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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

NewMark Merrill Division Looks for Building Opportunities

NewMark Merrill Companies, a real estate services company based in Woodland Hills, recently launched a new development group. The group, NewMark Merrill Development Partners, is designed to help the company pursue ground-up retail development deals ranging from small single tenants to large anchored centers of 500,000 square feet or more. NewMark is looking to expand its business offerings to keep pace with its overall portfolio, which is estimated to grow 30 to 40 percent this year, said CEO and Founder Sandy Sigal. New tenants this year include a Staples store in Anaheim, a Fresh & Easy in Whittier and a Smart and Final in Riverside. “As you grow, you come up with better ways to do what you want to do, but in a focused way,” Sigal said. Since the company was founded 15 years ago, its staff has grown from three employees to 72, he added. About 40 of those are in Woodland Hills. NewMark’s portfolio, which includes nearly 70 shopping centers, encompasses more than 10 million square feet of space and is valued at more than $1 billion. The centers are located across California, Colorado and Illinois. NewMark hired Graham Allchorn, an industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience, to lead the new development division. Allchorn has relationships with clients such as Walgreens, Lowes, Fresh & Easy, Office Depot, CVS, TJ Maxx and others. “My guess would be that in over six months to a year, our development cycle will be well accelerated,” Sigal said. Allchorn said joining NewMark offered the chance to become a part of a larger, more diverse platform. He previously worked at West Venture Companies, a former homebuilder company based in Burbank, while Sigal was president. After Allchorn’s tenure with West Venture, he left and co-founded GRAE Ventures in 1996. There, he was responsible for more than $400 million in developments. “He has an incredible track record of matching opportunities with needs,” Sigal said of Allchorn. Richard Rizika, managing director for the CB Richard Ellis retail services group, said he’s benefited from several opportunities throughout his more than 20-year-partnership with NewMark. “They are a very capable, integrated shopping center company,” Rizika said. With the ability to bring on a talented partner such as Allchorn to lead new ventures, NewMark will continue to do well, Rizika said. “They are poised to grow rapidly,” he said.

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