150 John F. Kennedy Parkway in Short Hills, which The Birch Group acquired earlier this year as part of a four-building, 843,300-square-foot office portfolio — Courtesy: The Birch Group
By Joshua Burd
The Birch Group has made another addition to its team, hiring a former broker and Mack-Cali Realty Corp. executive as it continues to grow its high-end office holdings in New Jersey.
The privately held firm said Christopher DeLorenzo, who joins its ranks as an executive vice president, will oversee leasing, asset management and operations across the company’s footprint. He will also manage brokerage relationships and work closely with its expanding team, which oversees a portfolio that has added nearly $800 million of commercial assets since 2019.
“As we look to the future of the firm and continue to stay focused on expanding our profile as one of the top owners of institutional-quality commercial real estate assets, Chris’ experience both on the brokerage and ownership sides of the business is the perfect fit to support our evolution,” said Mark Meisner, founder and president of The Birch Group. “As one of the largest office owners in New Jersey, we have an exceptional line of sight into what’s moving the market. We look forward to tapping into Chris’ market knowledge and expertise to bring our company to the next level.”
Prior to joining the Nanuet, New York-based firm, DeLorenzo was an executive vice president with JLL’s New Jersey brokerage team, where his duties included leasing, sourcing new business and overseeing national accounts in collaboration with marketing and tenant representation. He has 25 years of commercial real estate experience, including serving as an executive vice president with Mack-Cali, where he was responsible for all leasing and asset management activities for a portfolio of 26.2 million square feet.
The Birch Group noted that, with Mack-Cali, DeLorenzo was involved in more than 1,500 transactions totaling more than $2.5 billion.
“Chris has unique and extensive experience in leasing, marketing, and asset management that spans both tenant and landlord relations,” said Timothy Greiner, an executive managing director and broker lead for JLL’s office leasing team in New Jersey. “We remain impressed with The Birch Group’s ability to execute and as Chris joins the team to add his deep knowledge of the office asset landscape, JLL is excited to support him in this next chapter and continue to forge a strong relationship on the brokerage side of operations.”
DeLorenzo’s hiring comes after a flurry of high-profile acquisitions by The Birch Group, including its $255 million purchase from Mack-Cali of four prominent office building in Short Hills. The firm said that it has a nearly 90 percent occupancy rate within its core assets and continues its strong leasing activity across its entire portfolio.
“Across my positions in the commercial real estate industry, I have garnered technical and strategic tools in leasing and operations that push portfolios to their full potential across all activities,” DeLorenzo said. “I’m excited to join the team at The Birch Group as they forge their path ahead and will work alongside Mark and the full team on innovative strategies that will support the company’s immense growth and build even further on opportunities in the market.”
Mack-Cali sells 843,000 sq. ft. Short Hills office portfolio to Birch Group for $255 million
