North Plainfield, N.J. – The Levin name has been synonymous with New Jersey retail real estate since the post-WWII suburban migration sparked the Garden State’s first open-air shopping center developments. Seven decades later, as Levin Management Corporation (LMC) commemorates the platinum anniversary of its foundation, the North Plainfield, N.J.-based commercial real estate services organization is embracing a period of notable growth and portfolio diversification.
LMC is an outgrowth of Levin Properties, a pioneering development firm founded by the late Philip J. Levin and subsequently led by the late Janice Levin, his wife. They created an extensive suburban retail real estate portfolio beginning in 1952. This included New Jersey’s first open-air center, the still-thriving, 220,000-square-foot Somerset Shopping Center in Bridgewater, N.J. LMC originated as the management arm of the organization, evolving to deliver a full range of third-party services to other retail property owners beginning in the 1980s.
Today, LMC leases and manages a portfolio of 125 properties totaling approximately 16 million square feet in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. And while the firm’s activity remains largely retail focused, with a strong emphasis on grocery-anchored open-air product, its diversification within the office and industrial sectors has gained significant momentum recently.
“From the beginning, our Levin roots grounded us as a landlord-focused firm with a management style employing a hands-on, proactive strategy to leasing and operating properties,” says William Farber, chairman, who celebrated his 50-year anniversary with the organization last year. “This proprietary approach distinguishes us. We have full in-house capabilities, which enables us to excel in assignments of all sizes while remaining highly in tune with the markets we serve.”
LMC’s 70th year in business comes at a time of sustained organizational growth. The firm completed a record 1.2 million square feet in leasing activity in 2021, with high volume continuing to date in 2022. The firm has a notable pipeline of diverse new business as well, recently adding property management assignments involving multiple sectors and property classifications. LMC’s construction management activity is at a high point as well, with hundreds of thousands of square feet in retail tenant fit-outs underway or in the immediate pipeline, as well as a recently launched, ground-up last-mile warehouse facility.
Promoting environmental sustainability has also been an ongoing effort — for decades — with products like solar power, LED lighting and high-efficiency roofing. Currently, the firm is introducing EV chargers at select shopping centers.
SOURCE: Levin Management Corporation