Jared Epstein – Meatpacking District Mastermind

Aurora Capital

If you’ve been to the Meatpacking District in recent years, its historic buildings filled with distinctive shops and destination restaurants, the streets alive with the arts, you’ve seen the handwork of Jared Epstein. Epstein, who joined Aurora Capital in 2007 and is now president and partner, knew the neighborhood well from his days as a nightclub promoter. “I had frequented the neighborhood beginning in 1999. I always found it to be incredibly special, unique,” Epstein says. “The streetscape, its positioning in the city, the lower west quadrant of Manhattan, the proximity to the water and the West Village.”

Hermes ,Catch, Sephora & Match.com

Aurora founder Robert Cayre believed in Epstein’s vision, and by 2009 they’d acquired 21-27 9th Avenue, a strip of four rowhouses-turned-meatpacking plants that they transformed, with Sephora on the ground floor and hot restaurant Catch above.
“It all started from there. Now we own 18 properties in the neighborhood and we’re it’s largest landlord besides Google. We have about 750,000 square feet in a small neighborhood of only four-square blocks.”

Careful Curation

Epstein points out that Aurora as a landlord is not about the last dollar. “It’s about curation, because in the end that’s what lasts and that’s what New York needs. We’re trying to leave a legacy, not just create wealth.” He brought in Restoration Hardware, now known as RH, before it was even a public company, and that helped jumpstart the neighborhood’s transformation. Now Hermès, Bruno Cuccinelli, Belstaff, and the offices of Match.com are on the same block. Aurora insists that any chain retail tenant in any of their Meatpacking District properties agrees to make that unit unique from all its other stores.

Pastis & Keith McNally

The RH space formerly housed beloved restaurant Pastis, and since it was no longer possible to reopen in its original location, Aurora promised founder Keith McNally that they would bring him back to the neighborhood, and did so, on Gansevoort Street.
They allowed McNally to remove all the tile, furniture, mirrors, kitchen fixtures, fans, the bar and even the tin ceilings to reuse in the new Pastis. It was meticulous work, even more complicated as it’s a historic district.

Originally, the neighbors opposed the new midblock Pastis location, even suing the Landmarks Commission upon approval of the plans; they also tried to stop Restoration Hardware from opening. “The beauty is after each thing that we do is opened, we get applauded by the community even though they fought us along the way, because when they see and experience what it is that we help create, they’re actually thrilled with it,” says Epstein. The neighborhood was once filled with meat packing plants, and later became a loud nightclub-zone, plagued with crime. “It’s completely been reborn and cleaned up,” Epstein says. “While it still has entertainment and fun, it’s much safer. It’s respectful of its neighbors without losing its appeal and character.”

Meatpacking Improvement Association

Epstein cofounded the Meatpacking Improvement Association, a privately funded organization dedicated to neighborhood beautification and safety. Later, they started a Business Improvement District, or B.I.D., which helps to organize events, exercise classes and art exhibitions in public spaces. Aurora also helped start the SoHo B.I.D., and Epstein is on the board of the 34th Street Partnership; both areas of the city in which the company is active.

Seven Deadly Sins

During the pandemic, Aurora helped create “Seven Deadly Sins,” a month-long performance series. “Since Broadway had been closed for so long and actors were starving for work and the city was starving for entertainment, we hired a company to put on a production throughout the Meat Packing District in our vacant storefronts.” It sold out and was extended for one week.

Upcoming Residential: West Village & Brooklyn Heights

Next up for Aurora are residential developments in the West Village, including three condo projects, one across from the Jane Hotel, another at 111 Charles, and at 144 Barrow which includes the long-vacant Keller Hotel. Townhomes on Perry Street and a development on Weehawken Street are also in the works. Aurora is also planning its first large rental building in Brooklyn Heights.

Askmindy.com

Epstein, his wife Mindy, and their two young sons live in Chelsea and spend summers in Watermill. Mindy, born and raised in Manhattan, knows every corner; friends call her “Askmindy.com.” “She’s been so helpful in my career as well, because she knows where everything is and has ideas of what store should come next to a certain neighborhood, what’s missing, where the next cool place is going to be,” Epstein says.

Center for Jewish Life

Animal lovers, they dote on their puggle, Maverick, and actively support animal welfare organizations. The Epsteins are also active in the Jewish community; this summer, they were honored for their work in support of the Center for Jewish Life in Sag Harbor, which has been forced to relocate.

In the city, they’re helping Chabad of the West Village, donating the use of one of their Meatpacking District buildings for high holy days and Sukkot services. “Philanthropy has been important in my life and career,” Epstein says.