Indeed, Furer and Bloom have held those positions with Kushner for the past three years, and the latest action formally recognizes the company's deepening involvement in the commercial sector. Altogether, the company has 33 office, retail and industrial properties in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

"The creation of Kushner Properties as an umbrella organization for our commercial portfolio acknowledges the significance of this rapidly growing part of our business," according to Stewart Epstein, Kushner Cos.' COO. "In the past 18 months, we have increased our office and retail holdings. Today, we have about 450 commercial tenants, and that number continues to grow."

Among the company's more recent acquisitions include the 1.5 million-sf Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, NJ, in a joint venture with Vornado Realty Trust. Prior to the late-2002 deal, the company had acquired a 920,000-sf portfolio of Northern New Jersey office properties from Keystone Property Trust. The company also built a new 160,000-sf headquarters building for itself here, and finished off a $5 million renovation of its 220,000-sf landmark Military Park Building in downtown Newark.

Finally, Kushner affiliate The Landings at Harborside LLC is working on a $600 million waterfront redevelopment in Perth Amboy, NJ, and Kushner is one of the developers participating in mixed-use redevelopments in Asbury Park and Cranford, NJ.