It may not involve taking unpopular stances on the floor of the Senate, but building in New York right now is not for the squeamish, requiring a whole lot of confidence. The city has not proven to be entirely immune from the fallout of the mortgage crisis battering much of the country, and there is an air of caution that has been absent for years. That said, the developers we’ve spoken to in the last few months have faith that the local market is fundamentally solid. For our annual look at development in the city, we spoke to six developers whose work we have been following. They operate at radically different scales, and often in different market sectors. Each of the six has a bold take on the changes in the economy, and each will continue to build. Photography by Yoko Inoue 

Clockwise from top, left:

David Von Spreckelsen
Senior Vice President
Toll Brothers City Living
363-365 Bond Street, Brooklyn
GreenbergFarrow
2011 (est.)

Dawanna Williams
Founder and Principal
Dabar Development Partners
603-617 North American Street, Philadelphia
em Architecture
2008

Jonathan Rose
President and Founder
Jonathan Rose Companies
Cooper Union,
New Academic Building, New York
Morphosis
2009

Alf Naman
Principal and Founder
Alf Naman Real Estate Advisors
100 Eleventh
100 11th Avenue, New York
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
2009

Vishaan Chakrabarti
Executive Vice President of
Design and Planning
The Related Companies
Moynihan Station
Centered on 8th Avenue and 34th Street, New York
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and others
2010 (est.)

Jed Walentas
Director of Daily Operations
Two Trees Management
Dock Street Building & Middle School, Brooklyn, New York
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects
2011