Joseph Beninati

Joseph P. Beninati (born February 23, 1964 in The Bronx, New York) is an American entrepreneur, real estate developer, and private equity investor living in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is a co-founder and managing member of Bauhouse Group, a New York City real estate development and investment firm.

Early life

Beninati was born into an Italian-American family in the Bronx, New York and moved to Westchester County, New York as a teenager. His father worked in the photo processing lab at the Saturday Evening Post before opening his own lab. He was a football player who graduated Choate Rosemary Hall and earned his B.A. at Middlebury College in Vermont in 1987, where he was a political science major.

Early career

Upon graduating from college, Beninati began his career on Wall Street as an investment banker for Dean Witter Reynolds. In 1990, Beninati began an investment banking boutique called Beninati & Wood, Inc. His firm advised a New York financier on the restructuring of C3, Inc. and the acquisition of Telos Corporation (both defense industry contractors). Beninati began as an investment banker to C3 until February 1992, when he became an employee upon the merger of C3 and Telos. He became chief financial officer in May 1992. Beninati became the chairman of Telos from 1994-1995. Telos was awarded a $1 billion contract with the U.S. Army during his tenure. Other Telos clients included the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency.

Beninati resigned from Telos to form Antares.

Greenwich Technology Partners

In 1996, Beninati, along with long time friend and fellow Choate alumnus, Jim Cabrera, founded Antares Investment Partners. A substantial part of the early business was devoted to private equity. In 1997, Antares made a founding investment in a network engineering company called Greenwich Technology Partners. Beninati served as the chairman and CEO for six years with clients such as JP Morgan, Dow Jones, ESPN, and Credit Suisse, and investors such as Juniper Networks and Chase Capital Partners.

In 2002, the company was named the 9th fastest growing company by Inc. Magazine. In 2002, Beninati resigned as CEO and Greenwich Technology Partners was sold in 2003.

Antares Investment Partners

Beninati and Antares began focusing on real estate development in 2002. By 2006, the firm’s real estate portfolio value was $4.5 billion. The firm owned or co-owned properties located in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York with Goldman-Sachs & Co., hedge funds, investment bankers, and other institutional investors.

In 2002, Antares purchased Pickwick Plaza, in Greenwich, CT, for $120 million. At the time, this was the highest price ever paid for a suburban office building, and all of the leases were up for renewal Antares renovated the commercial building, and rented it to hedge funds and other finance firms. They sold it in 2007 for $235 million, about twice the purchase price.

In 2004, Antares purchased and began operating the Delamar Hotel on the Long Island Sound in Greenwich, Connecticut. The hotel was listed as one of the 80 best small hotels in the world by Conde Nast in 2003

Antares also developed and built country estates in Greenwich, which they called Antares Mansions. One home, called Two Fountains, sold in 2007 for $11 million. The other became the Lake Carrington site and sold for $13.75 million. A third, Stone Chase, won a HOBI award in 2007 for "best spec home over $9 million."

In 2007, the firm purchased the US Tobacco building in Greenwich, CT, for $ 130 million, and undertook a $70 million renovation of the structure with architectural firm Perkins Eastman. Antares won a TOBY award for this building.

For the Harbor Point development project on the Stamford, Connecticut waterfront, Antares bought 82 acres of land for $171 million with a $3.5 billion redevelopment plan to create a master-planned community with five distinct neighborhoods. Lubert Adler was an investor in the project. In 2008 Beninati introduced BLT, a development firm, to this project and to Lubert Adler. BLT went on to lead all of the vertical development of Harbor Point.

The Antares boys try a novel legal approach: we were too stupid to know what we were doing. Joseph Beninati and Jimmy Cabrera Of Antares lost control of their last possession, 100 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, to their creditors last year and are suing to recover management fees they claim are owed them, even though their written contract says otherwise. Here’s a partial transcript of a court hearing in the matter; the judge doesn’t believe them. Had they better counsel, they could have called anyone in Greenwich familiar with their business acumen to back up their claim.

Bauhouse Group

Beninati is the co-founder and managing member of Bauhouse Group, a New York City real estate development and investment firm. During the fall 2013, the firm began an assemblage at 515 West 29th Street, the only property bordered by the High Line Park on two sides. The firm purchased the commercial building on the property for $24.4 million and purchased another $6 million in air rights.In March 2014, the firm completed the 43,000 square foot assemblage on the property. The property is approved for residences and ground-floor retail.

Controversies

In 2007, Antares was sued for rent hikes in their condominiums, Greenwich Oaks and Greenwich Place. Antares obtained the buildings for $223 million, a Connecticut real estate record at the time.

In December 2007, a construction company called William Paul Inc. sued Antares. The owner said that Antares did not pay him the full profit share and management fees that he was entitled to. The suit was dropped and no payments were made to the plaintiff.

In 2008, three investors in Antares Mansions sued for repayment of the $4.5 million invested in the project. The suit was settled.

In October 2013 Joseph P Beninati and his newly formed real estate company Bauhouse Group LLC was sued by New York Brokerage firm Nathaniel Christian Group for a $600,000 unpaid real estate commission due for the $24,350,000 purchase of 515 West 29th Street, New York New York.

Philanthropy

Beninati donates to Choate Rosemary Hall and the Beninati Family Scholarship is awarded each year. In 2007, Beninati and Cabrera were given the Man of the Year award by March of Dimes Connecticut Chapter. Antares co-founder Jim Cabrera is chairman of the board of the YMCA in Greenwich. In addition, Antares contributed the land for the construction of the Waterside School in Stamford, Connecticut.

In 2009, Beninati founded the All American Athletic Foundation, a sponsor organization for student athletes.

Honors and Awards

Beninati was given an Entrepreneur Award by the Harvard Business School Club, New York Chapter and was named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young during his time at Greenwich Technology Partners. Inc. Magazine named Beninati and Antares in their 30 Under 30.

Antares was awarded Deal of the Year for its purchase of 100 West Putnam in Greenwich, Connecticut and the redesign of that building earned it a BOMA building award.

Beninati was a member and board member of Young Presidents' Organization- Fairchester Chapter.

Family

Joe Beninati met his wife at Choate and they married in 1990. They reside in Greenwich, Connecticut with their three sons.