Ira started his real estate career working for one of Park Slope’s premiere developers, David Gaunt Development, whose primary focus was bringing gutted brownstone buildings back to life, turning them into coops for first-time home-buyers. Working there for five yearts, we also had a program for converting rental properties into cooperatives, gutting vacant units and applying tax abatement programs where possible and converting many renters into first-time home buyers. Additional neighborhoods we focused on included development projects in Prospect Heights and Bay Ridge. Ira excels at project management, site valuations, contract negotiations and green construction.

He enjoys discovering unique real estate investment opportunities and placing realistic valuations on properties for his projects. Ira thrives on the transactional side of the business, with concentrations in analysis and day-to-day operations for development. He recently developed a Passive House project in Williamsburg, and looks forward to developing projects focused on delivering quality construction that is both healthy for the residents and for the environment. Ira developed three new home projects in Long Beach, Long Island, constructing homes that follow the new code of building living spaces over carports to ensure long-term viability in a community that was ravaged by recent storms and floods. He has received his Masters in Development from NYU, has a broad set of real estate skills including commercial sales and general contracting oversight. He has recently been teaching at both NYU in their Masters Program, as well as Real Estate Finance at Baruch College. 

Ira developed two new homes in Long Beach, Long Island, building homes to serve the new flood-zone building code adopted by the local community to account for post-Hurricane Sandy conditions. Local Code required all new homes to build over carports to raise living areas to 14’ above sea-level. 

For the last five years, Ira has been interested in figuring out how to build a better home for end-users. Having been passionate about eco-friendly solutions, Ira discovered Passive House construction as a means to deliver a better, more efficient energy environment for end-users and long-term property owners. What we like about passive house construction is that it takes a whole-build philosophy to the process of construction, ensuring a healthier home for the people and a healthier energy-use footprint for our carbon-based planet. Ira built a passive home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, using Passive House key principles of improved insulation, triple-pane windows, air-sealing & thermal bridging. 

Ira continues his investment in green construction, in his role as an advisory consultant for Bridge Property Advisors (a new consulting and advisory commercial brokerage firm under the tutelage of Brian Leary) and seeks development opportunities for Yorkstone Development.