Driven to Develop

A Millington-based real estate company specializing in stores and other commercial businesses regards its task as pivotal, and its clients as partners

by dan norton • Photos By Robert Nuzzie

If you’ve ever gone shopping in the Garden State, you might want to thank Brian Silbert.

Never heard of him? There’s a good chance you’ve visited one of the fifty-plus retail properties he manages throughout New Jersey and portions of Pennsylvania. In the 30 years since he’s founded his real estate services company, Silbert has quietly helped shape the Garden State’s landscape by providing the development insight essential for stores and commercial businesses—both suburban shopping centers and mixed-use—that anchor communities.

Even after decades in commercial real estate, the field still excites him. “I like to create,” he said. “There’s a real satisfaction for me in helping these businesses put down stakes and become part of their communities, then watch them thrive together over the years.”

Sometimes Silbert helps build the foundation of the communities themselves; his Millington-based Silbert Realty & Management Co. manages approximately 500 apartments in various mixed-use developments, in addition to close to two million square feet of retail and commercial space across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The list of brands and major corporations that have called on him over the years to help them expand in the Garden State reads like a who’s who of marquee retailers and restaurants: Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Grill, iPic Theaters, Starbucks, Gap, Talbot’s, Verizon, Wake fern Primrose Schools, Fidelity Investments, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Sonic, Valley National Bank Prudential Financial, and dozens of others.

As Silbert Realty has expanded, its recognition has grown. The company is a longtime member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and New Jersey Builder Association; Silbert himself has held various board positions within those organizations, and has been awarded Co-Star’s Award of Excellence for retail transactions within New Jersey while competing against the major public companies.

The executive came by his entrepreneurial spirit naturally. Hard work was part of his upbringing, as he worked newspa-per routes and dishwashing and banquet waiter gigs to earn spending money. “My parents were very old fashioned, which was a blessing,” he said. “They grew up during the Great Depression, understood the value of a dollar, and made sure I understood it, too, which today transcends to my family. Growing up, if you wanted something, you worked for it.”

Prior to getting into real estate, and as a teenager during summers, he accompanied his father to his workplace in New York’s Garment District. The experience would stay with him.

“I met some great businessmen there, players in the menswear and women swear business, and grew an appreciation for how hard my father worked and the respect he’d acquired,” he said. “They showed me that when it comes to entrepreneurship, you get out what you put in. It left an indelible impression on me.”

More than three decades later, Silbert hasn’t stopped bringing that lesson to the table. It’s what has enabled him to expand his company from a basic real estate services enterprise into a one-stop shop for all things retail in the Garden State: brokerage, property management, site selection, demographic studies, and lease negotiation are all among the services Silbert Realty & Management Co. offers.

“Today, we’ve developed a considerable amount of repeat business with major companies, too, which demonstrate they’re satisfied with our work product, integrity, and alliance,” Silbert said.
“It’s not just about collecting a fee,” he adds. “We view ourselves an integral part of these companies, whether retailers or major development groups, both publicly traded and private. We treat our relationships with them as partnerships. I think of our business associations as running a marathon, not a sprint. To do right by clients over the long haul is a commitment we take seriously.”

Besides his upbringing among the Garment District’s movers and shakers, Silbert attributes his success to another experience he had early in his career—a fateful part-time job in construction.

“I was still in college,” he said. “It was really an incredible experience. You had to interact with so many people—sales, tradespeople…you name it. That’s where I learned the initial practical perspective of accounting and financial reporting and also where I got involved in commercial real-estate marketing, leasing, and sales.”

Today, all of that is reflected in Silbert Realty’s offerings. But, as the owner himself is quick to point out, he didn’t do it alone.

“I have a fantastic and loyal team…very devoted and competent” he said. “Especially David Marconi, who is our VP in charge of property management and Kathleen DiMaria, my senior marketing director, both of whom have been associated with the firm for approximately fifteen years. Really, they’re all magnificent, and it’s about a team, not an individual. They’re my family away from home.”

Company projects continue to sprout all over New Jersey. Last year, it was named managing agent of one of the largest newly constructed shopping centers within Union County, Clark Commons, a 245,000-square-foot shopping center in Clark anchored by Whole Foods and LA Fitness. Silbert
Realty was also named as marketing/leasing agent for the Hackettstown Mall, a 193,165-square-foot Hackettstown shopping center anchored by Lowe’s Home Improvement, Applebee’s, Wendy’s and the lifestyle fashion retail center The Streets of Chester, a 104,682-square-foot shopping center. The firm continues its foothold in revitalized downtowns of Morristown and Somerville as it is the consultant and broker to the two largest downtown redevelopments—Shops on the Green in Morris County and Somerset County’s Somerville Town Center.

More recently, Silbert Realty was named marketing and leasing agent for a major Jersey City mixed-use project, which includes 163 apartments and a performing-arts center, and is set to open in the summer of next year. Within Bergen County and affluent Montvale, it is the managing/leasing agent for a 25-acre development to be anchored by the first Wegmans Supermarket within Bergen County, and an approximately 235,000-squarefoot development known as DePiero Farms—among the largest and most prestigious grocery-anchored lifestyle projects within northern New Jersey, and slated to opening next summer.

Silbert is also involved in the development of another major transit village, Woodmont Metro at Metuchen Station, which will feature 273 luxury apartment units and ground-floor retail when completed in the second half of next year. The Somerville Town Center is anchored by ShopRite Supermarket, and also offers 100,000 square feet of pedestrian-friendly retail and restaurant space, including Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Grill, Starbucks, and Chase Bank, and there will be a second and larger phase of the 14-acre transit village redevelopment when the project is fully built by Edgewood Properties. Also under construction and nearing completing is ES4, a mixed-use development with 195 luxury apartments and 46,500 square feet of commercial space along Route 4 in the heart of Englewood, in which Silbert is managing and leasing agent for The S. Hekemian Group.

Sometimes, projects hit even closer to home; the company, having outgrown its Millington headquarters, is constructing a new headquarters, situated within Warren Township, and immediately adjacent to Exit 33 of I-78.

Needless to say, all the action keeps Silbert very busy.

“I often say I need an eight-day week and a 30-hour day,” he said. “I don’t sleep a lot.”