Eugene Giscombe is a man about Harlem.

Eugene Giscombe is a man about Harlem. When a person opens a business in his hometown he gets to know about his neighborhood more intimately than most of its occupants. When it is the real estate business this is even more true.

Giscombe grew up in Harlem in the 1940's. Today he is seeing it flower from the seeds he planted there decades ago.

"I bought up property during the seventies when even the most adventurous entrepreneurs wouldn't touch it. I always felt there was a treasure here," says Giscombe, who is president and CEO of Giscombe Henderson, one of Harlem's leading real estate management, leasing, development and sales firms.

Giscombe points to the Harlem Renaissance which, in the 90's, was his treasure mined. "Now, Harlem has a rash of luxury residential developments. Upscale condominiums with average prices of half a million dollars have not only been built, but have been sold," says Giscombe who predicts, "more residential development is likely to occur when the city announces the rezoning of 125th Street."

He expects new construction of both co-ops and condos along the famed blocks of 125th Street, as well as new parks and transportation.

Giscombe already sees the next phase of growth that will follow this residential surge. "There will be more upscale and fashionable stores and, of course, there will be the expansion of the banks, Commerce Bank, Wachovia Bank, City National Bank, North Fork Bank, Washington Mutual."

At the same time Giscombe is about to dive into the development phase himself very shortly. He was recently appointed tenant representative by the Office of General Services, City of New York, in a joint venture with Grubb & Ellis of New York, Inc., to secure space and negotiate leases for one quarter of the city's 20 million square foot lease portfolio.

At the same time, his firm is also getting more involved in the hot residential market in Harlem, including sales of condominiums and townhouses where he is busy recruiting sales people and creating a team to develop new condominiums.

But while Harlem is his neighbor hood, the whole city is Giscombe's home.

He is a member of the 125th Street Business Improvement District and his commercial involvements fan out far beyond Harlem to office buildings throughout New York City and the tri-state area. The Giscombe Henderson real estate consulting practice extends from investment feasibility studies and site assemblage, to finance evaluation and all manner of special projects.

The firm's clients include large institutions, pension funds, government agencies, not-for-profits, and conventional developers all over the city.

In the last couple of decades, Giscombe's acquisitions, developments, relocations and management ventures on the legendary 125th St. corridor grew to total nearly 500,000 s/f, including Chase Manhattan Bank, Fourth Federal Savings and Loan, New York State Supreme Court, Bechtel Infrastructure, Beth Israel Medical Center, the Harlem Commonwealth Council, New York College of Podiatric Medicine, The Jewish Theological Seminary, and the offices of music legend Ornette Coleman.

While city real estate is his business, Giscombe has had a passion for wildlife since childhood. He was the former President of the Local Safaris Club International Chapter, where he was instrumental in the donation of computers to a wildlife college in Zambia and the restoration of a school in Tanzania.

He recently commissioned New York artist Grimanesa Arnoros to create a large conceptual sculpture of exotic animal figures. The unusual exhibit is displayed on the second floor of Giscombe Henderson's main office in the Lee Building.

"My interest in wildlife was the inspiration for the art," explains Giscombe a man who has given much back to the community that inspires everything he does.

Giscombe's professional affiliations and charitable work are extensive. He is Chairman of City National Bancshares Corp. in New Jersey and a former President of the Greater Harlem Real Estate Board, where he now serves as a member of the Board of Directors. He is a trustee of North General Hospital and the Greater Harlem Nursing Home.