Against the backdrop of a still challenging economy, New Jersey continued to make improvement in the eyes of CEOs over the past year both as a place to do business and expand operations, according to the results of the New Jersey Economic Policy Summit’s 2013 C-Suite Survey of Garden State CEOs.
“CEOs’ confidence in New Jersey as a place to do business continues to improve,” said James W. Hughes, Ph.D., dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which conducts the survey.
“In addition, 36 percent of CEOs participating in the survey expect to increase capital spending here over the next year, continuing a positive upward trend seen in earlier surveys.”

LAS VEGAS–The International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon Retail Conference kicked off in Sunday with what may be the event’s highest registration numbers since before the recession.

The brokerage, developer and retailer booths in the leasing mall won’t open till Monday, but on the floor of the Marketplace Mall, where vendors and service providers come to network, was noticeably busier than it has been in recent years.

By Sarah Trefethen
Homeownership is as American as apple pie, but when it comes to commercial space, businesses in this country tend to rent rather than buy.
But in New York’s red-hot retail market, some brokers say, grandpa’s admonition to own, not rent, could apply just as well to a storefront as a house.
“A lease depreciates to nothing,” said Adelaide Polsinelli, senior director at Eastern Consolidated. “At the end of a lease, you have nothing. At the end of your mortgage debt, you have an asset.”
Buying real estate is not something a retailer should jump into quickly, warns Marilyn Kane, president of Iridium Capital.

Stephen Ross, founder and chairman of Related Companies, has joined the Giving Pledge, the global initiative created by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates that invites the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to give half or more of their wealth to charity.

“As a very young boy, my uncle taught me a valuable lesson, the importance of giving back and using your impact and influence to make the world a better place,” said Ross.

When the financial advice software company Smart Asset graduated from the prestigious Y Combinator incubator program in San Francisco last summer, the founders made what New York’s economic development community hopes will become a popular choice among young tech firms — to abandon the West Coast in favor of the Big Apple.
There was an extra incentive for them to move Downtown. The company was one of 25 finalists in the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s “Hire and Expand in Lower Manhattan” competition, also known as “Take the H.E.L.M.” that offers cash rewards to companies that locate in the neighborhood.

By Sarah Trefethen

Ronald Lo Russo, Cushman & Wakefield’s newly installed, 38-year-old Tri-State president, knows he has a job to do. But he says he’ll take his time planning his moves.

Lo Russo spent seven years in leasing at Vornado and started his new position at C&W in early March. He’s spent the past month-and-a-half exploring all of the corners of his new domain, he said, and getting to know all the company’s service lines and regions.

By Orlando Lee Rodriguez

Not only has the “fat lady” entered the building, but she has started to sing the blues.

Vornado Realty Trust just came to an agreement to sell its ‘Harlem Park’ development site for $65 million to an undisclosed buyer.

The sale is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013 and the company said it stands to see net proceeds of $62 million and a net gain of $22 million.

The parcel of land, which is located at 1800 Park Avenue on the southwest corner of East 125th Street, will potentially net Vornado additional capital in the form of brownfield credits.

Ruth A. Agnese, one of the foremost experts in commercial real estate valuation and analysis in New York City, died on Thursday, April 18, her 51st birthday, at St. Rafael’s/Yale University Hospital in New Haven, CT.

Talented, tireless, bigger than life and a born leader with tremendous style and flair, Ruth gave new meaning to multitasking. She was passionate about her profession, helping to advance the professional success of women in real estate and making a positive difference in the greater community.

Ruth was president of Appraisers and Planners, Inc., where she worked for 33 years. “Her insight, knowledge and warmth endeared her to all who knew her,” said Jim Levy, chairman of Appraisers and Planners. “We have lost a deeply loved member of our family.”

From the Rockaways to South Street to Staten Island, a question mark hangs over the coastal communities hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy. Given the threat of future storms is rebuilding worth the cost?
Insurers and lenders may not be sure, but for the Bloomberg Administration, the answer is yes.
Rebuilding flood-ravaged sections of the city is not just a matter of doing right by residents and businesses, according to Seth W. Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. It can also be an important part of planning for a future in which, the administration believes, the sea level will continue to rise.

The real estate industry’s very own Piano Man helped the charity, Education Through Music, raise over $500,000 during a gala fundraiser at Cipriani 42nd Street on Wednesday night.

Cassidy Turley executive vice chairman Richard Bernstein was lauded for his passionate advocacy on behalf of the charity during the gala, whose guests included actress Christine Baranski, Glenn Close, Nicole Miller, Grace Hightower DeNiro and a plethora of industry colleagues.