Profeta highlights parents’ legacy of education, as NJIT unveils new
From Joanne, Lynn and Joey Paul Profeta is convinced he
THANK YOU, PAUL!
I never envisioned myself being involved in a business from the ground up, especially in the challenging, fast-changing media industry. That began to change in early 2014, when I met Paul Profeta at the recommendation of a colleague at NJBIZ. He had recently launched Radius, a glossy magazine seeking to highlight Newark’s dining, entertainment and cultural offerings to affl uent suburbanites in Essex County who could play a key role in the city’s revival, helping to counter the negative press that plagued it for so many years. The venture dovetailed with a feature I was writing about tourism and economic development in Newark, but it quickly became clear that Paul’s efforts, his personal story and his love for the city belonged in a standalone profi le that we would publish in April of that year.
Fast-forward to early 2016. Paul had been gracious enough to keep in touch with me and, seeking a change, I pitched him on the idea of starting a publication focused on commercial real estate in New Jersey. It was an area I knew well — and one that Paul knew even better — and with his recent foray into publishing and his decades of business experience, it seemed like a viable idea from my standpoint. He agreed — and Real Estate NJ was born.
The fact that it’s now been eight years is hard to believe, but it’s a testament to what we’ve built and what we bring to the commercial real estate industry here in New Jersey. None of which would be possible without Paul’s support in so many different ways. It’s obvious to say that he took a chance by starting a new business (let alone in publishing). I knew that from the beginning and have always been grateful. But I’ve been every bit as thankful, if not more, for the time, attention and energy that he devotes to Real Estate NJ to
ensure that we’re successful. For someone as accomplished as Paul — with so many other business and philanthropic interests — I’ve never once felt like the publication took a backseat to anything else on his plate. I’ve seen fi rsthand the focus and the work ethic that have made him so successful during his decades in business, and we’re lucky to have that type of commitment from our publisher.
Getting to know Paul and his wonderful family over the years has been every bit as gratifying. And he’s been nothing but supportive as I’ve grown my own family. Just ask Brandon, my fi ve-year-old son, who adores “Mr. Paul” in a way that
T The fact that it’s now been eight years is hard to believe, but hardtobelieve,but ardtobelievebu it’s a testament to what we’ve built and what we bring to the commercial real estate industry here in New Jersey. None of which would be possible without Paul’s ossible without Paul’s Paul support in s so many different way ways.
I could have never predicted. The fact that the feeling is mutual is the ultimate icing on the cake.
Those are just a few reasons why I feel so fortunate to know Paul Profeta, to work with him as closely as I do and to count him as a friend and a mentor. Paul, I wish you nothing but happiness and continued success as you celebrate your 80th birthday, and I hope you enjoy this look back at some highlights from the past decade (plus some thoughts from a few other people in your life). Thank you for everything!
Joshua Burd Editor
josh@re-nj.com
4 Paying It Forward
Profeta highlights parents’ legacy of education, as NJIT unveils new real estate center
6 Pro-Newark
Paul Profeta is convinced he can get consumers to return to the Brick City
8 Midwest Success
Profeta sells 300,000 sq. ft. Amazon warehouse site in Ohio after redevelopment
10 Laying a Foundation
NJIT’s Profeta Center graduates second class of minority entrepreneurs Departments
2 The Briefing
Profeta sells historic Philly office building for $29 million, plus other top stories in commercial real estate
12 With Love
From Joanne, Lynn and Joey
14 Roundtable
Tell us what makes Paul special to you, highlight something distinctive about him or simply share a fond memory
16 In the Moment
A party 80 years in the making!
ON THE COVER: Paul V. Profeta is the publisher of Real Estate NJ.
THANK YOU
To Annette Figueroa, Steve Coleman, Michael Aprile, Rob Steffens, Aaron Houston and everyone else who contributed to make this special issue possible!
THE BRIEFING
PROFETA SELLS HISTORIC PHILLY OFFICE BUILDING FOR $29 MILLION
Oct. 10, 2017
After 35 years of ownership, Paul V. Profeta & Associates Inc. has sold an 80,000-square-foot office building in downtown Philadelphia for $28.75 million.
The West Orange-based firm said it sold 2300 Chestnut St. to Stoltz Real Estate Partners, a real estate investment manager. The sale price equates to $359.37 per square foot of office space, which Profeta said represents a record high for downtown Philadelphia.
An investment sales team from JLL led by James Galbally arranged the transaction, with assistance by Nicholas DeSalvo, Brett Grifo, Heather Lombardi and Jennifer Blatstein.
“It’s been a long and enjoyable run,” said Paul Profeta, the founder of Paul V. Profeta & Associates. “The
building has always been a niche in the otherwise normal downtown office market providing regular substantial cash flow and now a significant capital gain.”
