El-Ad Group

El-Ad Group is an Israeli-owned real estate development company associated with a broad portfolio of residential, commercial, retail, industrial, and hospitality assets. The group was founded and is owned by Israeli businessman Yitzhak Tshuva. Although its corporate base is in Israel, its operating structure has included subsidiaries and affiliated businesses in the United States, Canada, Israel, Singapore, India, and other markets. The group’s North American activities have been particularly associated with New York City, where El-Ad Properties developed and repositioned high-profile properties and helped establish the organization as a significant condominium developer. The group’s best-known asset has been the Plaza Hotel on Central Park South in Manhattan. An El-Ad affiliate acquired the property in 2004, and the hotel underwent an extensive renovation before reopening on March 1, 2008. The redevelopment combined hotel operations with luxury residential and retail components, making the Plaza a prominent example of El-Ad’s strategy of acquiring recognizable properties, restoring or upgrading them, and repositioning parts of their use and ownership structure. The project also generated public and labor controversy because plans to convert substantial portions of the hotel into condominiums and upscale retail space were viewed by the hotel workers’ union as a threat to employment and to the building’s historic public configuration. El-Ad’s property portfolio has also included the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, The Grand Madison, the O’Neill Building, 21 Astor Place, and interests connected with Montreal’s Olympic Village and other developments. In Canada, El-Ad Canada has been associated with residential and commercial projects in the Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa regions. Reference material describes a Canadian portfolio exceeding 12,000 residential units and more than 6 million square feet of commercial, retail, and industrial space, although the applicable date and current status of those figures are not specified. The group’s United States platform has included El-Ad Properties, based in New York City, and El-Ad National Properties, which was established in 2004 to expand into the southeastern United States. El-Ad National developed a presence across states including Florida, Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Massachusetts. Its activities included rental housing and a joint venture involving Element National Management, a property-management company. Reference material states that approximately 55 percent of El-Ad National’s portfolio consisted of rental properties, but does not provide a date for that proportion. El-Ad also pursued hospitality and international expansion. Elad Hotels Ltd. took a controlling interest in the six-hotel Sheraton Moriah Israel chain. In the Far East, the group formed joint ventures with local companies in India and Singapore, and in 2007 established Elad Far East through a partnership with China’s Zeg Investments. The group’s international ambitions included expanding the Plaza brand to cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai, although the source material does not establish that all of these plans were completed. Its development strategy has involved landmark restoration, luxury condominiums, hotels, retail, mixed-use complexes, and large-scale urban redevelopment. In 2007, El-Ad announced a $330 million development deal involving land between Beverly Hills and Westwood in Los Angeles. It also announced plans to acquire and replace the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with a new resort called Las Vegas Plaza. El-Ad’s public profile has therefore been shaped both by completed landmark projects and by ambitious redevelopment proposals, some of which attracted legal, labor, or community scrutiny. The available reference material does not provide a reliable current account of the g…

El-Ad Group emerged as the real estate investment and development vehicle of Israeli businessman Yitzhak Tshuva. The group’s identity has been tied to cross-border property ownership and redevelopment rather than to a single consumer-facing product. Its activities have included residential construction, commercial and retail property, hotels, rental housing, property management, and the restoration or repositioning of architecturally or historically significant buildings. The group built a substantial North American presence through several operating platforms. El-Ad Properties, based in New York City, became the group’s most prominent United States subsidiary and focused heavily on New York real estate. El-Ad National Properties was established in 2004 to support expansion into the southeastern United States and subsequently operated across a wider set of southern, Midwestern, and northeastern states. Its portfolio included rental housing as well as other property types, and the platform worked through a joint venture with Element National Management in property management. El-Ad Canada focused principally on the Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa areas, where its developments included residential neighborhoods and commercial, retail, and industrial space. The acquisition of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan in 2004 was a defining point in El-Ad’s public profile. The company sought to preserve the landmark’s luxury identity while changing its economic model through renovation, residential conversion, and retail redevelopment. The proposal became controversial because hotel workers and their union argued that the conversion would reduce employment and alter important Edwardian-era public areas. The dispute later softened as the property approached reopening. Following a major renovation, the Plaza reopened on March 1, 2008, becoming the clearest expression of El-Ad’s landmark-property strategy. Other New York holdings associated with the group included the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, The Grand Madison, the O’Neill Building, and 21 Astor Place. Collectively, these properties illustrate El-Ad’s preference for urban assets that can be restored, converted, developed, or repositioned for higher-value residential, commercial, or hospitality uses. In 2016, The Real Deal ranked El-Ad sixth among New York City’s most prolific condominium developers by historical sales volume, according to the reference material. During the 2000s, El-Ad pursued expansion beyond New York and Canada. In 2007, the group announced a development arrangement involving land between Beverly Hills and Westwood in Los Angeles. It also proposed buying the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and replacing it with a new resort called Las Vegas Plaza. The proposed acquisition was reported at a record price per acre, but the supplied material does not confirm completion of the planned redevelopment. The group’s development ambitions also extended to Singapore, where Miki Naftali was associated with a major residential, commercial, retail, and hotel complex designed by Norman Foster, and to India through joint ventures with local partners. Hospitality was another important part of the organization. Elad Hotels Ltd. took a controlling interest in the six-hotel Sheraton Moriah Israel chain. The group also discussed expanding the Plaza brand internationally to markets including Boston, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai. These plans reflected an attempt to leverage a famous property name across a wider hotel platform, although the available sources do not establish the completion of each proposed location. El-Ad’s history has included both completed projects and contested proposals. Labor opposition to the Plaza redevelopment and litigation involving El-Ad Properties and the Tamares Group demonstrate the legal and stakeholder risks attached to landmark redevelopment and casino-related transactions. The supplied reference material does not provide enough recent information to describe the group’s current executives, active assets, financial performance, corporate structure, or the present status of every subsidiary. Accordingly, historical facts are better documented than the company’s current operating position.

