- History and Approach to Real Estate Investing
- Alchemy’s Strategic Focus
- Opportunities in a Challenging Environment
- Our Commitment to Excellence, Creativity and Integrity
- The Principals of Alchemy Properties Inc.
History and Approach to Real Estate Investing
Alchemy Properties Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated real estate firm whose principals have over 70 years of hands-on, cycle-tested experience in acquiring, developing, leasing, repositioning, managing, financing and disposing of real estate in the New York City Tri-State area. In 1990, Kenneth S. Horn started the business based on the philosophy that entrepreneurial real estate companies need to be able to succeed in both good and bad economic times.
Since 1990, Alchemy’s core business has evolved opportunistically from providing work-out consulting to major institutions (1990 – 1996) to buying defaulted commercial loans and REO (1995 – 1998) to converting vacant and near-vacant commercial properties to residential and retail condominiums (1997 – 2004) to purchasing parking lots and land to develop condominium buildings from the ground-up (2001 – 2009). During Alchemy’s evolution as an opportunistic hands-on real estate investor it has become a best-in-class partner with a variety of institutional, family foundation and high net worth individuals as long-term repeat investors. Alchemy has been very successful in anticipating trends and changes in the marketplace to create profitable investments for itself and its partners. Alchemy invests internal capital in every deal so that its interests are aligned with its partners. Preservation of capital, first and foremost, is emphasized at every point in an asset’s investment cycle.
Alchemy has evolved over the last nineteen years into a vertically integrated organization handling due diligence, financing, sales and marketing, leasing, construction management, insurance administration, contract administration, managing, leasing, and dispositions. Sales and leasing are typically in cooperation with outside brokers in a co-brokerage capacity. Alchemy is headquartered in Manhattan and has 25 employees in two offices. Alchemy has developed or purchased over 1.5 million square feet in the New York City metropolitan area since its inception with a value of over $1 billion. In addition its principals have been responsible for well over $1 billion of investments in the office, multi-family and retail sectors in the New York City metropolitan area and its environs. Alchemy has also consulted on over 150 residential real estate projects all over the New York City Tri-State area with such institutions as Centre Re, Credit Suisse First Boston, JER Partners, Citibank, Apple Bank, Dime Savings Bank, City Investment Fund, Ramius Capital and Goldman Sachs.
Alchemy's Strategic Focus
With extensive transaction and asset management know-how, Alchemy’s principals have consistently translated their experience into successful ventures that provide high rewards for their investment partners. Alchemy invests internal capital in every transaction and as an active investor is committed first-hand to the success of each venture. Alchemy has been able to leverage its know-how into creating strategic partnerships with leading institutional investors, sophisticated private investors and major money center banks. We have historically provided short and long term capital appreciation with conservatively leveraged projects by investing in a combination of complex transactions, under-served submarkets and under-performing assets that have complications and/or inefficiencies. Or goal is not to be the biggest or most active investor / developer but to be opportunistic and smart about deploying capital and resources which, in some cases, means “leaving some money on the table” to minimize market risk. All three principals have extensive workout and transactional experience in the difficult markets of 1988 to 1995 and thus look to first minimize downside risk in our transactions.
Our investment philosophy can be summed up as follows: We would rather do ten profitable projects than thirty projects where a few of the thirty are unprofitable. Thus, we have sat on the sidelines for new acquisitions when the market became over heated and real estate fundamentals were being glossed over from a due diligence and underwriting standpoint. In baseball parlance, we are singles and doubles hitters, not sluggers. Capital preservation is emphasized over taking unmanageable risks to chase out-sized returns.
Opportunities in a Challenging Environment
Alchemy is looking to use its experience, infrastructure and ability to move quickly and structure creatively to take advantage of the dislocation in the real estate markets in New York City and its environs. We are looking at purchases of distressed real estate assets and commercial loans particularly in the $5,000,000 to $100,000,000 range for such asset classes as residential, retail and office for opportunistic returns. Our in-house capability and reputation has put us in a position to professionally and appropriately get involved with re-positioning and/or “fixing” defaulted condominium projects in the New York City tri-state area from either a new equity infusion or consulting standpoint.
We are also very interested in very well located core-plus asset acquisitions in multifamily, retail and office in New York City and the tri-state area. We believe that in this current market there is no such asset class as “core” as there is inherently more downside risk than upside potential in 2009 from over-market rents and inherent tenant weakness in a variety of industries. However, we hope to time the market for well-located and well-leased assets with some value added aspect with a view towards minimizing downside risk. Whenever possible, we intend to bring to bear all of our value-added development and construction experience to these assets to deliver superior returns to our investors.
