Weiss Celebrates 50 Years In Commercial Real Estate

On Apr 28, 2016

Over the past 50 years, Jaime M. Weiss has arranged land sales, sold investment properties, sold and leased office, industrial and retail space and been the broker for some significant transactions in New Jersey and nationwide. The firm says it has developed “some of the most successful and award-winning mixed-use retail, commercial and office space in the region and nationally.”

Weiss Realty has leased or sold more than 20 million square feet of property, with a total aggregate value exceeding $1 billion. Currently, the firm’s management abilities account for more than 1 million square feet of space. “We have been extremely fortunate and proud to make so many significant transactions and continue to service our clients in the same manner today as we have since the company was formed,” said Jaime Weiss, president of Weiss Realty.

Jaime M. Weiss began his real estate career in 1967 as an industrial sales trainee at New Yorkʼs Cross & Brown Company, while attending night school at Baruch College. He had been recruited personally by Cross & Brown executive president, Robert E. Waldron, who became Jaimeʼs mentor. After working up to vice president, Jaime continued to make his mark in real estate at Edward S. Gordon Company (now CBRE), Cushman & Wakefield, where he became the leading Industrial Broker in the Nation in 1986 and afterward established the first New Jersey office of Newmark & Company.

The family-owned brokerage firm, now based in Moonachie, is managed with son Matthew who – with his father – is involved in every transaction, and now represents a diverse portfolio of commercial, industrial and retail properties. “Weiss Realty is a company that is predicated on core principals established by my father early on his real estate career. These core principals continue to drive this companyʼs success today,” commented Matthew Weiss.

In New Jersey, Weiss Realty has been involved in significant ownership, Leasing and Sales transactions, including the purchase of 333 Meadowlands Parkway in Secaucus by Bergman Real Estate Group and orchestrating leases for St. Vincentʼs Hospital in Jersey City. The relationship with Hartz Mountain began in the late 1970s when Jaime represented Ideal Toys for a 100,000-square-foot, built-to-suit office building in Harmon Meadow, which continues to flourish.

“We have a great respect for Jaime, who has been involved in all of our major developments and has contributed greatly to the success of many of our assests,” commented Gus Milano, president and chief operating officer of Hartz Mountain Industries. He credits Jaime with first leases that became “catalysts” for future development with Hanover Direct at Lincoln Harbor and Escada, the luxury womenʼs designer another major lease transaction arranged by Jaime Weiss.

Weiss Realtyʼs Retail Brokerage Group has been responsible for arranging many new bank branch locations for Capital One (formerly North Fork Bank) as well as representing North Jersey Community Bank (now Connectone Bank) and First Constitution Bank in leasing branch locations in Fort Lee. Also in Fort Lee, an affiliate of Weiss Realty acquired a 20,000-square-foot commercial property on Route 4 for ground up build to suit for Starbucks Coffee and Bank of America Double Drive Thru. The location won a Beautification Award from the Borough of Fort Lee. In Teaneck, Weiss Realty assembled three adjacent properties for Walgreenʼs which were underutilized buildings and a gas station, contributing to the central business revitalization on Cedar Lane. In West Englewood, Weiss Realty acquired a publishing warehouse and leased the facility to Sony Corporation.

Other significant milestones for Jaime Weiss was the acquisition of the 70,000-square-foot Colonial Village Shopping and Professional Office Park in Edison, in 1983. “At Weiss Realty, we are focused on ensuring that our retail, medical and office tenants are getting the highest and most personal level of service says Jaime Weiss. We are passionate about our reputation in the Edison community which has contributed to the centerʼs success serving the Edison and Metro Park area.”

Weiss Realty was also responsible for one of the most notable residential investment sales in 2012 when it brokered the largest multi-family transaction in recent Bergen County history. The deal was awarded Mid-Atlantic Real Estateʼs “Best of 2012” for brokering the Largest Multifamily Sales Transaction of the Year with the sale of the 338 unit Skyline and Boulevard apartment complexes in Hasbrouck Heights to the New York based Kushner Companies for $57,500,000.

When Firestone closed its tire manufacturing facilities in Decatur, Illinois in 2003, Jaime Weiss acquired the 2,197,000-square-foot, 153-acre property. An affiliate of Weiss Realty is developing the additional land in the “Commerce Park” property as a major Logistics Distribution and Warehousing Complex and extension of the Mid-West Inland Port, a rail served transportation hub for domestic and foreign commerce. The firm plans to build up to one million square feet of industrial space to add to the 662,000 square feet currently leased to Caterpillar and other tenants. “Going from Bergen and Hudson Counties to Decatur and back to Fort Lee has been a monumental opportunity for us” added Jaime.

“Our diverse array of services range from your typical brokerage services, to property management, investment sales and financing. We are always thinking entrepreneurially, which has helped us achieve great success both for our clients and for our company through the many real estate cycles we have endured and prospered though. 50 years is just the beginning here at Weiss Realty.”

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