Urban Land Capital

William Lie Zeckendorf serves as the principal decision-maker. He is the son of William Zeckendorf Jr. and grandson of William Zeckendorf Sr., who built the Webb & Knapp real estate empire. The office operates with a lean acquisitions team and does not have a formal investment committee separate from the family principal, which permits same-day approval on off-market distress opportunities.

Urban Land Capital is the single-family office of William Lie Zeckendorf, while Zeckendorf Development is the firm co-led by his brother Arthur Zeckendorf. The two are legally distinct vehicles with separate management, though the brothers have co-invested on signature projects historically, most notably 15 Central Park West. Urban Land Capital tends to operate on a smaller, less-public deal scale than the high-profile condominium developments associated with Zeckendorf Development.

Urban Land Capital is structured as a traditional single-family office and does not publicly solicit outside investor capital or manage commingled funds. The firm uses permanent family capital, which allows it to hold assets indefinitely and pursue complex, time-intensive repositioning strategies without the pressure of fund-life constraints or LP redemption requests.

The office focuses on value-add and opportunistic urban residential and mixed-use properties, often entering deals through distressed note acquisitions or buying vacated commercial loft buildings for residential conversion. Its geographic footprint is concentrated in New York City — primarily Manhattan and Brooklyn — with selective activity in supply-constrained secondary Northeast markets.

The wealth traces to William Zeckendorf Sr., who led Webb & Knapp in assembling the land for the United Nations headquarters, Century City in Los Angeles, and numerous iconic Manhattan developments in the mid-20th century. His son William Zeckendorf Jr. continued developing landmark New York properties, and the third generation — Arthur and William Lie — manage separate but occasionally co-investing real estate platforms today.