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| ⚫ | '''Soho Properties''' is a Muslim-run real estate company at 552 Broadway, #6N, ] that arranges and participates in real estate investments.<ref name="crainsnewyork1"/><ref name="prnewswire1">{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muslim-leaders-and-developers-of-cordoba-house-community-center-in-lower-manhattan-thank-supporters-95658654.html |title=Muslim Leaders and Developers of 'Cordoba House' Community Center in Lower Manhattan Thank... - NEW YORK, June 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ |location=New York |publisher=Prnewswire.com |date= |accessdate=August 3, 2010}}</ref><ref name="foxnews2"/><ref name="sohoproperties1">http://www.sohoproperties.com/pdfs/SP3rdQ08Newsletter.pdf</ref> It was founded by Sharif El-Gamal in 2003.<ref name="sohoproperties1"/> | ||
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| ⚫ | '''Soho Properties''' is a Muslim-run real estate company at 552 Broadway, #6N, ] that arranges and participates in real estate investments.<ref name="crainsnewyork1"/><ref name="prnewswire1">{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muslim-leaders-and-developers-of-cordoba-house-community-center-in-lower-manhattan-thank-supporters-95658654.html |title=Muslim Leaders and Developers of 'Cordoba House' Community Center in Lower Manhattan Thank... - NEW YORK, June 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ |location=New York |publisher=Prnewswire.com |date= |accessdate=August 3, 2010}}</ref><ref name="foxnews2"/><ref name="sohoproperties1">http://www.sohoproperties.com/pdfs/SP3rdQ08Newsletter.pdf</ref> It was founded by Sharif El-Gamal in 2003.<ref name="sohoproperties1"/> | ||
| ==Management== | ==Management== | ||
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| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
| *, Stephen Schwartz, '']'', July 20, 2010 | *, Stephen Schwartz, '']'', July 20, 2010 | ||
| *, '']'', June 29, 2010 | *, '']'', June 29, 2010 | ||
Revision as of 05:25, 3 August 2010
Soho Properties is a Muslim-run real estate company at 552 Broadway, #6N, New York, New York that arranges and participates in real estate investments. It was founded by Sharif El-Gamal in 2003.
Management
Its Chairman and chief executive officer is Sharif El-Gamal. Its partners are Sammy El-Gamal and Nour Mousa.
31 West 27th Street
In November 2009, it was reported that the firm spent $45.7 million to purchase 31 West 27th Street, a 12-story, 108,594-square-foot office building. El-Gamal said: "We just bought it for the income. It's got great long-term leases, and the financing was really attractive. We have five years at a very attractive interest rate, and it's probably the best B building in this submarket." Soho Properties purchased it from the Witkoff Group, which had purchased the building in 2006 for $31.5 million.
Cordoba House
In July 2009, it purchased the 47-51 Park Place building on the site of the planned Cordoba House, also referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque" and "Park51", a proposed $100 million, 13-story, glass and steel Islamic cultural center and mosque that is in the planning stage. The specific location, close to the World Trade Center “where a piece of the wreckage fell,” was a primary selling point for the Muslims who bought the building. Soho Properties paid the owner $4.85 million in cash for the property.
One investor in the transaction with Soho Propoerties was a tax-exempt foundation named the Cordoba Initiative. American Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is CEO and Executive Director of Cordoba Initiative. The other investor with Soho Properties was another foundation, known as the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA). ASMA was founded by Abdul Rauf, and is run by Abdul Rauf and his wife out of the same New York office as the Cordoba Initiative. The foundations are working on the project with Soho Properties, the co-developer of the center.
Claudia Rosett, a journalist with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who writes a weekly column on foreign affairs for Forbes, devoted a column to raising questions as to the source of the funding for the effort. Some U.S. politicians such as Republicans Peter T. King and Rick Lazio asked for an investigation of the group’s finances, especially its foreign funding. King said: "The people who are involved in the construction of the mosque are refusing to say where their funding is going to come from." Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, also said:
There should be transparency about who those investors are, whether that money is coming from domestic interest or not, and if it's coming from foreign interests we need to know, because I think that's a liability, and it shows that there is another agenda rather than domestic security and tranquility.
El-Gamal said he wanted the building to be energy-efficient and transparent, most likely with a glass façade. He said: “It’s really to provide a place of peace, a place of services and solutions for the community which is always looking for interfaith dialogue". He envisions it as "a place where I could show off my hospitality, my culture, my background".
References
- ^ Fung, Amanda (July 25, 2010). "Mosque madness a matter of perspective". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- ^ "Muslim Leaders and Developers of 'Cordoba House' Community Center in Lower Manhattan Thank... - NEW YORK, June 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/". New York: Prnewswire.com. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- ^ "Plan to Build Mosque Near Ground Zero Riles Families of 9/11 Victims". FOX News. April 7, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- ^ http://www.sohoproperties.com/pdfs/SP3rdQ08Newsletter.pdf
- ^ "SoHo Properties Buys Chelsea Building for $45.7 M. | The New York Observer". Observer.com. November 9, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- "Chelsea office building goes to Soho Properties for $45.7 million | The Real Deal | New York Real Estate News". The Real Deal. November 9, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- "Muslim Leaders and Developers of 'Cordoba House' Community Center in Lower Manhattan Thank Supporters; Muslim Leaders Express Appreciation for Endorsement of Community Board, Elected Officials, 9/11 Families, and Christian and Jewish Clergy". New York: PR Newswire. June 4, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/nyregion/09mosque.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
- ^ Rosett, Claudia (September 11, 2001). "Where In The World Is Imam Feisal?". Forbes. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- By staff writers (May 14, 2010). "Anger over mosque plan for Ground Zero". Herald Sun. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- "Lack of Funds Latest Hurdle for Ground Zero Mosque". DNAinfo.com. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- Ralph Blumentha and Sharaf Mowjood, "Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero", The New York Times, December 8, 2009, accessed August 3, 2010]
- "NYC community board OKs ground zero mosque plans – NewsChannel 9 WSYR". 9wsyr.com. September 11, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- Canada. "Opposition to ground zero mosque goes viral". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- "Mosque going up in NYC building damaged on 9/11". Guardian. May 7, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- Weaver, Carolyn (July 22, 2010). "Muslim Group Faces Opposition Near New York's Ground Zero". Voice of America. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- Dean, Nick (September 30, 2001). "NY Congressman Calls for Probe of Funding for Mosque Near Ground Zero and Its Promoter". CNS News. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- Troianovski, Anton (July 19, 2010). "Developer Envisions Landmark Mosque". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/nyregion/09mosque.html?pagewanted=2
- Price, Matthew (May 19, 2010). "BBC News - New York mosque plan stirs up 9/11 memories". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
- Gershman, Jacob. "Sides Dig In Over Ground Zero Mosque". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2010.