Architects building new Westchester communities.

Ginsburg Development Corp. (GDC), Westchester's largest residential real estate corporation, founded by two architects, brothers Martin and Samuel Ginsburg, is presently celebrating its 30th year in business, coming off solid sales in 1993 and looking forward to building two new projects this year.

"We weathered a three-year contraction from 1989 to 1991," said Martin Ginsburg. "In 1992, things stabilized and last year, we sold nearly 100 townhome condominiums in Westchester, despite the lackluster total economy."

Recently, GDC completed Clarewood in Hastings-on-Hudson, a community of 85 townhomes and 40 condominiums in a renovated school building. GDC's Boulder Ridge community in Scarsdale, with 162 luxury-class townhomes, is also nearing completion. Both developments have received American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Builder magazine awards.

"We may return to single-family development, which was what we started doing 30 years ago, or we may return to building new apartments as well," said Martin Ginsburg. "Our primary development focus will be Westchester, where historically all our development has been built, but we're not opposed to starting to build in other areas as well."

The Ginsburg brothers, both of whom graduated as architects from Rensselar Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, originally started with single-family home development, but eventually turned their attention to multi-family development.

"We've always been conservative," said Samuel Ginsburg. "We started out small. We've always used our own resources, keeping the scale of our projects within our means."

The Ginsburgs became one of Westchester's earliest condominium builders with the construction of the award-winning Esplanade, overlooking the Hudson River in North Yonkers. From a partnership between the two brothers, GDC has evolved into a full-service real estate company employing more than 150 people in development, sales, construction and property management.

"Judging by our sales in 1993, there's a continuing need for the type of communities that we build," Martin Ginsburg said. "In addition to our emphasis on design and site, we're very value-oriented at all price levels."

Last year, GDC, headquartered on Saw Mill River Road in Hawthorne, was able to sell out its newest community, Park Ridge Village in the White Plains section of Greenburgh, in six months. The two-bedroom townhomes, priced from $160,000 to $185,000, were sold before construction from a sales trailer and without model homes to show buyers.

"We have an advantage, we've built so many developments in the area that people don't have to take our word for it," said Martin Ginsburg. "They can see for themselves, we're easy to check out. While price may be king today, as architects, we remain committed to high-quality design and site development, and a sensitive approach to the environment."

The Pondside community, with 106 townhomes, was designed around two man-made ponds and includes a four-story condominium building that blends very well with the "village" character of the townhomes.

"The area that we take greatest pride in is our sensitivity to creating residential communities that respect the natural beauty of the sites," said Martin Ginsburg, noting that Pondside, which will be completed this Summer, has also won an AIA design award. "We design the homes to fit the sites and the landscapes so that when we are finished, it looks like the homes were there forever."

GDC also-owns and manages more than 4,000 apartments, in addition to their residential developments. Last year, GDC acquired a 143-unit apartment complex in Pasco County, Florida, north of Tampa, and a 260-unit rental development in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reflecting back, the Ginsburg brothers realize that they have come a long way since they first decided to create a project of their own and formed a partnership in 1963, with a total capitalization of $8,400.

"It started out as a sideline," Martin Ginsburg explained. "Initially, I would take a long lunch hour, catch a train from New York City to Westchester, get in my car and drive to the site in Greenburgh. Then, I would return to work in the city."

After their first venture succeeded, the brothers established Designer Homes, Inc. in 1964 and leased a 400 square-foot office in Crestwood, NY.

"Even though we made a profit on that first house, it took the real estate broker longer than we expected to sell it," Martin Ginsburg said. "So from then on we decided to do the selling ourselves."

In 1967, after building and selling approximately 100 homes, construction costs escalated dramatically, which were necessarily translated into higher-priced homes, and the brothers turned to multi-family housing.

"We were selling large Colonial and contemporary homes on two- and four-acre sites for $45,000 to $55,000, when increased costs put us over $60,000," said Martin Ginsburg. "We felt we had out-priced our customers."

Samuel Ginsburg said, "In our 30 years of experience, we have seen how economics can drown certain markets and opportunities. When things change, you have to be able to swim to another segment of the market where the opportunities are still intact."

While GDC weathered a three-year contraction from 1989 to 1991, the company was ready to build its newest community, Park Ridge Village in 1993. Last year, Martin Ginsburg also assisted Beth Shalom in building a $2 million synagogue on North Broadway in Hastingson-Hudson.

"Not many have come through the recession as well as we have," said Martin Ginsburg. "We've maintained our record of never missing an interest payment in 30 years and never leaving any project incomplete."

This year, GDC plans to build its first retail project, a 40,000 square-foot shopping center on vacant land on Central Avenue in Scarsdale, with co-developer Dill Hill Realty of Scarsdale. Approvals are currently pending, with construction expected to start later this year.