Starrett Properties history

The following year net income passed $2 million for the first time since 1930.

Reorganized the following year, Starrett moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, and did not have a profitable year again until 1946.

In 1947 Levitt & Sons began a housing development called Levittown on former potato fields near Hicksville, Long Island, hiring subcontractors to do the job, assembling an entire block at a time.

By the end of 1951 there were 17,450 homes and 75,000 people in Levittown.

Work began in 1958 on a third Levittown in Willingboro Township, New Jersey.

The company went public in 1960, but William Levitt retained more than half of the outstanding common stock.

Robert Olnick came to SB&E in 1963 and directed it toward raising money for projects as well as building them.

In fiscal 1967 Levitt had record sales and income of $93.6 million and nearly $4 million, respectively.

In 1968 there were 18 smaller Levitt developments under construction, in Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Puerto Rico, and France.

Three plants were turning out modular (factory-built) housing in 1970 for projects such as 300 townhouse apartments in Rome, New York.

In 1976 the company--now Levitt Corp.--had net income of $2.2 million on sales of $56.5 million.

In 1978 Starrett acquired Levitt Corp. for $30 million in cash, notes, and subordinated debentures.

Its attention soon turned, however, to the Iranian revolution. Its total revenues came to only $44 million that year, compared to $219 million in 1979.

The subsidiary became profitable again that year, and its sales passed the $100 million mark in 1987.

As half-owner of Roosevelt Island Associates (which it partly sold for $20 million in 1989), it built 1,100 housing units.

In 1992 the company completed and sold a 224-unit residential rental community in Boca Raton, Florida.

Starrett Housing Corp. was renamed Starrett Corp. in 1995.

The Milsteins and several entities acting on behalf of the members of the Milstein family held 33 percent of Starrett's outstanding common stock in April 1997.