RE Seminar: Philip, James, and Joshua Eisenberg

The Cornell Program in Real Estate Distinguished Speakers Series welcomes Philip, James, and Joshua Eisenberg, all Cornellians and part of the leadership team at Urban American, to campus this Thursday.  Philip Eisenberg founded Urban American in 1997 in order to acquire, renovate, and management workforce housing in the NYC area, and in just 15 years Urban has grown to owning and managing a portfolio of 14,000 residential units.  During this period Urban American has seen sons James and Joshua join the company as partners and President of UA Development and General Counsel, respectively. 

Philip holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from NYU and earned his Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School, where he was an Editor of the Law Review. After graduating from law school, he was a law clerk at the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, and then served in the U.S. Army as a Captain in the infantry.  He is currently a member of the Cornell Real Estate Council, Advisory Council of the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art & Planning, and a member of the Board of Governors of REBNY.  From 1968 through 1982, Mr. Eisenberg practiced law and was a partner at Javits, Trubin, Sillcocks, Edelman & Knapp and later Reid & Priest, where he represented public and private developers in all aspects of real estate development and also banks and institutional lenders in bank regulatory work, construction and development loans, workouts, bankruptcies and restructuring involving public corporations, real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships and other public and private entities.

James heads UA’s Development Corp., a general contracting and construction subsidiary responsible for the completion of all apartment renovations and capital expenditure projects for Urban American.  He oversees the physical plant operations, maintenance and rehabilitation of most Urban American properties in its portfolio and also supervises Urban American’s Veteran’s Housing Initiative, which seeks to provide high quality housing for veterans and current service members returning from deployment overseas.  Prior to joining the Urban American in 2002, James was a Captain in the United States Army.  An artillery officer and Army Ranger, James served with distinction in the 101st Airborne Division and the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea.  Mr. Eisenberg has a Bachelor of Science degree in City and Regional Planning and his master’s degree in Real Estate from Cornell University.

Joshua is responsible for the legal aspects of all real estate acquisitions, sales, commercial leasing and finance.  He serves as liaison to outside counsel and supervises corporate governance and compliance.  Mr. Eisenberg also serves as UA’s Director of Sustainability, with a focus on increasing energy efficiency, promoting conservation and reducing carbon.  Prior to joining Urban American in 2004, Mr. Eisenberg practiced law, first at Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP and then at Heller Ehrman, LLP.  He represented real estate developers and equity investors in acquiring, developing and leasing various types of real estate, including multifamily housing, office buildings, luxury hotels and retail space.  Josh holds a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell University and a JD from Cornell Law School, where he was an Editor of the Cornell International Law Journal.  From 1996 to 2007, Mr. Eisenberg served as a reserve officer in the United States Army and commanded units in the Field Artillery and then in the Military Police.

The Eisenberg team will provide insight into the lifecycle of a real estate fund focused on workforce housing, property management in the NYC/apartment context, and dynamics in a family-run real estate business as part of their lecture titled ANATOMY OF A MULTI-FAMILY REAL ESTATE COMPANY. 

The particulars for this Thursday are as follows:

Date:      Thursday, November 10th
When:      4:30-6:30 with reception to follow in the Statler Hotel’s Regents Lounge
Where:    Beck 198
Attire:      Business

Learn more about the Cornell Real Estate Industry Seminar by visiting http://realestate.cornell.edu/index.php/academics/curriculum/industry_seminar
Learn more about Urban American here:  http://www.urbanamerican.net/