Our Commitment to Excellence, Creativity and Integrity
Our success starts with our employees. We are very proud of our employees who form the backbone of our organization with their hard work, intelligence, integrity and desire to learn and improve. Alchemy strongly encourages personal and professional improvement which ranges from coursework to regular job reviews resulting in increasing responsibility, challenges and growth. One of our great successes in the organization is the teaching and support of our junior associates who each year continue to grow and surpass all original expectations. Alchemy over the years, with much fine-tuning, has successfully created a cohesive team environment with a recognition of individual needs and talents that rewards hard work, results and passion. This approach has led to continued innovation and improvement in all facets of our company’s operation. The environment of Alchemy challenges and fosters individuals to take risks in order to improve and evolve even at the risk of mistakes. As part of the team-oriented approach we have developed organizational redundancies to protect against damaging mistakes.
Under the combined theories of “do unto others as you want them to do unto you” and “what goes around comes around”, we stress that all of our dealings whether they be with partners, lenders, vendors, neighbors, tenants, sellers, and buyers be conducted with the highest integrity, respect, moral and ethical standards. Our reputation and our word are infinitely more important than any transaction or negotiation.
We use all of the assets at our disposal and our attention to detail to provide our partners with superior risk adjusted returns. We are quite appreciative of our partners and lenders who have included such fine institutions as AEW Capital Management, Jamestown, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, ING Realty Partners, Credit Suisse First Boston, Geometry Realty Group, Angelo Gordon & Co., Alcion Ventures, HSBC Bank USA, Bank of America, Helaba Bank, PNC Bank, Commerce Bank and many private high net worth individuals and family foundations.
The Principals of Alchemy Properties Inc.
Kenneth S. Horn, Esq. founded Alchemy Properties Inc. in 1990. Mr. Horn has been actively involved in development and other aspects of real estate in the metro area for 25 years. A graduate of Brandeis University (1978) and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1981), Mr. Horn was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1982. Since 1990, Mr. Horn has been directly responsible for the acquisition, renovation, development, financing, marketing and conversion of over 3,000 apartments in the New York City region. Alchemy has developed over Twenty (20) residential and retail buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens either as ground-up structures or rehabilitations. Mr. Horn has personally overseen the sale of over $1 Billion of real estate. Throughout the various projects that Mr. Horn has been associated with, he has played his firm's major role in purchasing the asset, strategizing the development and overseeing the financing, construction and marketing of the units. Mr. Horn currently oversees the development, marketing and acquisition of new Alchemy development projects and new opportunistic redevelopment projects.
Joel Breitkopf, partner in Alchemy, is the principal mover in arranging financing from institutional partners, limited partners and banks. Mr. Breitkopf is involved in all aspects of the Alchemy developments and investments from acquisition to completion with an emphasis on risk management. Mr. Breitkopf joined Alchemy in 1993. Previously, Mr. Breitkopf was an executive at Commercial Bank of New York and was Vice President of Acquisitions and Finance for a large Manhattan real estate owner/operator of over 3,000,000 square feet of office and retail properties in the NYC area. In this capacity he oversaw opportunistic acquisitions as well as dealt with various bank workouts in the early 1990’s. He was also a real estate loan officer at Chemical Bank Realty and, prior to that, an analyst at LaSalle Partners, a national real estate advisor. Mr. Breitkopf was also President of B'Nai Brith Real Estate, an affiliate of B'Nai Brith International, and numerous other industry groups. Mr. Breitkopf has financed over $1 Billion worth of real estate transactions and has acquired approximately 2,000,000 square feet of real estate during his career. Mr. Breitkopf is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Gerald R. Davis is responsible for the daily operations of Alchemy's development projects. Prior to joining Alchemy, Mr. Davis was Director of Acquisitions at Olmstead Properties Inc., responsible for broker and partner relationships, due diligence, financial analysis, structuring, and contract negotiations for all new acquisitions as well as the annual budgets for more than 2,000,000 square feet of NYC commercial property coordinating between leasing and property management professionals. Before Olmstead Mr. Davis was Executive Vice President of Stellar Management, responsible for acquisitions, asset and construction management for Stellar's Commercial portfolio. Before joining Stellar, Mr. Davis was a Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate division of M&T Bank, responsible for originating and underwriting more than $400 million worth of transactions and administration of a $500 million portfolio.
Among his professional affiliations, Mr. Davis is a member of a numerous industry groups and a past Chairman of the Young Mortgage Bankers Association. Mr. Davis is a Licensed Architect in the State of New York and a member of the American Institute of Architects, having received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and apprenticed at John Burgee Architects in New York City. He also received a Master of Science in Real Estate from New York University and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University.
Kenneth S. Horn,Esq. (President) founded Alchemy Properties Inc. in 1990.
Joel Breitkopf, partner, joined Alchemy in 1993.
Gerald R. Davis is responsible for the daily operations of Alchemy's development projects and joined Alchemy in 2000.
