Page 27 - RE-NJ Nov.2021 #59

Klatskin spoke to several hundred industry leaders on hand for the
Oct. 7 event, which took place at
the Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset after last year’s gala was held virtually due to the pandemic. And he was far from the only one who extolled the impact of the late Forsgate chairman, longtime NAIOP member and visionary behind top industrial real estate markets such as the Meadowlands and Exit 8A of the New Jersey Turnpike.
Rob Kossar, a veteran broker and vice chairman with JLL, said Charles Klatskin “was the epitome of this award, providing decades of service to this organization and to the industry at large.”
“But for me, as many of you, ‘C.K.’ meant so much more,” said Kossar,
competitive nature of our business, he would be willing to give the sincerest guidance and advice,” said Milano, the president and chief operating officer of Hartz Mountain Industries. “To this day, my real estate repertoire and that of the Hartz Mountain organization is heavily influenced by my association and friendship with C.K.”
Milano, of course, was also there to present
the Lifetime
Achievement
Award to Alex
Klatskin, an
industry leader
in his own
right, who is a
former NAIOP
president and
national chairman of the group’s corporate parent organization.
He also cited Klatskin’s role as a second-generation leader and general partner with Forsgate, a Teterboro- based firm that owns and manages more than 10 million square feet of
industrial property.
“Alex has been acting in this capacity for over 15 years and is the driving force behind Forsgate’s longevity and long-established commitment
to developing superior buildings at superior logistics sites,” Milano said. “He has earned tremendous respect from his peers, who credit him with extraordinary vision and integrity.”
Klatskin, for his part, was humbled by the honor and said he agreed with anyone who believed he was lucky.
“I’m lucky to have had an entrepreneurial father that created a lot out of nothing,” he said. “I’m lucky to have had a father that believed in me and my ability to navigate the marketplace and lead our company. I am lucky.
“I’m lucky that my father partnered with the Seiden family 50 years ago, which has given Steve Seiden to me as a 30-year business partner. Steve is wise, hard-working and kind.
He fulfills all of the promises that I make.
“I’m lucky to have fabulous and loyal members of our team — they make me look like I knew what was going on the whole time,” Klatskin quipped. “And I’m lucky to have a wife of 31 years, whose brilliance and beauty have taken me places. ... I’m lucky to have a sister whose long-term patient capital allows our partnership to continue and to grow.”
He also said he was fortunate that Forsgate has its third generation
of leadership in place, noting that “Sam Seiden and Jake Sutker are our future and I hope and have no doubt that they will stand here one day.” Equally important, he said, was the role of an association such as NAIOP.
“I’m lucky to have found NAIOP,” Klatskin said. “NAIOP has given me the ability to be subject to peer review, which is very important for any family business member.” RE
opportunity and the mentorship that he provided to me. At times he was a father figure, other times a friend. He was a confidante, he was a drinking buddy, a luminary and a business partner.
“I know I speak for many of you here in this room who had their lives improved by C.K.”
NAIOP New Jersey Chapter President Gus Milano said he was also among them.
“Over the years, Charles and
I developed a close personal relationship. Notwithstanding the
Gus Milano
REALESTATENJTM 25
HIGH PRAISE
Alex Klatskin joined NAIOP New Jersey’s other 2021 honorees and its Deal of the Year recipients, which were unveiled at the organization’s 34th Commercial Real Estate Awards Gala:
lease in Nutley at Prism Capital Partners’ ON3 campus. Involved in the deal were Prism, Eisai, Savills and Cushman & Wakefield.
• INDUSTRIAL DEAL OF THE YEAR: The development of the FreezPak Logistics Center in Elizabeth and Newark. Involved in the deal were Elberon Development Group, Fidelco Realty Group, FreezPak, JLL, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Ware Malcomb, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi
PC, Orloff, Lowenbach, Stifelman & Siegel P.A. and Preferred Industrial Properties.
• JUDGES’ TRANSFORMATION AWARD: UPS’ 886,256-square- foot lease for a regional hub and package distribution center at the new 152.9-acre industrial park known as Lincoln Logistics Bayonne. Involved in the deal were Lincoln Equities Group and Cushman & Wakefield.
• IMPACTAWARD:PeterD.Sudler, chairman and CEO of Sudler Cos.
• IMPACT AWARD: Gensler
• INDUSTRY SERVICE AWARD: Joshua
Burd, editor of Real Estate NJ
• CAREN S. FRANZINI PUBLIC PARTNER AWARD: Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin
Peter D. Sudler
• OFFICE DEAL OF THE YEAR: Eisai Inc.’s headquarters
Rob Kossar
who was a principal
at Klatskin Associates when JLL acquired
the firm in 2007. “I would not be standing here
in front of you today but for the