1 Turnpike Plaza in Woodbridge — Courtesy: Onyx Equities
By Joshua Burd
Onyx Equities LLC has announced several new hires in finance, development and construction management as it continues an aggressive expansion and diversification of its portfolio.
The Woodbridge-based firm on Tuesday detailed six new additions to its team, including several senior staff members, along with a new position for an existing associate. The new executives include Rona E. Korman as general counsel, Robert Rediker as senior vice president for development and construction and Kristen S. Pappas as vice president of its property management and operations.
Onyx has also added Pauline Mang as an associate on the asset management team and Michael Wolfson as a senior analyst on the investments team. Joseph Costa will move to the investment group from the asset management team.
“We continue to grow more enthusiastic about development and redevelopment opportunities throughout the metro New York area as we see an ongoing flight to quality by new corporate activity,” said John Saraceno, managing principal of Onyx Equities. “Our team is notable for its creativity and productivity, and our new people create a scale and sophistication that allow us to continue to grow our pipeline, which already is one of the most exciting in the industry.”
The new hires come amid Onyx’s high-profile transactions in 2018 and 2019, which span the sale or acquisition of more than 4 million square feet of office and industrial space. They include Newark’s Gateway Center and Bradley Corporate Center in Blauvelt, New York.
The company is also building its first new luxury residential communities in two separate developments in Ridgewood, which total 99 units and 8,000 square feet of commercial space.
As general counsel, Korman will manage all of Onyx’s legal affairs. She previously served as general counsel for Malvern Bank, National Association; Union Center National Bank and Big M Inc., the operating company for Mandee Shops and Annie Sez Stores.
Onyx also touted Korman’s vast background in private practice, which includes representing developers, banks, landlords and tenants in a range of real estate and corporate transactions. She has a bachelor’s from Moravian College and a law degree from Rutgers University School of Law.
As senior vice president for development and construction, Rediker will direct the activities of the construction group and take primary responsibility for project development of the large-scale projects within the Onyx portfolio, according to a news release. His previous experience includes a decade with GTIS Partners and more than 20 years at Forest City Enterprises, both based in New York City.
He has a bachelor’s from Emory University and a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Pappas, the firm’s new vice president of property management and operations, brings her experience from Tishman Speyer and Fisher Brothers and will continue to refine the Onyx management style, the news release said. She has a bachelor’s from Gettysburg College and a master’s from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, with a concentration in finance and investments.
Mang, meantime, is responsible for analyzing Onyx’s portfolio performance and implementing and executing asset-level business plans, the news release said. Prior to Onyx, she was a real estate portfolio management specialist at Deutsche Asset Management, where she managed more than $3 billion of core investments covering all property types.
Costa joined Onyx in 2017 as an associate of asset management and will now be an associate with the investment group, where his responsibilities include analyzing Onyx’s new acquisitions and facilitating dispositions. Prior to joining Onyx, he worked as an analyst in asset management, as well as development and leasing, for Renaissance Properties.
He holds a master’s in real estate finance and investments from New York University.
As a new senior analyst on the investments team, Wolfson’s primary responsibilities include underwriting and closing acquisitions, in addition to assisting with dispositions and refinancing, the news release said. Prior to joining Onyx, he was an associate on the real estate capital markets desk at UBS, where he focused on lending and debt syndication, helping the bank go to market with 11 commercial mortgage-backed securitizations representing more than $8 billion of real estate.
Wolfson holds a B.A. in physics from Rutgers University.
