Real Estate

On Shlock and Shvo: Louise Sunshine Rebrands Herself

Twenty years ago, Louise Sunshine was busy changing how New Yorkers thought about luxury living. Now, she’s developing prime spots like The Mark Hotel and 56 Leonard—and, oh yeah, launching a global media company

This article was published in the September 10, 2007, edition of The New York Observer.

Chris Shott

Location: So, Sunshine—is that your real name?

Ms. Sunshine: It is.

That’s a very loaded term in marketing, isn’t it?

It’s a very difficult name to live up to. It’s always a challenge to be very sunny in personality.

Hence, the necklace.

I always wear something sunshiny. That’s because in case I don’t smile, somebody can ask me about my necklace, or my earrings, or my pin.

Well, I fell right into that trap. Now, you’re considered a pioneer in luxury condo marketing. Do you consider yourself the intellectual godmother of Michael Shvo?

No, I don’t consider myself the intellectual godmother to Michael Shvo. But if he considers me his intellectual godmother, well, then, I’m flattered.

What do you make of how luxury properties are marketed these days? I was at a Shvo event a few months ago; a really flashy party, with famously hip D.J.’s, burlesque dancers and port-o-potties labeled “Celebrity.” Some attendees weren’t sure what the party was for. Does this sort of thing even work?

I usually don’t comment on things that I don’t have firsthand knowledge of.

Never been to a Shvo party?

No, I’ve never been to one.

Get ready to live.

I’m living a different life. I really don’t have the time at the moment to go to many parties. But if Michael Shvo invited me to a party, I’d be pleased to attend.

You were really big in the 80’s, coming from the Trump Organization and launching your own company, The Sunshine Group, in 1986.…

My business as a woman developer took off in the 70’s when I had the privilege of working side by side with Donald Trump, and that’s where I really learned so very much in just a few years, so very much more than most people have learned in a lifetime.

Tell me one thing that stands out that you learned from Donald Trump.

The one thing that stands out that I learned from Donald Trump is how to create value.

How do you create value?

If I told you how to create value in depth, I’d be giving you the secret to everything I know.

So, is this a comeback for you, these new ventures?

No, let’s call it a reinvention. In my former career as president of The Sunshine Group, we were focused regionally on New York, on the East Coast, and nationally, with quite a few developments on the West Coast, in Texas, Chicago.

My focus is now global. Our new online venture, called Dominium, will become the global directory of all new residential development worldwide. And as development director at the Alexico Group, I am now bringing to market the Mark Hotel, where the penthouse will probably be the hottest property on the globe. It’s expected to fetch at least $6,000 a square foot. Next Page >

  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine
  • Google
  • Yahoo
  • Technorati
  • Facebook
  • Stumble Upon
  • Netvibes
  • Windows Live

Comments
Post a comment

Flakery (not verified) says:

I don't know this woman personally and I'm not even in the real estate world. I do know that typically excess graciousness and flattery are really just fakery. And typically the recipients of such graciousness and flattery know it. And they are fakes themselves too.

Anonymous (not verified) says:

How right you are. This woman, Louise Sunshine, is a horror of a human being. AND, her personality is as far from sunshine as one can possibly get. AND, she absolutely DEMANDS that everyone kiss her fat ass. I refused, and she hated me -- but not as much as I hate her.

P.S. -- What she has done in Real Estate can be done by anyone with enough money. She doesn't know any more than anyone else. She is a fraud with vast connections.

acomplia (not verified) says:

I avouch that it claims that black is white and night is day. I would say that that claim is 70% folderol, 20% twaddle, and 10% another lamebrained attempt to give people a new and largely artificial basis for evaluating things and making decisions.

vpxl (not verified) says:

And typically the recipients of such graciousness and flattery know it

Post a comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd><br> <p> <i> <b> <embed> <img> <blockquote> <span> <strikethrough> <u>
  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.

More information about formatting options

By checking this box you are giving permission for Observer staff to contact you to obtain contact information and permissions required for publication.