Growing Gains
Levin Management has added new clients, new properties and new areas over the last year, bringing its management portfolio of community and lifestyle centers to 11.5 million square feet.
Randall Shearin

North Plainfield, New Jersey-based Levin Management Corporation has added six new clients and more than 1.4 million square feet to its retail property management portfolio in the past year, marking the success of a strategic, planned expansion program. The company now manages 11.5 million square feet of space in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions and has expanded its infrastructure and staff to accommodate continued growth.

Levin Management manages Riverhead Centre, a 395,000-square-foot power center in Riverhead, New York, for ING Clarion.

ING Clarion, one of the 10 largest asset management firms in America, awarded Levin the management assignment for Riverhead Centre, a 395,000-square-foot power center in Riverhead, New York. Levin now manages more than 1 million square feet on Long Island alone.

In addition, SSR Realty Advisors, now part of BlackRock Realty Advisors, which is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, awarded Levin the leasing and management assignment for Aviation Plaza, a 509,000-square-foot power center on U.S. 1 and 9 in Linden, New Jersey. The advisory firm also awarded Levin the   management and leasing of Wall Towne Center, a grocery-anchored 91,000-square-foot property in Wall Township, New Jersey.

A third new client, The Gale Company of Florham Park, New Jersey, one of the largest real estate companies in the nation with a global portfolio exceeding 50 million square feet, named Levin to manage retail leasing for Princeton Forrestal Village. Levin is working to reposition the 125,000-square-foot retail component of this high-profile, mixed-use property, which is located on U.S. 1 near Princeton, New Jersey.

Levin is working with owner The Gale Company to reposition the 125,000-square-foot retail component of Princeton Forrestal Village. The mixed-use property is located on U.S. 1 near Princeton, New Jersey.

Levin also took on the management and leasing of a portfolio of street retail properties in Brooklyn, New York, totaling 39,394 square feet.

Most recently, Legg Mason appointed Levin to manage and lease the 137,000-square-foot Oak Park Commons in South Plainfield, New Jersey.

“Earning the business of new clients is key to growth in any industry, and we have been pleased to add these organizations to our client base,” says Harding. “At the same time, earning repeat business from our existing, valued clients is gratifying because it reflects their satisfaction with our team.”

Planning To Accommodate Growth

With some 80 shopping centers and approximately 900 tenants in its portfolio, Levin is the largest privately held retail property manager in New Jersey and one of the largest firms of its kind nationwide. The recent and continuing growth is the result of careful, strategic planning, according to Harding.

Levin is managing the 509,000-square-foot Aviation Plaza in Linden, New Jersey, for SSR Realty Advisors.

Levin's accounting department, for instance, now serves clients using three different sets of accounting and reporting software.

“As a result, we have incorporated our newest assignments seamlessly,” Harding says.

This approach complements the historic, steady growth — spanning more than a decade — of the company's third-party management business.

Select Regional Expansion

While the New Jersey/New York area remains Levin's core region of activity since its founding more than 50 years ago, the firm has increased its presence in other states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.

“Our experience and size give us the strength of the largest national players, although our growth strategy focuses on expanding market share in select regional markets,” Harding says. “Our clients want the local knowledge and strength that only a regional company can provide. As such, a great deal of our success has been based on our ability to provide a high level of services with intensive, on-site involvement.”

Levin Management Corporation's in-house capabilities — including leasing, property management, marketing, construction management, risk management and legal and accounting services — provide clients with the broadest possible range of property operation services. The firm also helps its customers acquire and dispose of retail properties.

Proprietary Approach

Levin Management Corporation is an outgrowth of the activities of the late Philip J. Levin, who founded Levin Properties in 1952. That firm constructed New Jersey's first strip shopping center — the 260,000-square-foot Somerset Shopping Center in Bridgewater, which Levin still manages — and developed dozens of other landmark properties throughout the state.

“Levin Management Corporation was formed initially to operate centers within the Levin portfolio,” Harding says. “However, the company has evolved to focus on third-party assignments.”

Today, more than two-thirds of the company's work is from unaffiliated owners.

Still, Levin's background as an owner plays a key role in its approach to management assignments. The firm is known for its careful attention to the condition of its properties and believes that regular upgrades are critical in positioning shopping centers to stay ahead of the competition. This hands-on, proactive philosophy is the reason that many of the original Levin centers remain market leaders four and five decades after their creation. To that end, Levin has renovated millions of square feet of retail space on behalf of its clients in the past few years.

According to Harding, the firm's underlying, proprietary approach applies to each property within Levin's management portfolio, including the smallest downtown stores, freestanding buildings and strip centers, as well as major community centers and half-million-square-foot power centers.

“We take pride in every assignment — from earning the business, to helping create the best tenant mix and environment, to assisting in ongoing strategic positioning,” he says.