building, and determining what tenants wanted, to help landlords bring the tenants in,” Michael says. “Landlords needed to attract tenants, so we would show how spaces could be laid out, divide and design floors, and show how you would actually build them.” This approach caught on early and spread quickly, helping fuel massive growth in the real estate market. Suddenly, developers were heading west of Seventh Avenue into what was uncharted territory in office construction terms, creating unlimited opportunities for Kleinberg. He was only too eager to collaborate with the landlords as they ventured away from the Midtown core. “He really started to pick up steam at some point in the ’70s, but in the ’80s, he was at the forefront,” Michael says. “It was like lighting a match.” Building followed building as the demand for the highly marketable pre-built suites heated up. Projects included the 60-story Carnegie Hall Tower, designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates (now Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects), developed by Rockrose and opened in 1991, where MKDA still does work today. Also in the 1990s, the firm developed one of the very first finished high-end spaces in the former Barney’s building at 660 Madison Avenue, working with what was then Newmark (now NKF, Newmark Knight Frank), while earlier, in another noted development, the Kleinbergs worked with Silverstein Properties to redevelop the former Gimbel’s department
store at 100 West 33rd Street. As it morphed into the Manhattan Mall, the Kleinbergs helped turn the top four stories into what would become known as the Childrenswear Building. As happened in the ’60s and ’70s with 1411 Broadway, MKDA also got the contracts to design showrooms for many of the brands located there, including Bugle Boy, Hushpuppies, French Toast, Carter’s and Health Tex. The apparel industry remained a mainstay for MKDA throughout the ’80s and ’90s. The firm designed showrooms for brands like that of super model Christy Brinkley, Head Sportswear, Gottex of Israel and Alfred Dunner, in addition to the Calvin Klein headquarters on West 39th Street. MKDA also began to diversify, designing showrooms for Borghese cosmetics, Springs Mills and Rosenthal Crystal, and retail stores for Ascot Chang and Shanghai Tang. In the 1990s, the firm designed the landmark Magic Johnson movie Carnegie Hall Tower where MKDA helped market the property.
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