Paul V. Profeta and Jeff Kelter purchased 2300 Chestnut St. in 1982 for a little more than $1 million, according to a news release. Profeta oversaw financing and leasing, while Kelter did the renovation work.
Those improvements were meant to convert and modernize an industrial building that once housed a car dealership and later was used by the federal government to build tanks during World War II. Profeta
said the structure had tremendous load-bearing capacity, but lacked the aesthetics needed to create something akin to the D&D Building in Manhattan.
The owners removed opaque plastic wall partitions and created new floor-to-ceiling openings to install energy-efficient, double-paned windows around the building. On the roof, they created clerestories with 360-degree glass to bring in natural light, while sandblasting, sanding and hand-oiling the oak roof to restore the structure.
They also left brick walls exposed and upgraded the façade by installing dentil molding, sanding and repainting the ornate metalwork on the outside of the building. Other improvements included installing decorative trees on the sidewalk and hanging awnings over the first-floor windows.
With a goal of creating the Philadelphia Design Building, Profeta and Kelter set their sights on one other key piece of the building: an exterior cut-out that had been used for parking and featured a Stroehman Bakery sign painted on the wall. The sign provided rent of $50,000 a year, while Profeta said removing it would reduce the
building’s value by anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million, but the owners believed it contradicted the aesthetic of the building.
They ultimately decided to replace the sign and hired Richard Haas, a renowned muralist, to create a piece reflecting the history of Philadelphia. The mural, which used the technique known as trompe l’oeil, was featured on several Philadelphia TV programs and highlighted in several architectural magazines, sealing the property’s identity as the Philadelphia Design Building and leading to the city’s rise as a destination for mural artwork.
The revitalized building rented up quickly for about $15 per square foot in the mid-1980s. Most of the fourth floor was taken by Knoll Furniture, which remained there for 30 years, Profeta said. Other designoriented tenants that remained in the building for decades were Sheward Architects, American Silk Mills, Amman & Whitney and Maharam Fabric.
Profeta bought out Kelter once the renovations were complete and the building was leased, giving way to the latter’s purchase of the Widener Building in Philadelphia.
In the years that followed, the Philadelphia Design Building served as a precursor to the type of creative space that is increasingly favored among office tenants and millennial occupiers, Profeta said. Knoll Furniture recently moved out after 30 years of occupancy to be closer to its major contract to furnish the new Comcast Tower in Philadelphia, but the space was quickly filled.
Early this year, Vanguard leased the former Knoll Furniture space and two other suites in the building with right of first offer on all remaining space. Saxbys Coffee also moved its headquarters there.
Following his recent sale of the building, Profeta praised the JLL brokerage team.
“They did a sensational job,” he said. “I would recommend them to anyone wanting to sell an investment property in Philadelphia.”
The building’s new owner, Stoltz Real Estate Partners, is a vertically integrated real estate investment manager operating all over the country. It has raised about $750 million in five different funds and purchased several billion dollars’ worth of property.
Paul Profeta
PROFETA LANDS APPROVALS FOR 1 MILLION SF WAREHOUSE AT EXIT 8
Feb. 20, 2024
PVP Exit 8 LLC, an affiliate of Paul V. Profeta & Associates Inc., has secured approvals to build 1.1 million square feet of new industrial space adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike in East Windsor, capitalizing on a site that is a 45-second drive from the highway’s northbound lanes.
Based in Roseland, the firm is developing the 123-acre site immediately east of the highway and contiguous to the Exit 8 interchange, which circumscribes the property. Plans call for a facility with 40-foot clear ceiling heights, 722,000 square feet of warehouse, 300,000 square feet of mezzanine and up to 60,000 square feet of office space, along with 87 tailboard doors and parking for 772 cars and 38 trailers.
Profeta is building the project at 200 Milford Road as part of a redevelopment plan approved by local officials in 2022.
“This site was brought to me five years ago by Thomas C. Nuara of
Resource Realty,” said Paul Profeta, founder and president of Paul V. Profeta & Associates. “Once I saw the locational advantage of a site with the toll exit ramp circumscribing its boundaries, I jumped on it. Negotiations were tedious because of the religious institution that owned it, but Nuara’s focus and determination
never wavered.
“He did a sensational job with difficult sellers and put the ball in the goal. He executed one of the most professional and successful brokerage jobs I have witnessed in my 50 years in the business. That is probably why he is one of the prolific industrial brokers year after year in the state.”
This will be Profeta’s fourth large warehouse project in the last three years. Three years ago he built 300,000 square feet in Columbus,
Ohio, leased it to Amazon and sold it to PGIM. He is currently building 155,000 square feet in Salem, New Hampshire, contiguous to Interstate 93, noting that the site is currently 67 percent leased because it enjoys a 30-minute commute to downtown Boston.
