A niche all its own.

Simone Development Companies, led by president and owner Joseph Simone, has created a geographical niche creating successful developments that bring jobs and new businesses where ever they develop.

Simone Development Companies, headquartered in New Rochelle, is a full-service real estate investor/developer specializing in office buildings, retail community centers, industrial warehouses and flex buildings.

The firm owns, manages and develops a wide range of properties--from industrial buildings on Long Island to office parks in Westchester County to retail centers in Queens.

"Our niche is a 50-mile radius, a one-hour commute from our offices," said Simone. "The secret to our success has been taking advantage of locations that have dense population and good transportation."

Twenty-five years ago, the business began small, but soon grew out of the ingenious ways Simone invested.

"I actually started out in the auto parts recycling business," Simone said.

With the profits from his auto parts business, Simone, then 21, invested in property. His first property was a warehouse that he, his father and grandfather invested in.

"It was nice getting rent checks every month," Simone said. "So, we said let's do it again."

Today Simone Development has a portfolio of more than 100 real estate properties now totals in excess of 3 million square feet of commercial space throughout the tri-state area, as well as residential investments.

"We do everything from affordable housing in Bedford Styverstown in Brooklyn to mansions in New York," Simone said. "We build on a speculative basis and it works."

Comparing smart development to hunting, Simone knows when and where to invest.

"When a hunter goes into the woods, he watches for something that starts to move," he said. "In real estate, you sit tight and wait for things to move. If you are moving all over the place, you won't notice when something moves."

The technique has apparently worked quite well for Simone and he says he rarely has a tenant before the project begins.

"What we do is get the project approved and get it built," Simone said. "Then, the tenants will come where we do business."

Simone knows the area and what to put there and what not to.

"I believe in order to be successful in anything you do, you have to fulfill a need," he said. "Sometimes the problem is that there are too many needs being fulfilled in an area already. And there's no reason for another one."

Simone has had the vision and foresight to successfully guide his real estate investment and development company through several economic cycles. Throughout his career, he has transformed depressed and rundown real estate properties into modern and newly efficient facilities.

"I think developing project is probably almost the equivalent of having a child," Simone said. "You start out with a concept you see it though to inception to completion and it's a very rewarding, challenging ordeal. It's just a wonderful process. We really do think that we not only change the face of the earth, we really help communities and areas to flourish."

Simone has been a pioneer in developing in areas where others have not ventured. His projects have created economic booms to depressed inner-city locations throughout the tri-state metropolitan area.

Over the years, Mr. Simone and his company have earned a well-respected reputation with tenants as well as the banking and real estate community, which has enabled him to develop a large real estate operation in a rather short period of time.

"We feel that we have a pretty good pipeline with most brokers," said Simone. "Most brokers or owner call us. We can move very quickly. We can turn around a deal in 24 hours, which is a very import thing at times, speed."

In his most ambitious project to date, Simone is currently transforming a former state-owned facility in the Bronx into a modern new office complex featuring 460,000 square feet of Class A office space. Called the Hutchinson Metro Center, it is the first Class A office building to be built in the Bronx in more than a decade. Tenant interest in the new project has been extremely strong. The complex will bring much-needed tax revenue and thousands of new jobs to the Bronx.

"Most people wouldn't do it, but we really know the area," Simone said.

The project will be completed this summer and is already 60 percent leased and Simone is already thinking ahead.

"We will just keep building momentum and keep building bigger and more exciting projects," Simone said.

"We are just going to continue on developing successfully.

"The good news is that in the area we do business there are a lot of real estate opportunities and a lot of ground to cover."