1. 2016El-Ad ranks among New York's prolific condominium developers

   The Real Deal ranks El-Ad sixth by historical New York City condominium sales volume in a list published that year.

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2. 2008The Plaza Hotel reopens

   After a major renovation, the Plaza Hotel reopens on March 1 with hotel, residential, and retail components.

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3. 2007Los Angeles development expansion

   El-Ad expands its Los Angeles holdings through a development deal involving land between Beverly Hills and Westwood.

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4. 2007Elad Far East is formed

   The group establishes Elad Far East through a partnership with China's Zeg Investments.

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5. 2007Las Vegas Plaza proposal announced

   El-Ad announces plans to acquire and replace the New Frontier Hotel and Casino with a new resort.

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6. 2004El-Ad National Properties is established

   The group creates El-Ad National Properties to lead expansion into the southeastern United States and subsequently broadens its presence across multiple U.S. states.

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7. 2004El-Ad acquires the Plaza Hotel

   An El-Ad affiliate acquires New York City's Plaza Hotel, initiating a highly publicized renovation and mixed-use redevelopment.

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A privately owned, internationally oriented real estate group focused on landmark assets, luxury residential development, hospitality, rental housing, and large-scale mixed-use redevelopment.

• Luxury residential condominiumsResidential real estate

  El-Ad has developed and repositioned luxury condominium properties, particularly in New York City. Its approach has included converting or integrating residential units into landmark buildings and large urban developments, often alongside hospitality or retail uses.

• Rental housingResidential real estate

  Through El-Ad National Properties and related platforms, the group has operated a substantial rental-oriented portfolio across several U.S. states. Reference material identifies rental housing as a significant part of the national platform, but does not establish the current portfolio size.

• Commercial, retail, and mixed-use developmentsCommercial real estate

  The group has owned or developed office, retail, industrial, and mixed-use properties in North America. Projects have included the commercial and retail components of landmark redevelopments and large-scale urban complexes.

• Hotels and hospitality assetsHospitality real estate

  El-Ad's hospitality interests have included the Plaza Hotel in New York and a controlling interest acquired by Elad Hotels Ltd. in the Sheraton Moriah Israel hotel chain. The group has also pursued hotel components within international mixed-use projects.

• Property managementReal estate services

  El-Ad National Properties has been associated through a joint venture with Element National Management, extending the group beyond ownership and development into the management of real estate assets.

• 2007Global Plaza brand expansion plan

  United States · United Kingdom · France · Japan · China

  El-Ad explored extending the Plaza hotel identity to cities including Boston, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai.

  Outcome. The source material describes the expansion as a plan but does not confirm completion across the proposed markets.

  Source
• 2004Plaza Hotel landmark redevelopment

  United States

  El-Ad positioned its acquisition of the Plaza Hotel as a major restoration and redevelopment project combining luxury hospitality, condominiums, and upscale retail.

  Outcome. The renovated Plaza reopened in 2008, although the conversion plans generated labor and public controversy.

  Source

• 2007Expand into Los AngelesStrategy

  El-Ad sought to broaden its high-end development platform beyond New York and Canada.

  What changed. The group entered a development deal involving land between Beverly Hills and Westwood.

  Aftermath. The supplied material does not document the final completion or present status of the project.

  development deal value. $330 million (2007 announcement)

  Source
• 2007Propose the Las Vegas Plaza resortStrategy

  El-Ad planned to replace the New Frontier Hotel and Casino with a new luxury resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

  What changed. The company announced plans to acquire and demolish the existing property and develop a resort branded Las Vegas Plaza.

  Aftermath. The reference material does not confirm that the proposed redevelopment was completed.

  reported price per acre. $33 million per acre (2007 announcement)

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• 2004Acquire the Plaza HotelM&A

  El-Ad sought a prominent New York landmark that could support luxury hospitality, residential conversion, and retail redevelopment.

  What changed. An El-Ad affiliate acquired the Plaza Hotel and began planning a major renovation and mixed-use repositioning.

  Aftermath. The project faced union opposition and public debate before the renovated hotel reopened in 2008.

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• 2008Plaza Hotel reopens after El-Ad renovation

  The Plaza Hotel reopened on March 1 after an extensive renovation associated with El-Ad's redevelopment of the landmark property.

  Product launchOther
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• 2007El-Ad announces Las Vegas Plaza proposal

  The company announced plans to buy the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, demolish the existing structure, and replace it with a resort branded Las Vegas Plaza.

  Other
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• 2007El-Ad expands Los Angeles development holdings

  El-Ad expanded its Los Angeles presence through a development arrangement involving land between Beverly Hills and Westwood.

  Other
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• 2007El-Ad develops international joint ventures

  Elad Far East was established through a partnership with China's Zeg Investments, complementing the group's joint ventures in India and Singapore.

  M&A
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• 2007El-Ad Properties faces lawsuit involving Plaza Hotel and Casino interests

  El-Ad Properties became involved in litigation with the Tamares Group, identified in the reference material as the owner of the Plaza Hotel & Casino.

  Lawsuit
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• 2005El-Ad announces Plaza Hotel redevelopment plans

  Plans to convert much of the Plaza into luxury residences and reconfigure historic public spaces drew opposition from New York hotel workers' representatives before later negotiations eased the dispute.

  CampaignOther
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• 2004El-Ad affiliate acquires New York's Plaza Hotel

  The acquisition of the Plaza Hotel became El-Ad Group's most visible New York transaction and triggered debate over the property's future use, including proposed condominium and retail conversions.

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1. El-Ad Group