Finally, Profeta owns a 400,000-square-foot warehouse in Winter Haven, Florida, that is leased to Sherwin-Williams Co. for 20 years on a triple-net basis, which he acquired in a 1031 exchange. RE
Jooel Blooom o (left), Neew Jersey Institute of Technology’s thenprresident, t joi o ned Pauul V Profeta, president of Paul V. Profeta & Associattes Innc., , in 20021 to coommem e orate Profeta’s gift to launch centeers s for r rea e l estate and d entrepreneurship.
PAYING IT FORWARD
Profeta highlights parents’ legacy of education, as NJIT unveils new real estate center
By Joshua Burd
(From March 2022)
Many of us who know Paul Profeta know of his connection to education: He sees it as paramount, not just as a measure of skill or achievement but as the foundation of his family. He explained as much in 2022 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Newark campus, describing his parents’ arrival to the United States in the early 20th century, in a climate of prejudice against Italians and other immigrants.
“It might be hard to conceive of an
America that was that way, but that cauldron seared them, and they wanted to figure out a way to become respected,” said Profeta, the founder and president of Roseland-based Paul V. Profeta & Associates. “And they did — they figured out that education is the way to become respected in this country.
“The road to respect is paved with education,” he continued. “Education is the escalator. And it still is today, and if you come to this campus today, you’ll see the sons and daughters of immigrants taking that escalator to get their degree and get respect.”
That belief has guided Profeta’s decades of investment in education, including the gift whose mission is now taking shape at NJIT. It was where university leaders gathered on March 10, 2022, to unveil the new Paul Profeta Real Estate Technology, Design and Innovation Center, launching what aims to be a pivotal expansion of the school’s business curriculum, while celebrating the largest-ever donation to the 140-yearold institution.
“He has been this larger-than-life investor in our students, in our faculty, in our university,” then-NJIT
President Joel Bloom said during the late-morning ceremony, detailing Profeta’s fast-growing involvement with the school. He also called back to what he estimates were two dozen conversations with the longtime real estate investor and philanthropist, who insists that NJIT is not well enough known despite the quality of the education it provides.
“This is part of the marketing of NJIT and what you are doing for us,” Bloom added.
Profeta, who is also the publisher of Real Estate NJ, joined NJIT in spring 2021 in announcing the historic gift to
Courtesy: NJIT
the public polytechnic university, the amount of which was undisclosed. The March 2022 gathering marked the dedication of the new real estate center and the unveiling of a physical space for the program, drawing Profeta’s family, friends, business associates and other supporters.
Housed in NJIT’s Martin Tuchman School of Management, the center will look to serve as a hub of teaching, training and research related to the disruptive technologies, innovation and novel design and construction techniques that are actively transforming the real estate field. University officials expect the center to draw on the expertise, experience and interests of the Tuchman School as well as of the Hillier College of Architecture and Design, Ying Wu College of Computing and the Newark College of Engineering.
“It’s a critical component of the Tuchman School’s roadmap for success,” said Oya Tukel, dean of the Tuchman School and acting director of the real estate center. “It both embraces and embodies the
school’s mission statement to apply the disruptive thinking, innovation and collaborative energy of a startup to business education and research to enrich our lives.”
Profeta, a member of NJIT’s board of overseers, also launched real estate centers at Columbia Business School in New York in 1980 and at Rutgers Business School in Newark in 2013, with the latter having grown to roughly 800 students in recent years. But he said the investiture at NJIT was the “culmination” of his parents’ commitment to education.
And, as university officials noted, the gift was not limited to the real estate center. It also created the Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will serve as a hub for Newark-focused entrepreneurship initiatives and look to cultivate and nurture historically underserved entrepreneurs in and around the state’s largest city, especially women and those from racial and ethnic minority groups.
“His commitment to establish the center is really just one piece of
Paul Profeta, founder and president of Paul V. Profeta & Associates, joined family, friends, business associates and other supporters at the New Jersey Institute of Technology on March 10, 2022, for the dedication of the new Paul Profeta Real Estate Technology, Design and Innovation Center.
Paul’s larger philanthropic vision to support entrepreneurship, technology, innovation, education and the greater Newark community through an investment in our faculty, our students and programs here at NJIT,” said Kenneth Alexo Jr., NJIT’s vice president for development and
alumni relations. “Today we are focused on the Profeta Real Estate Center, but please know that this commitment extends well beyond that one program. Indeed, Paul’s partnership with NJIT is nothing short of transformative.” RE
Courtesy: James Marko/NJIT
Paul
l Proffeeta,
sident and owner
Profeta & Associates,
PRO-NEWARK
Paul Profeta is convinced he can get consumers to return to the Brick City
By Joshua Burd
(From April 2014)
Paul Profeta recalls his teenage years in Newark with the fondness and clarity of someone who relives them every day — even if they were more than 50 years ago.
