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Ian Simpson Reisner (born June 27, 1968)[1] is an American entrepreneur, and hotel and real estate developer. He is the founder of Parkview Developers, and co-founder of Watch World International and The Out NYC hotel & resort.
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Ian Reisner | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | June 27, 1968 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur Real estate developer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Partner | Mati Weiderpass (1993-2012) |
| Website | parkviewdevelopers.com |
Reisner was born and raised in a Jewish family[2] in New York City.[3] He graduated from Cornell University in 1990,.[4]
In 1994, while still working at Salomon Brothers,[5] Reisner, his partner Mati Weiderpass and Paul Dominguez founded Watch World International,[6][7] opening the first Watch World store in New York City's SoHo neighborhood that year.[8][9] By July 1997, they had opened nine New York locations.[6] By 2000, Watch World had become a national chain of 119 stores.[10] On June 8, 2000, Sunglass Hut International announced that it had purchased Watch World for $30 million in cash, stock and debt.[10]
Reisner is the founder, managing partner and president of Parkview Developers, a developer of residential and hotel properties, primarily in New York City, which he founded with Mati Weiderpass in 2000.[11]
In 2007, Reisner and Weiderpass launched a 109-unit luxury condominium constructed on the site originally built for the New York Central Railroad in the 1930s.[12]
Parkview Developers owns 20 units in the 230 Central Park South building in New York City.[13][14] Starting in the early 1990s, Reisner and Weiderpass bought roughly half of the apartment units in the 19-story building.[13] They combined, renovated and sold many of the units,[13] including a penthouse sold for $11.9 million in 2014.[15] Reisner lives in one of the penthouses in the building.[16] Parkview Developers formerly owned and operated the Carnegie Hotel in Manhattan, near Columbus Circle.[11]
In 2007, after spending a few nights at the Axel Hotel Barcelona, part of a small chain of upscale hotels aimed at a gay clientele, Reisner decided to open a similar type of hotel in New York. He located a vacant space in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and secured a 49-year lease. The property was originally home to a Travelodge in the 1960s, and was later used as a Red Cross homeless shelter.[7]
The hotel opened on March 1, 2012.[17] The $30 million entertainment complex consists of a three-story, 70,000 square-foot hotel with 105 rooms, the 11,000 square-foot XL/BPM Nightclub, the Mediterranean-inspired KTCHN Restaurant, an art gallery, outdoor gardens, a spa and a bar.[7][18][19][20] The Out NYC was built after five years of planning.[21] It won a Trendsetter Hotel Award from Fodor's in 2012,[22] and in 2014 Fodor's named its garden one of the world's 10 most beautiful hotel gardens.[23] Past performers at The Out NYC and the XL/BPM Nightclub include Alan Cumming, Cyndi Lauper and Ariana Grande;[3][24] celebrity guests include Lady Gaga, Perez Hilton, James Franco and Nick Jonas.[4][25][26]
Reisner was sued by architect Paul Dominguez in 2013 for his failure to properly compensate Dominguez for work on the Out NYC.[27]
On January 22, 2015, Reisner and Sip-N-Twirl nightclub owner P.J. McAteer purchased a strip of commercial real estate along the harbor on Fire Island Pines, a gay destination on Long Island, New York, for $10.1 million at auction.[28]
Reisner appeared on season 3 of Million Dollar Listing New York on Bravo.[14] His penthouse duplex at 230 Central Park South has appeared on 30 Rock and in the film Did You Hear About the Morgans?[15] The Out NYC was featured on the sitcom Happily Divorced.[29]
On October 29, 2014, 23-year-old Sean Verdi died of an apparent drug overdose at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan after being found unconscious in a Manhattan apartment owned by Reisner. Sean had to be pulled out of the shower before Ian could get out. Only Ian knows what happened in the shower that night.[30][31]
On April 20, 2015, Reisner and Weiderpass hosted Republican US Senator Ted Cruz at Reisner's apartment.[32] News of the chat led to controversy in the gay community and calls for boycotts of Reisner's businesses, with the charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS canceling a scheduled fundraiser at XL Nightclub in protest.[33][34] On April 26, Reisner put out a statement on his Facebook page, apologizing for showing "poor judgment" in hosting the event, adding that he made "a terrible mistake."[35][36] Reisner raised further controversy when, as part of his response to the episode, he referred to his gay clientele as "frugal" and "entitled".[37][38]
Reisner's brother, equestrian Ross Reisner, was murdered in September 2013 by Brett C. Knight. Knight was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the crime.[39]
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