Page 23 - RE-NJ

for its employees, and to obtain
market concessions that were not
available from their existing landlord.
■ Involved in the deal: CBRE, SJP
Properties, Savills, JLL, UNLMTD
Team
MIXED USE
● Vintage City, Elizabeth: A mixed-
use project that will serve as a new
town center and create a progressive
community adjacent to the train
station, within an Opportunity Zone.
■ Involved in the deal: MAS
Development Group LLC, LeCesse
Development Corp., JLL Capital
Markets, Baker Barrios Architects,
Neglia Engineering, March Associates
Construction, Argentic, Pearlmark,
Lakeland Bank, Northfi eld Bank,
Citizens Bank, City of Elizabeth,
Prestige Environmental, Javerbaum,
Wurgaft, Hicks, Kahn, Wikstrom &
Sinins PC
EMERGING MARKETS
● MLB Network/Crow Holdings –
25 Market St., Elmwood Park: The
development of a trophy industrial
asset, bringing new life to the site of
the iconic Marcal Paper warehouse
destroyed by fi re in 2019 and
setting the stage for a full-building
headquarters lease with MLB
Network.
■ Involved in the deal: Crow Holdings
Development, Atlas Holdings, JLL,
CBRE, MLB Network
TRANSFORMATIONAL DEAL
● Hoboken Connect — A
transformational redevelopment
project at Hoboken Terminal with
a mix of private development
(386 rental units currently under
construction and an offi ce
development site), improvements to
the city’s right of way and historic
preservation and redevelopment of
NJ Transit Ferry Terminal Building,
Warrington Plaza and bus terminal.
■ Involved in the deal: NJ Transit, City
of Hoboken, LCOR, Sills Cummis &
Gross PC, Pizzutillo Public Affairs LLC
“Our honorees represent the best
of real estate
and economic
development,”
said Matt
Schlindwein,
managing
partner with
Greek Real
Estate Partners
Matt Schlindwein
and NAIOP
New Jersey board president. “We
™ 21
are inspired by their commitment to
excellence and transforming New
Jersey communities. All of them will
have a lasting and positive impact
on our state, our industry and our
association.”
Others recognized at the program
included Cole Schotz PC, which
received the Industry Service Award,
as well as Impact Award winners
PS&S and J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc. and
state Assembly Speaker Craig J.
Coughlin, who was bestowed with
the Carin S. Franzini Public Partner
Award named in honor of the New
Jersey Economic Development
Authority’s late CEO. Each recipient
echoed the familiar but critical
themes that attendees typically hear
at the gala, including the strength
of the chapter, the vital role it plays
in the commercial real estate sector
and the respect it commands among
policymakers.
Coughlin spoke to many of those
attributes, pointing to his and other
lawmakers’ relationships with NAIOP
and chapter CEO Dan Kennedy, one
that’s rooted in candid discussions
and a focus on “what’s important.”
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done,”
said Coughlin, a Middlesex County
Democrat that has served as speaker
since 2018. “Thank you for this
award. It’s truly meaningful because
it’s refl ective of working together
with an industry that is traditionally
not one that the Democratic
candidates get a lot of credit for
working with. So to be honored in
this way, to be recognized in Carin’s
name is something really truly
special, and I appreciate it so very
much.”
Milanaik, who called himself a
“dreamer,” recapped a career that
began in 1987 and blossomed
thanks in large part to his family
and a supporting cast of colleagues,
service providers and partners
in government. Since launching
Bridge Industrial’s Northeast offi ce
in fall 2014, the fi rm has developed
more than 22 million square feet
of warehouse space in northern
New Jersey, Philadelphia, Eastern
Pennsylvania and Brooklyn with a
combined valuation of more than $5.5
billion.
“I’m extremely proud of that
success, but by no means am I taking
credit for these accomplishments,”
Milanaik said. “It is all through
the efforts of an amazing group of
Photos by Gellman Images/Courtesy: NAIOP New Jersey
NAIOP New Jersey hosted its 38th annual Commercial Real Estate Awards Gala on May
15 at The Palace at Somerset Park in Franklin Township, where it honored fi ve individu-
als and companies and fi ve Deal of the Year winners.
people that helped get it done.”
Other honorees picked up on
those themes, including MAS
Development’s Sal Garcia as he
accepted the Mixed-use Deal of the
Year award for the sweeping Vintage
City project in Elizabeth.
“We’re all dreamers,” said Garcia,
MAS Development’s founder and
principal. “I think that from dream to
(certifi cate of occupancy) is a long
path that we all go through and strive
for every night and day.”
The Elizabeth-born developer,
whose parents immigrated to the
city from Cuba, cited the long list of
design, construction and fi nancial
professionals and others who are
helping to make the multiphase
Vintage City project a reality.
“It’s important to recognize
everyone around you,” Garcia said.
“Development is hard, period. We
all understand that. But if you try
to do something outside the box, if
you try to do something creative and
impactful, it becomes even harder.”
Above all else, the event was a
reminder of the strength of New
Jersey’s commercial real estate
industry and the talent that supports
it, including NAIOP New Jersey’s
board and its in-house staff that
fi gures to remain as busy as ever in
the months ahead.
“On nights like this, we need to
acknowledge those that built this
organization, including our founders,
board leaders
and former
staff members,”
said Kennedy,
the chapter’s
CEO. “We owe
them all a debt
of gratitude.
But, most
Dan Kennedy
importantly,
it’s incumbent upon us who are
now stewards of this organization
to not just carry the fl ame, but
challenge ourselves to be even
better in an increasingly challenging
environment from a regulatory
and social perspective for CRE
investment.” RE