Government Takes Center Stage in NJ Real Estate

TEANECK, NJ-Political figures are prominent on the program of tomorrow’s RealShare New Jersey conference at the Glenpointe Marriott Hotel here, but the Garden State’s political climate is also a major undercurrent in various general and concurrent sessions. Given the fact that it’s an election year, and that politics have a tendency to make headlines in the state, that’s not surprising.

A concurrent session, for example, will address the role of government in economic development, a process that is ultimately a real estate deal. Titled “What Corporate Real Estate Executives Like and Dislike about the New Jersey Market,” the session will address not only New Jersey’s economic climate and real estate market conditions, but also government’s role in the process through incentives and other means. George Martin of Studley will moderate a panel that will include Aegis Insurance’s John J. Denman Jr., Daniel Levine of ADP/Mintax, and Caren Franzini, CEO of the New Jersey EDA.

Government influence will also come into play in a session titled “Making Sense of Mixed-Use Development.” Conventional wisdom in New Jersey now is that cities and towns are increasingly demanding mixed-use site plans for redevelopment projects as a means of increasing ratables and property values. Patrick McAuley of Connell Foley will moderate a panel that will include Jeffrey Freireich of the Kushner Cos., Jason Kaplan of the Kaplan Cos., Thomas Walsh of Gale Construction Co. and Ralph Zucker of Somerset Development.

And a general session titled “Finding and Following Through on Redevelopment Opportunities” will focus on such topics as navigating the regulatory process for brownfields redevelopment, both at the state and local level. Kevin Moore of Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross will head a panel that will include James Driscoll of K. Hovnanian Enterprises, Micky Landis of Boston Properties, Anthony Marchetta of LCOR, Bob Martie of Advance Realty and Paul Phillips of Phillips Preiss Shapiro.