Property Management Icon David Kuperberg to become Chairman of FirstService Residential New York
NEW YORK, October 22, 2013 – FirstService Residential New York, formerly known as Cooper Square Realty, has announced that David Kuperberg, its founder and chief executive, will become the company’s chairman and transition from his role as president effective December 31, 2013.
At that time, Dan Wurtzel, an associate and partner of Kuperberg’s since the company’s earliest days, will succeed him as President and oversee day-to-day operations. “Dan has led our property management division since 2008 and has a demonstrated track record of success,” says Kuperberg. “His decades of experience, deep industry knowledge, and strong relationships with our clients uniquely qualify him to lead the company and continue to inspire the high level of standards that we have established.”
Kuperberg, who founded Cooper Square Realty nearly 28 years ago, has driven the company from managing a single property with one employee (himself) to become the largest residential management firm in New York overseeing a portfolio of more than 500 condominiums, cooperatives, and rental properties across the five boroughs with an aggregate value of over $6 billion. FirstService Residential New York’s 400-plus associates serve more than 70,000 residences that are home to over 200,000 people. Its signature properties include The Plaza Condominiums, The San Remo, Carnegie Hill Tower and Frank Gehry’s luxury rental tower 8 Spruce Street.
In 2003 Kuperberg partnered with FirstService Residential – the leading residential management company in North America – to leverage the service platform, technology, and proprietary programs of a national public company in order to enhance the value proposition for clients. This helped to propel the company’s growth even further.
Kuperberg has been a driving force in professionalizing previously archaic services to meet clients’ evolving needs. Among his ground-breaking innovations are FirstService Energy, the energy services affiliate of FirstService Residential that helps clients reduce energy consumption, costs and harmful emissions. Since its creation in 2010, FirstService Energy has helped clients save nearly $20 million while reducing the carbon footprint of its New York portfolio by more than 15 percent.
Kuperberg reinvented the cooperative and condominium board application process, creating online applications to expedite sales, leases, bank questionnaires and insurance certificates. He implemented a Customer Care Center to provide 24/7 service to building residents. His development of a “best practices” approach to property management has been proven to deliver consistently successful results for properties and residents across the company’s vast portfolio.
In 2003 Kuperberg authored “Residential Property Management Principles and Practices,” the quintessential textbook selected as required reading for the nationwide RAM Certification Program.
“Being better than the competition wasn’t ever a high enough goal for me,” says Kuperberg.”I set out to create new standards based on excellence and to elevate the industry by giving property owners and residents indispensible services to successfully operate a property… before clients even knew those services were needed.”
Kuperberg is a past National Chair and current Life Governor of the Registered Apartment Management (RAM) program and a past President of the Greater New York Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). He currently serves on the Real Estate Board of New York's Residential Management Council and is a board member of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations.
About FirstService Residential
FirstService Residential is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, one of the largest markets in the world. As the largest residential property manager in North America, FirstService Residential oversees more than 6,000 properties and 1.5 million residential units across 21 U.S. states and three provinces in Canada. The company has more than 12,000 employees driving local market expertise and managing in excess of $6 billion in budgets. For more information, visit www.fsresidential.com.
At that time, Dan Wurtzel, an associate and partner of Kuperberg’s since the company’s earliest days, will succeed him as President and oversee day-to-day operations. “Dan has led our property management division since 2008 and has a demonstrated track record of success,” says Kuperberg. “His decades of experience, deep industry knowledge, and strong relationships with our clients uniquely qualify him to lead the company and continue to inspire the high level of standards that we have established.”
Kuperberg, who founded Cooper Square Realty nearly 28 years ago, has driven the company from managing a single property with one employee (himself) to become the largest residential management firm in New York overseeing a portfolio of more than 500 condominiums, cooperatives, and rental properties across the five boroughs with an aggregate value of over $6 billion. FirstService Residential New York’s 400-plus associates serve more than 70,000 residences that are home to over 200,000 people. Its signature properties include The Plaza Condominiums, The San Remo, Carnegie Hill Tower and Frank Gehry’s luxury rental tower 8 Spruce Street.
In 2003 Kuperberg partnered with FirstService Residential – the leading residential management company in North America – to leverage the service platform, technology, and proprietary programs of a national public company in order to enhance the value proposition for clients. This helped to propel the company’s growth even further.
Kuperberg has been a driving force in professionalizing previously archaic services to meet clients’ evolving needs. Among his ground-breaking innovations are FirstService Energy, the energy services affiliate of FirstService Residential that helps clients reduce energy consumption, costs and harmful emissions. Since its creation in 2010, FirstService Energy has helped clients save nearly $20 million while reducing the carbon footprint of its New York portfolio by more than 15 percent.
Kuperberg reinvented the cooperative and condominium board application process, creating online applications to expedite sales, leases, bank questionnaires and insurance certificates. He implemented a Customer Care Center to provide 24/7 service to building residents. His development of a “best practices” approach to property management has been proven to deliver consistently successful results for properties and residents across the company’s vast portfolio.
In 2003 Kuperberg authored “Residential Property Management Principles and Practices,” the quintessential textbook selected as required reading for the nationwide RAM Certification Program.
“Being better than the competition wasn’t ever a high enough goal for me,” says Kuperberg.”I set out to create new standards based on excellence and to elevate the industry by giving property owners and residents indispensible services to successfully operate a property… before clients even knew those services were needed.”
Kuperberg is a past National Chair and current Life Governor of the Registered Apartment Management (RAM) program and a past President of the Greater New York Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). He currently serves on the Real Estate Board of New York's Residential Management Council and is a board member of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations.
About FirstService Residential
FirstService Residential is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, one of the largest markets in the world. As the largest residential property manager in North America, FirstService Residential oversees more than 6,000 properties and 1.5 million residential units across 21 U.S. states and three provinces in Canada. The company has more than 12,000 employees driving local market expertise and managing in excess of $6 billion in budgets. For more information, visit www.fsresidential.com.