Growing up in Maplewood, he and his friends would fi nish school and take the No. 31 bus into the city. They’d hang out in the department stores that once made it a retail mecca — Bamberger’s, Hahne & Co. and S. Klein — the same stores that gave him his fi rst paying job in the
late 1950s, demonstrating Soda King machines for what he thinks was $1.25 an hour.
“It was our town,” he said. “I just loved Newark, and Newark had a lot to love. Newark was a happy, bustling, successful town.”
It’s why Profeta wants nothing more than to see the Brick City regain its former glory with a renaissance that will bring people back to its downtown and erase the stigma of violence and racial tension that has plagued it since the riot of 1967.
Profeta, 69, is not just any
cheerleader or well-wisher. He is a successful real estate investor, based in West Orange, with more than 40 years in business. And he has long since put his money where his mouth is when it comes to helping Newark.
It began in earnest in 2007, when he established a foundation to invest in minority-owned entrepreneurs in the city — it has since helped eight companies get off the ground and will launch its next wave of projects in the coming months.
And these days, Profeta has added
by Aaron Houston
another prong to his attack. Late last year he launched Radius, a glossy magazine showcasing Newark’s dining, entertainment and cultural offerings, mailed directly to some 50,000 upper-middle-class residents in the Essex County suburbs — those with disposable income who, in theory, could truly impact the city’s retail scene. All Profeta wants to do is “show them what they’re missing,” believing many of those suburbanites are afraid to go to Newark because of the crime they read about on a routine basis, but
Photo
don’t understand.
“We have so many things in Newark that are just treasures and aren’t understood or appreciated in the suburbs,” said Profeta, the magazine’s publisher. “And I know these people aren’t stupid. If they knew these things were available, they would start to explore.”
PROFETA’S EFFORTS ARE ONLY POSSIBLE because of his success in real estate — and he has come a long way from when he started his own fi rm nearly 40 years ago.
“I had the net worth of this Post-it pad,” he quipped during a recent interview, holding up a stack of tiny sticky notes on his conference table.
Profeta began his career in 1971 as a broker with Eastdil Secured in Manhattan, and then moved to Feist & Feist Realty Corp. in Newark. But he got the itch to be his own boss in 1976, even with the uncertainty that came with it.
Profeta found a niche that worked. He organized “syndications” — or groups of investors who pooled their funds to buy real estate — starting with a 108-unit apartment project in Dayton, Ohio.
By the early 1980s, Profeta had made enough from those transactions “to start trading from my own account,” he said. He has operated without limited partners or investors ever since, buying and selling commercial property across the country as he quietly built the lucrative business known as Paul V. Profeta & Associates.
While the fi rm has thrived for decades, Profeta hasn’t always been as focused on philanthropy as he is today. For many years, “I gave to some causes, I’d write checks or I would spend a Saturday afternoon at a charity, and so on.”
Admittedly, though, he was falling short of a pledge he had made to his parents, who “gave an enormous amount of time and all the money they could spare to community endeavors and to the needy.” He had always promised to follow suit. But it wasn’t until a day in October 2007 when something truly clicked. An avid motorcyclist, Profeta and his fi ancée were riding just outside Utica, N.Y., when he suddenly lost control. Profeta was ejected — and he doesn’t remember much else
until he woke up about 20 minutes later, he said. Medics were taping his head to a spinal board, fearing he might have a spinal injury. That meant he could be paralyzed.
“I was 63 years old, and I hadn’t spent hardly any time keeping my promise,” he said. “So in the ambulance I said, ‘Lord, if I make it through this, I’m going to devote myself to philanthropic endeavors.’”
It was soon thereafter — once he realized he would recover — that he lay in his hospital bed, focusing on what he could do to keep his commitment.
THERE IS NO UNCERTAINTY THESE DAYS about whether Profeta has kept his promise. He now spends about three-quarters of his time on his philanthropy, he said, much of it devoted to his foundation.
He launched the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation in 2007 and soon partnered with Rutgers Business School. He has donated $2.5 million to the cause, giving no-interest loans and personal guidance to eight minority entrepreneurs around Newark. All eight are now paying their loans back, Profeta said. And the foundation is now preparing to launch another four, several of them aimed at creating a new vibrant restaurant scene in western Newark.
His work comes at a time of great momentum for Newark, with bigticket, transformative development projects such as Teachers Village and Prudential Financial’s new offi ce tower underway.
