Denholtz Properties announces several new hires aimed at enhancing and streamlining internal financial and construction operations to support the firm’s strategic vision and growth.
“Where many saw challenges during the pandemic, we saw opportunities,” said Stephen Cassidy, President of Denholtz Properties. “With an eye towards capitalizing on the opportunities ahead, we have been focused on ensuring we have the proper resources in place to execute our strategic vision for the company. Through retaining and recruiting top talent in key growth areas such as construction and finance we will ensure that we have the depth of bench needed to meet both our short-term and long-term growth goals. Each new team member brings a wealth of expertise and experience to their role further positioning us for continued success.”
Joseph Fernandez joins as Director of Construction and will oversee all construction on the company’s visionary development pipeline spanning over 600,000 square feet across New Jersey. An industry veteran with a proven track record of success and over 30 years of experience in project and construction management, Fernandez brings a robust skillset and a creative and solutions-oriented mindset to his new role. Over his long career, Fernandez has completed projects on behalf of Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and Tommy Hilfiger. Prior to joining Denholtz Properties, Fernandez served as Vice President and Director of Construction for Nucor Construction Corp where he was responsible for directing the operations of the New York-based general contractor. Fernandez’s impressive career also includes former roles with Michilli Inc., AmTrust Realty Corp, CBRE, Tessler Developments and Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).
As Director of Construction, Fernandez will work directly with Steven Denholtz, CEO of Denholtz Properties, and the firm’s development team to streamline and bolster Denholtz Properties’ in-house construction capabilities. Fernandez will oversee a range of projects within the firm’s diverse portfolio, ranging from commercial office space, multifamily, commercial flex, mixed-use and custom homes as well as third-party construction work. Fernandez will ensure operational efficiency throughout all facets of the department, producing and managing schedules and budgets, recruiting and mentoring a diverse talent pool, while implementing strategies and adopting new technologies to promote collaboration and synergy across the company’s construction, development, finance, leasing, marketing and executive leadership teams.
Further bolstering the firm’s in-house construction capabilities, Denholtz Properties has also hired Parth Patel as a Project Manager.
New additions to the finance team include Mark Mahasky as Director of Capital Transactions with William Ryan and Olivia Ham joining as senior portfolio analysts. The additions further deepen Denholtz’s talent bench and will strengthen and streamline the firm’s accounting, investment, acquisition and development capabilities as it executes its ongoing expansion strategy in New Jersey and throughout the southeastern United States.
Bringing deep experience in debt and equity financing to his new role, Mahasky will be instrumental in bolstering Denholtz’s in-house financing and investment capabilities to enable the continued growth of the firm’s over five-million-square-foot portfolio. Mahasky previously served as Director of Investment Advisory for JLL where he was responsible for working with an array of private and institutional clients in order to procure new business and create value through advisory of capital events. Mahasky will work in tandem with Denholtz Properties’ senior leadership team to support expansion efforts in New Jersey and select markets across the southeastern United States.
Mahasky significant expertise in both existing assets and development projects across a range of asset classes including multifamily, office, retail, industrial/flex, and student housing will enable him to work closely with CEO Steven Denholtz and Director of Development Steven Lidster, to support the firm’s growth in New Jersey through identifying and evaluating strategic ground-up development, redevelopment and adaptive reuse opportunities throughout the state. In addition, Mahasky will also collaborate with President Stephen Cassidy and Director of Florida Acquisitions JP Josephson to expand the company’s portfolio in the southeastern United States with a focus on acquisitions in the central and southern Florida and the Raleigh and Charlotte markets.
Further enhancing Denholtz Properties’ financial capabilities, Ryan and Ham will work with Denholtz’s accounting department and executive leadership teams to implement systems and software that fundamentally shift the firm’s approach to property accounting. In their new roles, Ryan and Ham will leverage the latest technologies and processes to analyze revenue, expenditures and other key datapoints across Denholtz Properties’ portfolio to deliver actionable insights to the company’s leadership, development, construction and finance teams. Through aggregating more streamlined, real-time insights, Ryan and Ham will enable the firm to make data-driven, proactive decisions to optimize expenditures in all aspects of the enterprise and continue to drive superior, risk-adjusted returns for its investors across the company’s existing portfolio. In addition, Ryan and Ham’s expertise and insights will provide Denholtz Properties’ senior leadership with invaluable data as it pursues acquisition opportunities across its target markets.
The additions of Fernandez, Mahasky, Ryan, Ham and Patel come during one of the most pivotal chapters in Denholtz Properties’ almost 70-year history as the firm looks to expand its presence in both its home state of New Jersey and the southeastern United States. Denholtz Properties is currently in the midst of several development projects across New Jersey including its The Rail at Red Bank mixed-use community in Red Bank, N.J. and an ambitious redevelopment of a 26-acre site at Fort Monmouth in Oceanport, N.J. Over the past two years, Denholtz Properties has also sought to dramatically expand its on-the-ground capabilities in the Southeast market, headlined by the establishment of an Orlando headquarters and the recent addition of Jordan Wean, Director of Leasing and Business Development in Florida.