Personalities

The real estate industry is full of them, especially in New Jersey. Real Estate NJ is your source for Q&A-style stories with top newsmakers and profiles of the market’s major players.

Retail
Staying power: As retail changes, Harding sees new opportunities for longtime industry player

Aside from its focus on retail property, Levin Management Corp. executives say change is one of the only other constants in their business. It’s one reason why they feel they’re built to withstand the next set of shifts and challenges to an industry that is evolving as quickly as ever.

Current Issue
All in on Jersey City: Pasternak discusses KABR’s diverse pipeline and moving forward in Journal Square

Ken Pasternak is chairman of the KABR Group, a real estate development and investment firm based in Ridgefield Park. — Courtesy: KABR Group By Joshua Burd It doesn’t have quite the cachet of a new luxury high-rise near the Hudson…

Hospitality & Tourism
Home state advantage: Morris, Jingoli discuss plans in Atlantic City, partnership with Hard Rock

Jack Morris and Joe Jingoli, whose families have partnered with Hard Rock International to acquire the former Trump Taj Mahal, bring decades of experience in New Jersey real estate and a level of hands-on, local expertise that an outside investor simply wouldn’t have.

Combined with the resources and the pedigree of a global brand like Hard Rock, Morris and Jingoli feel strongly that their plans for Atlantic City will be the catalyst that is often promised but not as frequently delivered. And they say it’s about more than simply reopening a casino.

Personalities
Family tradition: With clients that go back decades, Zimmel Associates spans three generations

For Zimmel Associates, continuity goes hand in hand with a business that he founded with his late father, Bernard Zimmel, and one that now includes a third generation. Not one, but three of Zimmel’s four sons work at Zimmel Associates today, positioning it for continued success in the years ahead.

Personalities
Strategic approach: Bergstein reflects on blockbuster deals and Lincoln Equities Group’s plans to diversify

During his more than 25 years with Lincoln Equities Group — including a full decade as its top executive — Joel Bergstein has seen plenty of changes in the commercial real estate sector.

Professional Services
Hosey, a former talent agent, now leading Marcus & Millichap’s growth in New Jersey

Brian Hosey has risen through the ranks of Marcus & Millichap and was hired in 2014 as the regional manager for its northern New Jersey office, where he now oversees a growing sales team of about 40 for the nation’s largest investment real estate brokerage firm for private clients.

Finance & Capital Markets
Fast money: Speed, flexibility and imagination are keys to three decades of success for Kennedy Funding

After being turned down by seven other lenders, it was late last year when the developer of a 148-bed assisted living facility in East Windsor finally found the cash infusion it needed. It was the kind of opportunity that Kennedy Funding Financial was able to seize, even if other lenders could not.

Government & Public Policy
All business: A decade later, Woodbridge mayor still has economic development at the top of his agenda

Since taking office in late 2006, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac has emerged as one of the most development-friendly and pro-business mayors in all of New Jersey. He and his economic development team can boast a record that includes two new power plants, millions of square feet of warehouse space and dozens of new retailers, banks and eateries that have opened during that time.

Government & Public Policy
McCormac: Sharing the benefits of redevelopment with school district is ‘common sense’

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac is proud of the fact that, for all of the administration’s payment in lieu of taxes agreements with developers over the past decade, not one project has impacted the school system.

But Town Hall is still making sure that the school system is benefiting.

Office
Garden State of mind: Postell, McDonough reflect on five years since the opening of Transwestern’s N.J. office

Transwestern, which is now marking five years since it officially opened in New Jersey, has since become a player in the state’s office, industrial and retail sectors. It has seen its annual transaction volume double since 2012 — while its property management portfolio has grown during that time to 4 million square feet from 485,000 square feet — with a platform that offers more than just brokerage services.