But Profeta offers an important complement to those efforts, said Roland Anglin, a RutgersNewark professor who specializes in economic development. And his agenda comes with a whole different set of challenges — helping small businesses not quite in the downtown.
“The larger concerns can take care of themselves, but what about the smaller entrepreneurs that make up any community?” Anglin said. “And that’s what he has keyed in on in a way that I don’t think anyone else is Newark is keyed in on.”
Such entrepreneurs today are bringing more energy than ever to
DESTINATION NEWARK
When it comes to Newark, Paul Profeta is something of a human travel guide.
He knows Branch Brook Park has 4,300 cherry blossom trees — 600 more than Washington, D.C. He knows Newark is home to a company that has made mattresses for the White House, and that Rutgers-Newark houses the world’s biggest jazz museum.
Those are the types of stories and factoids that will fill the
pages of Radius — Profeta’s magazine — along with news on all the well-known assets such as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Ironbound’s restaurant scene.
With the backing of many of Newark ’s biggest businesses, Profeta would be just fine if the magazine broke even, as long as it serves its purpose: “What I’m hoping is when people will go to these performances at the PAC and the Rock, this magazine go to dinner beforehand, walk around or the game, get some drinks and start to populate Newark again,” he said.
the city’s recovery, said Rutgers history professor Clement Price. He points to “a coterie of younger people with resources, with talent, with broad imaginations that are kind of untethered from Newark’s more troubled past,” who are investing in the city and are vested in its survival.
And they have found support in Profeta, who espouses the “old American story” of someone whose immigrant parents preached education and giving back.
“For someone like Paul to remember that and factor that into the way he comports himself as a citizen, and as a businessman and as an entrepreneur — that matters to a guy like me,” said Price, the city’s offi cial historian.
Profeta is also hoping to build on Newark’s rich jazz history with another new endeavor in Newark — a new eatery on Clinton Street called Duke’s Southern Table. The venue, which he hopes to open by
June, will be a combination soul food restaurant and jazz nightclub at the former site of Scully’s Publick House, with a house band and potentially artists who will stop over after performances at NJPAC. His partner in the project is Vonda McPherson, chef-owner of Vonda’s Kitchen on West Kinney Street. Profeta offered a vision that made perfect sense to McPherson, a jazz lover just like Profeta: there is great demand in and around Newark for such a venue, from both musicians and patrons, and Duke’s is just the place to capture it.
Eight months later, she said Profeta is not just a partner — he is a mentor.
“As a person in business, it’s just nice to have someone that has gone through all of the things you could possibly go through — and has sustained his business,” she said. “So I have respect for that.” RE
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in NJBIZ.
Montwards LLC built 510 Sunbury Road, a 300,000-square-foot industrial facility in Columbus, Ohio, as part of a redevelopment that ultimately attracted Amazon as a tenant.
MIDWEST SUCCESS
Profeta sells 300,000 sq. ft. Amazon warehouse site in Ohio after redevelopment
By Joshua Burd
(From May 2021)
Montwards LLC has agreed to sell an industrial property in Columbus, Ohio, that is home to a newly built, 300,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center, following the firm’s redevelopment of a property that it first acquired nearly two decades ago.
Paul V. Profeta
The real estate firm, owned by Paul V. Profeta and based in Roseland, completed the transaction some four months after delivering the facility at 510 Sunbury Road. Profeta now plans to use the proceeds to buy
an industrial site much closer to home — in central New Jersey — as part of a deal that could bring much-needed space to the New Jersey Turnpike corridor.
“Although I’ve developed properties all over the country — and am currently developing a 155,000-square-foot warehouse in Salem, New Hampshire — I prefer to keep my activities closer to home,” said Profeta, president of Paul V. Profeta & Associates. “The demand for logistical space in northern and central New Jersey is significantly larger than secondary or tertiary markets like Columbus, Ohio, leading to a market need for buildings of 1 million square feet or greater.”
Profeta, through Montwards LLC,
acquired the Columbus property in 2003 as part of a 1031 exchange, using the proceeds from a shopping center sold in Fort Collins, Colorado. The site at the time was home to a fully leased, 260,000-square-foot warehouse sitting on 12 acres of a 29acre lot. The 17 acres of vacant land were just minutes from downtown Columbus.
Unisource, a division of the paper manufacturer Georgia-Pacific, occupied the industrial building on a 15-year, triple net lease, but did not renew when the deal expired in 2018. Montwards then put the warehouse up for sale or lease, while simultaneously moving to develop the 17 vacant acres in order to capitalize on its proximity to the downtown.
