By Joshua Burd
Peter Blanchard, a longtime commercial real estate broker in New Jersey who spent nearly a half-century with The Garibaldi Group in Chatham, died Wednesday morning at age 81.
The firm on Thursday announced Blanchard’s passing, calling him “our dear friend, colleague and partner.” According to his obituary, he succumbed to complications related to Parkinson’s disease after fighting the illness for 15 years.
“Notwithstanding, he remained active and productive until the end,” Jeff Garibaldi Sr., the firm’s CEO, wrote in an email to members of the industry. “He was a good person, legendary in his own right and a devoted father and family man.
“Peter was a Partner at The Garibaldi Group where he served for over 48 years and was responsible for some of New Jersey’s most significant real estate transactions of the last 50 years. He also played a pivotal role in the work our company conducted both nationally and internationally. He will be dearly missed.”
Blanchard previously worked for a family business, The William Blanchard Co., one of New Jersey’s oldest and largest construction companies, according to his bio. But he became a fixture with The Garibaldi Group, a historic commercial real estate services firm founded in 1919, after joining the team in the 1970s.
That gave way to a long list of high-profile assignments during his career, including the project management of Giralda Farms, the 360-acre corporate office campus in Madison and Chatham, the firm said. He also participated in the leasing, purchasing or disposition of more than 50 million square feet of real estate in New Jersey, nationally and internationally.
Additionally, Blanchard managed the team that master-planned, constructed infrastructure and developed the corporate headquarters for the likes of American Home Products Corp., Schering-Plough Corp., Maersk Inc.’s U.S. division and Atlantic Mutual Cos., the firm said. He also represented Sea-Land in the lease of a 110,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, part of a long list of high-profile assignments in Morris County and northern New Jersey.
Meantime, Blanchard spent years serving as The Garibaldi Group’s liaison with its European and Asian CORFAC International affiliate, King Sturge. He also chaired the Morris County Economic Development Committee, served as president of the Glenwood Housing Corporation and was a member of the state-appointed Great Swamp Water Shed Advisory Committee.
Garibaldi said the firm would share details on funeral arrangements once they are made available.
