Steven Edelson – Managing Director of International Facilities Group

Steven Edelson is one of a select few nightclub operators who purchases property, designs the club from scratch, builds it out and manages it for some time after opening it – as evidenced by Martini Lounge, Dragonfly and El Cid’s tank of piranhas! His clubs include Martini Lounge, Dragonfly and El Cid.

He graduated from Montfort Academy where his interest in Theology and Philosophy first developed.

Early Life and Education

Steven Edelson was born and raised in Queens. While attending Montfort Academy he discovered an affinity for both Theology and Philosophy which later lead him to double major in both subjects at Franciscan University of Steubenville; where he has taught Theology and Philosophy since 2016.

His quest for money and power has taken him down some oddly surprising paths. His first brush with the law came when Forbidden City club in Los Angeles caused chaos by hosting concerts featuring wild parties with flashy dancers and boisterous DJs.

Police quickly intervened, arresting his partner and sending them both to jail for violating a city conditional use permit. This incident left him deeply distrusting of government; never having fully overcome it, he opened clubs such as Hell’s Gate with swords and skulls as decorations, along with an array of piranhas in its tank.

Professional Career

Edelson serves as President of IFG and IFGDG, where he oversees development, financing and contractual negotiations for projects. Before founding these firms, he served as Executive Vice President at Tishman Midwest Management Corporation where he participated in one of Chicago’s first privatizations of public facility management contracts.

One night last summer, Edelson stood in front of Los Globos, a black-and-red brick building on Sunset Boulevard that could pass as one of Silver Lake’s premier Tijuana strip clubs, alongside longtime business partners including Mitch (an affable baby-faced fellow who helps manage Los Globos). All were enveloped by an air of spent nicotine, as the venue had received multiple calls to LAPD vice squad due to noise complaints and capacity concerns.

Achievement and Honors

Edelson has served as both co-founder and non-Managing Director of International Facilities Group since 1995. Additionally, he was Vice President at Tishman Midwest Management Corporation where he helped implement one of Chicago’s first privatization projects for public facility management contracts.

He owned and managed a professional minor league baseball team called the Lake Erie Crushers that won Frontier League championship in 2004. Additionally, Mercantile Capital Group provided private equity investments.

Union is his latest endeavor and draws together his various passions – nightlife, sports and music – into one big project. This risk could pay off given he has both his father’s experience and brother’s connections, yet is ready to step out from under his formidable father’s shadow?

Personal Life

Steven Edelson is the co-founder of International Facilities Group Development Group LLC and brings with him more than three decades of real estate project management expertise to this role. He oversees all aspects of development projects from planning, financing and construction through architect selection and contractor selection as well as consultant coordination and facility operations management/leasing/facility operations management/facility operations management to facility operations management/leasing arrangements.

He owns 21 commercial and residential properties in Los Angeles, though exact figures remain uncertain. He favors purchasing apartment buildings near his clubs – those who complain of noise must accept it or move out.

Edelson is an avid supporter of philanthropic efforts that focus on autism research and advocacy, including Lawson Products (where he served on their board of directors) as well as mentoring Unreasonable Collective, serving on their Advisory Board, and now as mentor with Fevo (where he serves on its Advisory Board).

Net Worth

Edelson spends much of his time in courtrooms due to the blurry line that separates shrewdness from unethical behavior in nightclub business, where cash can disappear prior to receipts being calculated. For that reason, he spends much time litigating.

At Lawson Products and Hebrew University of Jerusalem he sits on their Boards of Governors respectively and was awarded both the 2005 Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor as well as an NACD Board Leadership Fellowship Fellowship award in 2014.

Edelson lives with his girlfriend and two children on a peaceful tangerine farm near Ojai, California, where he spends much of his time tinkering with cars, smoking organic cigarettes, watering his cacti in the valley’s pinkish dusk, and owning multiple hotels and bars nearby.