“Brokers were discouraging me
because the vacant land was not located in a ‘warehouse neighborhood’ and there were no other warehouses around,” Profeta said. “I thought the fact that we were less than a mile from downtown Columbus and within the city limits, plus being two blocks from Interstate 670 … was strong enough reason for putting up another warehouse.”
He noted that, prior to 2018, the vacant land had been included in the leasehold for Unisource, which would not allow him to develop the site unless he gave them a credit in the lease payments or a capital payment. But after Unisource failed to renew, Profeta tapped a project team that included Red Architecture + Planning, Mannik Smith Group as its engineer and Pepper Construction as the general contractor for a speculative
Courtesy: Montwards LLC
300,000-square-foot facility.
In March 2020 — not long after the team cleared the site, poured the foundation, put up the steel and started bolting panels to the steel structural members — Profeta received an unsolicited letter of intent from Amazon. His firm would spend the next six months negotiating the lease with the e-commerce giant before ultimately securing a 10-year commitment.
As part of the transaction, Amazon paid Montwards for the existing 260,000-square-foot building in order to have the latter raze that structure and an additional sum to pave the way for 700 parking spaces for vans, which were added to the project’s original 229 car spaces and 58 truck docks. Profeta added that his Montwards team ran electric wires under the asphalt and installed connections in each van space to prepare for when Amazon converts its fleet to electric power.
“Amazon needs an enormous amount of parking,” Profeta said. “They have to park all the vans overnight and
also need an equal number of spots for the van drivers to park their own personal vehicles.”
And while Profeta said the negotiation with Amazon “was the most extensive, involved leasing exercise I have experienced in my 45year commercial real estate career,” his dealings with local officials in Columbus were decidedly smooth and simple. He noted that the city is “very pro-business” and has a “onestop shop” for approvals. To that end, a developer must provide a set of plans for every agency that has jurisdiction over the planning and approval process, giving way to a meeting some two weeks later.
“Any agency that is not present at the ‘one-stop shop’ meeting is deemed to have given its approval,” Profeta said. “Montwards received complete approval at one meeting in an hour and a half and a building permit.”
That is a far cry from the entitlement process in New Jersey, which he estimated could take between two and five years for a similar project, depending on the municipality.
which leased 300,000 square feet
LLC for an adjacent 260,000-square-foot warehouse in order to have the
structure, while also paying an additional sum to pave the way for 700 parking spaces for vans. The spaces were added to the project’s original 229 car spaces and 58 truck docks.
Still, Profeta now has his sights set on a project in his home state. His company has agreed to sell the Columbus property to an institutional buyer for what Profeta describes as “a relatively low cap rate” and will leverage those proceeds into another like-kind exchange under Section 1031 of the U.S. tax code. Another of Profeta’s entities is now in contract to buy a site along the New Jersey
Turnpike, in Central Jersey, where industrial vacancy has hovered around record lows in recent years.
Tom Nuara of Resource Realty brokered the sale to Profeta’s firm, which is now in due diligence. Meantime, the municipality has converted the property to a redevelopment area. RE
Courtesy: Montwards LLC
Amazon,
at 510 Sunbury Road, paid developer Montwards
latter raze the
LAYING A FOUNDATION
NJIT’s Profeta Center graduates second class of minority entrepreneurs
(From June 2024)
The Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at New Jersey Institute of Technology has graduated its second class of minority entrepreneurs, paving the way for the launch of more than two dozen businesses led by Newark-area residents.
The program on May 29 welcomed the latest cohort, which included about 50 underserved enterprise aspirants who attended every class, to mark the completion of the spring semester. Several of the students got up in front of the class and presented the results of the businesses they had launched during the course, which took place at the Profeta Center at 211 Warren St.
“The Profeta Center is extremely proud of the results of this program,” said Paul V. Profeta,
a Roseland-based real estate developer and investor, who launched the center recently after making the single-largest donation in NJIT’s history. “Many of the underserved members of Newark’s community are getting an opportunity to gain top-level knowledge of how to launch and operate a business and the results are apparent in the number of businesses that are being created.”
The work of the Profeta Center began in earnest last fall with the inception of its Free Entrepreneurial Workshop that was held Saturday mornings from September through November, providing a blend of academic business education combined with real-world suggestions taught by Profeta and hands-on advice and experience from successful minority entrepreneurs, with a slate of
instructors that included Real Estate NJ’s Karen Pisciotta. Ultimately, 45 minority residents completed the program as part of its first cohort.
