Carol Nelson, President & CEO
Carol Nelson is a premier professional and pioneer in the field of commercial real estate. Her enormous success as Vice-Chairman of Insignia Real Estate, a former NY Stock Exchange listed company, blazed the trail for women in the industry. When she first started in the business she saw the challenge and the potential for major success in commercial real estate where there were few women. With over 50 million sq. ft. and billions of dollars in transactions to her credit, Carol continues to create significant value in consummating transactions and consulting for corporations and non-profits as President and CEO of CSN Equities, a company she founded.
She has an ingenious style of thinking that looks well beyond the standard “deal”. Carol instinctively thinks outside of the box with a gift for making deals happen in innovative and unchartered territories, and has used these skills in representing developers, property owners, corporations, banks and non-profits.
Carol’s consistency in both strong and depressed real estate markets highlights her deal-making acumen. The relocation of the IRS headquarters at 1133 Avenue of the Americas into two separate buildings – a deal the press stated “could not be done” – won her one of her many Ingenious Deal Awards from the Real Estate Board of New York. Carol’s energy, infectious enthusiasm, and uncanny knack for identifying a potential transaction and shepherding it to fruition are her trademarks.
She created many equity joint ventures in the commercial real estate world. Her representation of renowned institutions include: IBM, Bank of Montreal, Random House, SONY, The Conference Board, Equitable Assurance, the Federal Reserve Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, and Bank of Nova Scotia. Carol’s Ingenious Broker Award winning representation of Condé Nast was the deal responsible for revitalizing the redevelopment of Times Square. Her roster of owner/agency clients includes: The Durst Organization, The Park Tower Group, Mack-Cali Corporation, The Minskoff Organization, Leucadia National Corp., and the Witcoff Group.
In addition to the Ingenious Awards from the Real Estate Board of New York, her work has garnered recognition in publications that include The New York Times, Crain’s NY Business and The Daily News.
Carol understands that with tremendous success comes tremendous responsibility, reflected in her participation on Boards that include the American Red Cross, American Women’s Economic Development Corporation, New Milford Hospital/Western Connecticut Health Network, Washington Scholarship Committee, Women’s Project & Productions, and the Women’s Forum.
CSN Equities represented Broadway Housing Communities, a NYC non-profit developer of supportive housing. Carol helped create their “Sugar Hill” project at 155th Street, a major and important transaction, which includes housing, a children’s museum, and comprehensive child care center which has revitalized the entire area in Harlem.