Page 26 - RE-NJ Nov.2021 #59

24 NOVEMBER 2021
As he prepared to accept NAIOP New Jersey’s Lifetime Achievement Award — one
humor that was seemingly passed down from one generation to the next.
“I know he would be honored, and at the same time he would be puzzled why you chose to give it to me,” Klatskin said, drawing laughs from the crowd. “I know if he heard this first award was going to me, I know he would have said, ‘What’s the matter — no one else wanted it?’ ”
It was a lighthearted start to what would quickly become a poignant speech honoring Charles Klatskin,
the pioneering developer, leader and luminary in the state’s commercial real estate industry, who died last fall at age 85. Speaking in early October at NAIOP New Jersey’s annual Commercial Real Estate Awards Gala, Alex Klatskin paid tribute to his father, noting that it had been “374 days since his death and not one has gone by that I don’t think of him.”
“I miss his wisdom, his sage advice,” said Klatskin, a general partner with Forsgate. “I miss his long-, long-, long-, long-term vision regarding investing. I miss his ability to
connect with people and, for the moments you were with him, you were the most important person in the world. And I miss his perpetually dropping cap rates, although it appears the market has finally caught up with him. I think we’re there now.”
He continued: “The things he
loved the most were his family, his partners, his employees, the real estate industry and, of course, his wine collection. As you and I know, I would not be standing here if it was not for him.”
Alex Klatskin
that, just a
few months earlier, had been renamed for
his late father, Charles — Alex Klatskin offered his thanks on behalf of both his family and
Forsgate Industrial Partners. He then displayed the sense of
PAYING TRIBUTE
NAIOP honors Klatskin family history, legacy with lifetime achievement award
By Joshua Burd
NAIOP New Jersey honored Alex Klatskin, general partner with Forsgate Industrial Partners, with the newly renamed Charles Klatskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the association’s annual Commercial Real Estate Awards Gala. From left: Gus Milano, NAIOP New Jersey president and chief operating officer of Hartz Mountain Industries, joins Alex Klatskin and JLL Vice Chairman Rob Kossar for the award ceremony.
Courtesy: Gary Gellman/Gellman Images