During the spring semester, 11 businesses were created by the following aspiring entrepreneurs:
AL-TARIQ WITCHER
■ Around the Clock Property Management (residential property management)
AMEEN ALBANY
■ Hollywood Juice Shop (juices and smoothies)
AMIR ALBANY
■ Vegascalledmir (sports betting method)
CHERYL HUBBARD
■ Blue Roses Health Snack Collection (healthy snacks)
DAN MURPHY
■ Murphy Landscape (landscaping and tree service)
EDISON CHINNERY AND JOSEPH CHINNERY
■ NJ Property Scanners (laser scanning of existing buildings)
HELLURA LYLE
■ Lyle Enterprises (tours and other activities)
LOUISE ROUNTREE
■ Academy of Unlimited Possibilities (etiquette skills for adolescents)
REY CHAVIS
■ Clodiqu (fitness supplements)
RIKKI ORANGE
■ AlgloVera (aloe vera-based skincare products)
SHAKIYLA JONES
■ Benevolent Services (transportation for children)
In addition to these successful launches listed above, there are another 17 businesses in the serious planning stage that should be launched shortly.
ALAYSIA CLEVELAND
■ Black Opal Productions (event space/maker space)
CHERYL LAWRENCE
■ Healthy Healing by Design (wellness centers)
CHRISTINE FISHER
■ Jar-Eco (wholesale sustainable packaging)
JASON OVALLE
■ Keegos
KEISHA KING
■ EaZy Wash (laundromat)
KEVIN FORRESTER
■ Vital Foods & Beverages (plant-based foods)
LISA HOWARD
■ Write on Time (nonprofit) (resume writing for re-entry folks and their families)
NYAJIA LEWIS
■ Blu Dot & Co. (websites and social media marketing)
OGEDI ASIMAMA-DURUAKU
■ Medical devices
OLEG SINKIN
■ Wine Saver (device to prevent wine from oxidizing)
RAHEEM MONTGOMERY
■ Why Not Affordable Rentals
ROBERTO SANCHEZ
■ NJ CDL Driving School (commercial driver’s license school)
ROSCIO VEGA
■ Casual clothing store
SHAWN WILLIAMS
■ Trusted Travel Tours (historical and entertaining tours)
SIB BYERS
■ Real estate
STACEY ANN WAKEFIELD
■ Miss Stacey’s House (in-home childcare)
VALENTINO LERUM
■ Tire recycling
Profeta said he was extremely proud of the second-semester group, adding: “Successfully launching your own business is a surefi re way to obtain fi nancial independence and abundant selfrespect.”
Profeta is a real estate investor and developer with commercial properties all over the country, with decades of experience in business, education and philanthropy that has focused on revitalizing Newark. His donation to NJIT, which was announced in spring 2021, also led to the launch of the Profeta Real Estate Technology, Design and Innovation Center. RE
WITH LOVE
TELL US WHAT MAKES PAUL SPECIAL TO YOU, HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING DISTINCTIVE ABOUT HIM OR SIMPLY SHARE A FOND MEMORY ROUNDTABLE
FRED PROFETA
It is tough being the younger of two brothers, especially when the age differential is five years. And the gap is particularly severe when your brother has hit puberty at 15 and considers you to be largely a 10-year-old nuisance. Now imagine taking a June-to-September road trip to California and back with this self-important older brother, spending most of the time with him in the back seat of your parents’ new 1953 Oldsmobile. A recipe for disaster!
the trip got off to a particularly bad start when Paul got in the car at home in Maplewood, New Jersey, and asked where we were going “down the shore.” Both parents laughed, and Fred (who had planned the trip) was unrelenting in his ridicule. We broke the news to Paul, who was stunned.
Fights broke out almost immediately, causing our father to draw a “line of demarcation” in the middle of the back seat, past which neither of us should intrude upon pain of a fatherly clobbering. Lots of clobbering ensued. When Paul continued to trespass, Fred retaliated by putting bubble gum in his hair. This required an immediate crew cut — and resulted in more ridicule. Fred was punished, but got off easy.
primarily because they formed an alliance against their parental enforcers. While driving in Columbus, Ohio, our father was about to run a red light and slammed on the new power brakes, causing the items stored behind the back seat to crash into our heads. We claimed brain injury, and my mother took over most of the driving from there. But this didn’t spare her from ridicule when we all discovered that she was dreadfully afraid of mountain roads, which required us to drive the most circuitous route possible all over the western U.S.
Fred (the older) and Paul (the younger) had already had their fair share of fights, often coming close to maiming each other for life. But
KEN ALEXO
NJIT (VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT & ALUMNI RELATIONS; PRESIDENT, FOUNDATION AT NJIT)
Working with Paul has been one of the real privileges of my tenure at NJIT. Through his service on the Foundation’s governing board and his exemplary philanthropy, he is ensuring that a valuable NJIT education remains both industry-relevant and affordable for all talented and deserving students, regardless of their financial circumstances. Our university is truly fortunate to count Paul among its most dedicated and generous friends. Both personally and on behalf of the entire NJIT community, I wish Paul a very happy 80th birthday, and continued health and happiness in the years ahead. Tanti auguri! Biz hundert un tsvantsik!
