Yair Levy heads New York-based Time Century Holdings LLC. Mr. Levy’s 50 years of experience in the real estate industry helps lead Time Century Holdings’ investment and development strategy, focused on mixed-use properties, development sites assemblages in prime locations and retail properties in New York and Florida.

Mr. Levy began acquiring strategically located properties for redevelopment in Manhattan in 1997. One of his early acquisitions as a developer was a distressed retail property next to the World Trade Center. He acquired the 9-unit retail building for $2.1 million with the purpose of redeveloping the site. But after five years, he sold the asset for $20 million. That was the beginning of YL Real Estate Developers, which went on to own nearly 2.5 million square feet of commercial and residential real estate in Manhattan and became one of the city’s most prolific developers.

Mr. Levy followed an unconventional path to becoming a real estate mogul. He was 22 when he emigrated to the United States from Israel and partnered with his brother to open a clothing company. They operated five clothing stores in New York and developed several lines of women’s wear that sold in most of the country’s premier department stores, including Bloomingdale’s. That success allowed Mr. Levy to buy his first real estate asset in Manhattan in the mid 1970s: an office and retail building on the high-profile corner of 58th Street and Lexington. Following an economic downturn in the early 1990s, he sold the clothing business to focus full-time on real estate.

For the last 20 years, Mr. Levy has been involved in acquisitions, dispositions, and land assemblages for large-scale developments that have generated strong rates of returns. Throughout his real estate career, Mr. Levy has maximized the value of some of New York City’s most iconic properties, including The Sheffield 57 at 322 West 57th Street, 620 Sixth Avenue and many other buildings.