Quick Facts
Biography
Ron Moelis is an American entrepreneur and real estate developer. Moelis is CEO and Founding Partner of L+M Development Partners Inc., a full-service development firm he co-founded with Sanford Loewentheil in 1984. Moelis is known for his work to develop affordable and mixed-income/mixed-use housing in New York City projects such as The Kalahari in Harlem, and Essex Crossing, a planned mixed-use development in New York City's Lower East Side. L+M's work includes the rehabilitation of properties in New York City and New Orleans that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina.
Under Moelis’ leadership, L+M has overseen more than $4 billion in development, construction and investment, and has created or preserved more than 15,000 high-quality market-rate and affordable housing units in New York City’s tri-state area, the west coast and gulf coast regions of the United States.
Early life & education
Moelis was born in Queens, New York City and was raised in New Rochelle, New York.
Moelis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in history from the School of Arts and Sciences and a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School in 1978. He received a J.D. from New York University in 1982 and spent a year as law clerk for judge Stanley Brotman of the Federal District Court in New Jersey.
Career
Moelis and Sanford Loewentheil co-founded L+M Development Partners Inc. in 1984. The firm began by redeveloping and selling property in the East Village, Manhattan. L+M has diversified since then into a real estate development company, which develops, builds and manages affordable, mixed-income and market-rate housing.
Following the devastating Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Moelis partnered with the Enterprise Foundation and Providence Community Housing and worked with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in early 2006 to redevelop the hurricane-damaged Lafitte Projects. The redevelopment of the area focused on affordable, mixed-income housing with up to 1,500 units to be built in total.
In 2007, L+M and Full Spectrum NY developed an eco-friendly LEED Gold certified building in Harlem, New York City called The Kalahari. The project in Harlem drew attention from the media for being a green building that focused on affordable housing, the first of its kind in New York City.
In 2012, Moelis and his company purchased Ocean Village, an 1100-unit Mitchell Lama complex in Far Rockaway, Queens, just days after Hurricane Sandy flooded the complex with more than five feet of seawater. Originally built in 1972, the complex suffered from decades of neglect under the prior owners and over 30% of the units were vacant at the time of purchase. L+M executed a $60 million rehabilitation covering all apartment interiors, common areas, roof replacement, mechanical and electrical equipment upgrades, landscaping and various storm-proofing and resiliency measures. In addition, the existing concrete facade was clad with an exterior insulation and finishing system to insulate the buildings, protect the buildings from water infiltration, and update the property’s aesthetic. Throughout the rehabilitation, L+M worked to ensure that Arverne View (renamed by the residents) remained a viable source of affordable housing for the long term.
In September 2013, the City of New York selected Delancey Street Associates LLC, a joint venture made up of L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners, and Taconic Investment Partners, to develop the Essex Crossing project for the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project. The site is located on the largest stretch of undeveloped City-owned land in Manhattan below 96th Street. The project, renamed Essex Crossing, is among the most significant urban renewal developments in New York City history and will create 1,000 residential units, over half of which will be affordable. The development will also feature over 750,000 square feet of office and retail space, including a Trader Joe's, movie theater, bowling alley, and a medical facility run by NYU Langone. Additionally, Essex Crossing will be home to a public park, a community center run by Grand Street Settlement, a new home for the historic Essex Street Market and the Market Line, a three block long corridor inspired by the great public markets of the world.
In 2014, the City of New York selected Triborough Preservation Partners LLC, a joint venture between L+M Development Partners and Preservation Development Partners, to rehabilitate and preserve 875 units of Project-based Section 8 housing owned by the New York City Housing Association (NYCHA) in exchange for 50% stake in the buildings.
Personal life
Moelis and his wife Kerry Sperling live in Manhattan, New York City and have three children.
Honors and awards
Moelis was inducted as an honorary member into the NYU Law School Chapter of Order of the Coif in 2010. In 2012, Ernst & Young announced Moelis had won the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2012 Award in New York. The award recognized "Entrepreneurial Excellence in Real Estate and Construction" category.
In 2013, Moelis received the Private Developer of the Year Award from the New York Housing Conference.