Amalia Graziani

**“The early days were all about failing up and developing confidence and conviction.This job has forced me to speak up for my vision and foster the courage to act in the face of uncertainty.”**
Photo by: Emily Howe

#WomenWhoBuild meet Amalia Graziani!

Amalia is a real estate developer and designer. Her development practice, Noor Property Group, was founded in 2017. Since then she has created inspired spaces in the Hamptons, Hudson Valley, San Francisco and Manhattan, where she takes on all steps of the deal lifecycle, from acquisition through architectural design, development and furnishing. Her most recent venture is Callisto, a large-scale mixed use development in the Hudson Valley, where she blends her passion for hospitality, land stewardship and unique structural restorations.

Amalia earned her Masters in Real Estate Development and Architecture from Columbia’s GSAPP program and her MBA from NYU Stern. Her interest in creative land use, agriculture and connection with nature was sparked during her undergraduate studies at Smith College.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what initially sparked your interest in Real Estate?

I think it’s quite common for people to find their way into this field accidentally, as I did.

Today, I develop and operate projects in Amagansett, San Francisco, NYC and the Hudson Valley. My primary markets are the Hamptons and Upstate NY. Both are really special markets in very different ways. The first 5 years of my career were focused on luxury residential, where I developed construction, project management and furnishing/finish selection skills. Today I’m gradually broadening my scope to include mixed use and hospitality development. My preference is to work with distressed structures to extract overlooked beauty. The puzzle of working with existing constraints is exciting.

I’ve always loved working with spaces, and looking back there were so many indications that development would be a perfect fit for me, but I never imagined a career in real estate. As a child I didn’t play with my dolls, but loved reorganizing their houses. My dad would buy packs of ladybugs for the garden and I’d make elaborate little villages and multi-level structures out of cardboard for them.

Professionally, I imagined I’d be a philosophy professor. I was obsessed with learning and losing myself in books, and envisioned a life in academia after undergrad. There’s so much representation on the sell side of real estate, but it wasn’t until my 20’s that I actually met developers and learned what this role entails.

Once I did, it was an immediate visceral reaction. There’s something in me that needs to wrangle the whole thing, guide a vision and see it to completion. I think this is true for a lot of developers.

While working full-time in a strategy/data analytics role, I began assisting on a renovation in Amagansett. I selected finishes, furnishings, and materials after work and was on the job site on the weekends. Encouragement from deeply supportive mentors helped me prepare to build a career in development. I’d do GMAT flashcards on the ride to work and take practice tests on my lunch hour. Then I applied to Columbia’s GSAPP program and took the leap.

You had started your career in the media industry, what was the transition like from this field to the field of Real Estate? What skills were you able to foster during your years in the media industry that you were that able to take with you into this field?

Like many new graduates with a liberal arts degree, my first job in New York was in media. I had an amazing boss and a lot of creative flexibility. My team worked with big brands like Netflix, Starbucks, and TGI Fridays to create global research studies, analyze the data, and develop strategies based on that data. I apply a lot of the structure and practices I learned there when identifying ideal markets/properties and determining strategies to reach the correct audiences and collaborators.

Tell us about the beginning days of starting Noor Property Group? What was the most challenging aspect of striking out on your own?

Well, I’ll first say that it was the best decision I could have made. I really deeply love the work I do. I’ll also say that all of it was challenging.

A developer’s role is interesting because you’re expected to have both broad and deeply specific expertise across all technical functions of a construction site. And understand the financial consequences of each decision. And motivate teams, understand code compliance, catch contractor mistakes, and understand pricing for hundreds of tasks, often while leading all-male teams.

The early days were terrifying, candidly! I felt wildly unqualified to be making the decisions required of me, and I think that hesitancy was felt by trades, which led to more challenges. Making decisions every day where the outcome or ROI is speculative, where the financial consequences of a mistake are enormous–it pushed me to grow quickly. The early days were all about failing up and developing confidence and conviction.This job has forced me to speak up for my vision and foster the courage to act in the face of uncertainty.

How do you structure your days?

More than other fields, construction presents incessant surprises that require real-time decision making, and each decision often holds great financial weight. Work can feel more reactive than proactive. While I get energized in this environment, it does mean that I need time where there are no issues, leaks, tree falls, burst sewer lines etc.

I’ve become very intentional about creating healthy routines that contribute to stress management. When I’m in the city, I go to the same coffee shop near my house and have the same thing. I have some journaling rituals that ground me. I find I make smarter, more inspired decisions when I create windows of private time.

I also like to stagger days where I do group activities together, with sales-oriented meetings on one day, quiet design work on another, and other days dedicated to construction site work. It’s easier on the brain to not jump between different modes of working and communicating.

Tell us about your latest venture, Callisto Hudson Valley? What was your vision behind the project and how did you bring it to life?

My baby! This project has been so creatively inspiring.

Callisto is a mixed-use project that I’ve been developing in the Hudson Valley. It’s a regenerative farm and gathering space with a residential development component. The property is 88 acres with around 60k SF of barns, dating back to 1860, which were abandoned for a decade before I found them. They’ve been a beast to restore, but it’s been extremely creatively satisfying.

While our structures are still under construction, we soft-opened our doors to the public this summer with a dinner series in collaboration with chefs we admire. We created pop-up dining experiences that highlighted the produce we grow, the incredible purveyors in the area and interior artisans whose works we used to style the space differently for each event.

This has sparked interest from aligned groups who have been creating immersive experiences and retreats here. It’s a property that’s been designed for discovery and exploration. I really wanted to create something that was both a high-design development concept and a space that provides a unique and accessible nature experience.

After building in more developed markets I was eager to take on a project where there was space and bandwidth to bring something to life that reached more people, served multiple uses, and delivered clear values. The Hudson Valley is brimming with creativity and collaboration, and the agricultural and culinary community is so special. The land and barns have a long history in the community, so it’s been meaningful to breathe life back into this property. We’ve just completed an extensive renovation and restoration of an 1865 farmhouse, which will be launching this fall, and next season we’ll be rolling out more robust programming here.

What do you see for the future of Noor Property Group?

Collaboration. I’ve spent the last seven years being very particular about creating work semi-independently. It’s been the right path for me, and I felt that it’s been necessary in order to develop my voice and POV in this field. Now, I want to work on projects that reach more people. Callisto does that, and it feels amazing. I see more of that in the future. Probably larger development projects. I’ve always had a sweet spot for the hospitality and culinary sectors.

Where do you look for inspiration? What resources do you utilize during your creative process?

I consume a fair amount of design content on social, but my mind always goes back to impactful buildings and structures I’ve seen while traveling. I spent a lot of time in Lebanon in my 20s, and the architecture there continues to shape my perspective. How I think about scale, details and finishes come mostly from spaces I’ve admired in the Middle East and Europe.

If you could give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?

A lot of developers find their way into this role because they think and work differently. There’s a lot of leeway for men in this regard (“a renegade” “an original” “marches to the beat of his own drummer” etc). I think there’s more expectation for women that we work in teams and comply with a consistent group culture. I definitely judged the way I work and questioned my strong fire. I’d tell my younger self that it was safe to trust and follow this.

Also! Doing everything yourself does NOT make the point you think it does. I’ve learned the hard way that attempting to become an expert on groundwater systems, HVAC, water filtration systems, pollinator gardens (and countless other things) were not critical to my path. I’d let younger me know that consultants with expertise exist for a reason. Stick to what’s most important.

Sumayya Vally

Erleen Hatfield