Another Long Island development giant is splitting up.
Sterling Equities co-founder Fred Wilpon, along with Richard and Scott Wilpon, left the company as part of a “planned organizational transition,” Newsday reported. Saul Katz and his family members are remaining with Sterling, as is Bruce Wilpon, Fred’s son.
The departing Wilpons are expected to focus on other ventures, ending a partnership between Fred and Katz that dates back more than half a century. The separation is not expected to affect Sterling’s 150 employees.
It’s also not expected to be an entirely clean split. Sterling Project Development Group, for instance, will be co-owned by the Wilpons and Sterling. The company declined to comment on the division of assets.
Over the decades, Sterling has bought or built properties in almost every state in the country — spanning multifamily buildings to office space and industrial assets — totaling more than 25 million square feet.
Among Sterling’s most notable current projects is a co-development with Related Companies for a soccer stadium in Queens’ Willets Point neighborhood. The companies are developing the 25,000-seat soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club across the street from the right field foul pole of Citi Field.
The Wilpons owned the New York Mets until Steve Cohen came along and bought the team from them several years ago after a two-decade stewardship of the franchise. Their ownership tenure was marred by the Wilpons’ connection to notorious Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.
The Wilpons and Sterling are continuing on in the tradition of the Fairfield Properties, another Long Island firm that saw a prominent split this year.
In May, Fairfield splintered into two independent family offices run by co-managing partners Michael and Gary Broxmeyer. The division of assets resulted in Gary Broxmeyer forming GB Family Office Holdings and his nephew, Michael Broxmeyer, leading MDJ Realty Services.
Fairfield managed more than 16,000 units across more than 200 properties at the time of the division.
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