That’s what Mary Ann Tighe asked MaryAnne Gilmartin after she brokered Forest City Ratner’s deal to develop The New York Times headquarters in 2000. The idea came midway through the pitch, after Tighe realized Gilmartin’s company would get the job, which meant two women with the same name (different spellings) would lead the project.
“I told the assembled group, ‘Oh no, we’re getting two Mary Anns,’” Tighe recalled at a recent Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network event. “I’ll always remember them looking at me in horror. I said maybe we should do what they do in hair salons: if you have a second identical name, get another one.”
Two of the top women in commercial real estate sharing a name is rare. What’s even rarer is how far they’ve come. Both entered the industry by chance, yet each made their way to the top in a male-dominated field.
Tigue was 34 and working a glamorous job in television when she first heard the term “commercial real estate.” She experienced a hard landing in the real estate industry, but with the guidance of mentors who showed her how to navigate the predominantly male environment, she began to rise. Her ascent never stopped.
Gilmartin’s entry into the real estate industry was also a fortuitous event. A professor suggested she apply for a city fellowship, a unique opportunity to work with city agencies during Ed Koch’s administration. She began managing complex projects, such as negotiating with an 82-year-old squatter with four pit bulls and a shotgun over a site where the city wanted to build a police tow pound.
“I solved his problem and said to myself, ‘If this is what real estate is about, it’s about human relationships and connection, and I thought, ‘This is kind of nice,’” Gilmartin said.
Their paths crossed years later, after Gilmartin called Tighe and invited her to lunch at the Four Seasons. That eventually led to their partnership in the New York Times building, and ultimately to a decades-long friendship and mentorship. Both women rose to the top of their fields, Tighe as CEO of CBRE’s Tri-State region and Gilmartin as founder and CEO of her own company, MAG Partners.
This week, the ranks of women in commercial real estate’s C-suite have shrunk. Kathleen McCarthy Baldwin, global co-head of real estate at Blackstone, announced she will leave the company at the end of this year. McCarthy Baldwin, one of the company’s most senior female executives, joined Blackstone in 2010 and became COO three years later, eventually rising to global co-head of the $320 billion real estate company.
What comes next for McCarthy Baldwin is unknown. She could take on a leadership role elsewhere or start her own business. Her announcement comes at a time when women’s representation in CRE leadership remains stubbornly low. According to a recent CREW survey, women make up 38 percent of the CRE workforce and only about 9 percent of C-suite positions. Only 31 percent of women under 40 say they aspire to a position in the C-suite, compared to 36 percent in 2020, indicating that the path to executive leadership remains unusually steep.
The number of women at the top could be declining, making pioneers like Tighe, Gilmartin and McCarthy Baldwin all the more remarkable.
What we’re thinking about: SC Hospitality and East Gate Investors are teaming up on a project to transform an old Eastern Athletic Club in Brooklyn Heights into an urban country club. Restrained. They signed a 49-year lease on the entire 52,000-square-foot club space and plan to open King’s Athletics Cluba racquet and wellness club with a swimming pool, two tennis courts, a squash court, pickleball and golf simulators, wellness facilities and a bar and restaurant. Will there be more and more urban country clubs popping up in the city, and is there a market for them? Drop us a line at elizabeth.cryan@therealdeal.com with your thoughts.
Something we learned: Joe Macken, a native of Queens, built a 50-by-30-foot model of the five boroughs of New York City from his basement in Clifton Park, New York. He used an X-Acto knife, balsa wood, Styrofoam and Elmer’s glue to cut out almost a million small buildings to scale. The model went viral after his daughter posted it on TikTok and will be featured on the Museum of the City of New York. Take that, Bob Knakal!
Elsewhere…
- The Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey announced that a ride on the PATH train would increase to $4 — a 33 percent increase. The New York Times reported. The rate increase would take effect in early 2029 as part of a plan to improve service between Manhattan and northern New Jersey
- JPMorgan Chase has charged $74 million in legal fees for Charlie Javice’s criminal defense following the startup founder’s arrest for defrauding the bank. Wall Street Journal reported. Javice’s legal fees included luxury hotel upgrades, personal hygiene products like cellulite butter, and 24-hour billing lawyers. JPMorgan is seeking to overturn a judge’s order demanding collection of legal bills.
Closing time
Residential: The highest residential deal recorded on Friday was $28 million for 18 East 71st Street. The Lenox Hill mansion is 13,000 square feet. Corcoran Group Adam Schneider has the entry.
Commercial: The best recorded commercial deal was $32 million for 131-02 40th Street. Xiaorong Zhai of Jade Century Properties sold part of the twenty-storey complex in Vlissingen.
New on the market: The highest price for a home to hit the market was $30 million for 9 Jay Street. The townhome in Tribeca is 8,200 square feet and is listed as Compass’ The Hudson Advisory Team.
Groundbreaking: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 15,930-square-foot, five-story building with 29 residential units at 950 Glenmore Avenue in the East New York City Line area of Brooklyn. Ariel Golshan of AG Engineering is the registered applicant.
— Joseph Jungerman
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