Ave. in Inwood, the pair founded Stellar and acquired 156 William St. in Manhattan’s Financial District for $5.5M.
Witkoff and Stellar split in 1997 when Witkoff began to focus more heavily on office and Gluck on multifamily. Stellar has been at the center of controversy over the last 15 years, facing accusations of illegally deregulating rent-stabilized units and buying Mitchell Lama properties to profit when affordability periods expired, TRD reported.