Cushman & Wakefield expands New Jersey retail practice.

Capitalizing on New Jersey's thriving retail market, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. has added and relocated several team members locally in recent months.

The firm's increased focus on retail in the Garden State is punctuated by its growing presence and steady progress in this vital commercial real estate niche.

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"Cushman & Wakefield's retail group has a national platform with 229 brokers across the country," noted Michael Stone, senior director, who is based in Cushman & Wakefield's downtown Manhattan office.

"We recognize the terrific business opportunities New Jersey offers as a major suburban market and are looking to increase our activity here significantly."

Stone joined the company two years ago with Justin Stein, a Cushman & Wakefield associate, to specialize in suburban retail, with a particular emphasis on New Jersey.

Stein recently relocated from the firm's Manhattan office to work full-time at Cushman & Wakefield's New Jersey headquarters in East Rutherford. Recently, Richard Rizzuto joined the team and is based in Cushman & Wakefield's Morristown, N.J., office. He comes from a background in marketing. Together, the team provides best-of-class landlord and tenant representation.

Additionally, earlier this year John Luongo came to Cushman & Wakefield as a senior director in East Rutherford. The 20-year industry veteran specializes in retail and land development and redevelopment in the tight northern New Jersey market. He recently was joined by new-hire Jason Gendel, a sales associate, who brings to Cushman & Wakefield a broad-based sales background and expertise in retail-based business.

Stone, Stein and Rizzuto represent several major New Jersey developments, including SJP Properties' Waterfront Corporate Center in Hoboken. As agents for that property's initial lease-up, Stone and Stein brought on board a number of notable tenants, including Jos. A. Bank, Regis Salon, PNC Bank, Chase Bank, Chock full o'Nuts and Club H Fitness. Other landlord-rep assignments for the team include Lefrak's Newport Center in Jersey City and Centuria, the high-profile, $1 billion mixed-use redevelopment in Fort Lee.

On the tenant side, the team also represents Verizon Wireless and Gap brands. "Our New York Area retail team provides extensive cross-selling services to these and other companies," Stone said. "Many of our clients structure their real estate departments to focus regionally by television markets. In turn, our geographic breadth enables us to be a valuable, comprehensive partner for their leasing activity in both urban Manhattan and its suburbs."

Luongo and Gendel represent land owners in selling properties, mainly for retail redevelopment. Recent projects included marketing two obsolete industrial properties in Paramus, N.J. One has been rebuilt as a Home Depot Expo; the other has become a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital.

"There is little undeveloped land left in the state's northern counties, so we help find previously developed sites for which retail is a higher and better use," Luongo said. "We bring value to our clients because we assist them in achieving the best pricing for their property dispositions. In many cases, we have knowledge of potential retail sites that have not yet come onto the market. That is a valuable commodity in our competitive market."

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According to Stone, New Jersey offers great possibility for this expanding Cushman & Wakefield retail team. "This is a region with high tenant demand and developer interest, and our practice quickly has evolved within this setting," he concluded. "Our expanding numbers and collective expertise will enable us to continue our progress and growth here."