Vanguard Series: Leaders in Commercial Real Estate

Sills Cummis & Gross Members and Real Estate Department Chairs Mark S. Levenson, Jeffrey Hugh Newman and Ted Zangari are profiled as “Leaders in Commercial Real Estate.” This NJBIZ Vanguard Series recognizes individuals for their significant contributions to the commercial real estate sector.

NJBIZ said the following about our Members:

Mark S. Levenson

“Chair of the Real Estate Transactions Group at law firm Sills Cummis & Gross PC, Levenson has done extensive international work for clients in Israel, the U.K., India, the Czech Republic, Eastern Europe, Latin America and France. However, he also focuses on matters of commercial real estate in the Garden State.

“Within the last 12 months, Levenson has been intimately involved in the financing for the construction of the New Brunswick Cultural Center, a $100 million project in New Brunswick developed by a joint venture.

“Additionally, he worked on the move of the Panasonic USA headquarters from Secaucus to Newark; the workout and eventual sale of 744 Broad St. in Newark, which involved multiple banks; the sale of 3 Gateway in Newark, which also involved significant reworking of the Prudential lease; the acquisition of the former Verizon headquarters at 540 Broad St. in Newark; and the lease related to the move of Virginia Dare Extract Co. from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Carteret.”

Jeffrey Hugh Newman

“For more than 25 years, Jeffrey Hugh Newman has been an active player on the state, national and international levels in real estate, real estate litigation, litigation strategy and positioning and real estate finance.

“With a background in corporate and business law and a master’s degree in taxation, the senior partner and chair of law firm Sills Cummis & Gross PC’s Real Estate Department has earned significant recognition for his work with retailers, developers, landlords and lenders. Along with his team, he has represented some of the most high-profile publicly traded real estate owners and tenants in the industry, specifically handling scores of New Jersey transactions and litigations on their behalf.

“In addition, Newman helped to create the concept of a horizontal commercial real estate condominium in New Jersey and then worked to replicate the concept in other jurisdictions.

“Newman earned the designation of Certified Real Estate Executive from the International Council of Shopping Centers in 2013. He is the only member of the 60,000-plus ICSC membership to have chaired the ICSC Law Conference, the New York DealMaking Conference and the RECon Spring Convention, which attracts over 30,000 attendees.”

Ted Zangari

“Ted Zangari is a man who wears many hats. As chair of law firm Sills Cummis & Gross PC’s Real Estate Department and Redevelopment Law Practice Group, he leads attorneys on large-scale mixed-use projects including land assemblage, redeveloper designations and agreements, tax increment financing and other public incentives, environmental remediation, commercial condominiumization and construction contracts.

“Zangari routinely handles complex business transactions with an emphasis on commercial leasing and acquisition and financing transactions for owners, lenders and tenants of distribution facilities, office buildings and shopping centers across the U.S.

“As chair of the firm’s Public Policy and Governmental Affairs Practice Group, Zangari advises developers, hospitals, banks and other regulated industry clients about the ways government and business intersect on a broad range of legislative and regulatory matters.

“Zangari is the founder of the Smart Growth Economic Development Coalition and an executive committee member of the Rutgers Center for Real Estate Studies. He has been recognized and honored by several organizations, including NAIOP New Jersey, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University.”