Space does not allow for a description of all of the incidents along the many highways. But both brothers survived, perhaps
DAVE BARAFF COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL
Paul was always meant to be a very successful businessman. From an early age he was energetic and entrepreneurial. Some of the neighborhood kids would mow lawns to earn extra money. Paul was the fi rst one to use ROI methodology to realize that a power mower would be enough faster than a manual mower to pay for itself within a month and yield profi ts for the rest of the year and thereafter. As a bonus he could use the lawnmower motor on a powered go-cart and was the fi rst kid in the neighborhood to have one. Besides the lawnmowing, Paul earned money candling eggs, which was unusual in our neighborhood. Also he had a successful snow shoveling business obtaining the jobs and hiring other kids to do the work. I think that was his fi rst managerial experience.
The trip was a true trial by battle for the whole family, but both brothers profited from it. We got to see the wonders of the West. But more than that, our shared encounters with each other and our parents have provided us with a lifetime of stories which, upon recounting, cause each of us to respond with gales of laughter.
JOEL BLOOM
NJIT
(PRESIDENT 2011-2022; PRESIDENT EMERITUS 2022-PRESENT)
Paul Profeta is a highly intelligent, hardworking entrepreneur with significant life experiences. His parents came to the United States during a period of bigotry and prejudice toward immigrants.
To paraphrase Paul, they soon realized that the “escalator” to a good family life was education.
This DNA led to Paul’s graduation from Harvard, becoming a successful leader in the real estate industry with a personal mission to help those who are experiencing bigotry and prejudice through an ecosystem of learning and doing entrepreneurship in business.
The means to do so was Paul engaging with higher education, the “escalator,” bringing his talent, time and treasure.
Family is the most important thing to us and it is rare for someone to enter our lives so special that they instantly feel like family. Since the day Joanne introduced us to Paul, he has been kind, loving and giving. He and Joanne have given us an incredible niece and nephew who we’ve been able to spend countless hours with at our happiest place — the beach! His sense of humor is unsurpassed and he is a wonderful reminder that meaningful relationships can come at any time in life. We are proud to call him our family. With Love from Linda, Tom, Theo and Jana
He did so with NJIT, New Jersey’s public polytechnic university with a comparable mission of preparing first-generation as well as underrepresented students in STEM education —the accelerated escalator. With NJIT, Paul created two centers, one committed to the application of technology, design and innovation for the real estate industry and the other for entrepreneurship and innovation to startup businesses in NJIT’s home city of Newark. Paul Profeta is an outstanding New Jersey citizen investing in future generations of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. Thank you, Paul!
AMINATA AND MAMASA DUKURAY
ANCIENT AFRICAN FORMULA
Paul Profeta’s involvement in our business has been transformative, reflecting his unwavering belief in our vision. What makes Paul special to us is his genuine commitment to our success and the collaborative spirit
LINDA, TOM, THEO AND JANA COPPOLA
he brings. His wealth of experience and guidance have been invaluable, often going beyond the traditional role of a partner. Paul’s trust and dedication inspire us to strive for excellence, making him an integral part of our journey. Happy Birthday.
RUTHI BYRNE
ZINN
GRAVES & FIELD INC.
What a guy! Paul is an adventurer, which always makes one’s relationship with him a wonderful adventure!
Loves doing new and daring things while investing in society and those who need help. Generous, interesting and surprising. No one quite like him, and lucky am I to call him friend.
MARC J. GROSS
FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP
For more than 30 years, Paul has served as a mentor, confidant and friend. I have learned from Paul the enormous value of perseverance and pursuing causes with passion and pride, all of which have served to be invaluable in my profession.
Happy birthday, my friend!
TEIK LIM NJIT (PRESIDENT)
Since arriving at NJIT in 2022, I have had the good fortune to get to know Paul and to work with him in support of our students and faculty as well as our neighbors in Newark. Paul’s leadership and vision in establishing the forwardthinking Profeta Real Estate Technology, Design and Innovation Center at our university, together with his many other investments of time, talent and treasure, have galvanized NJIT’s standing as a nexus of innovation —
and as one of the nation’s premier polytechnic research institutions. I am grateful for both his partnership and his friendship, and I look forward to our continued work together. My wife, Gina, and I, along with the rest of the NJIT community, wish Paul a very happy 80th birthday.
LANE MILLER
LAW OFFICES OF W. LANE MILLER
When you meet Paul Profeta, you immediately recognize him for who is he is — a confident, successful investor and entrepreneur who has been regularly and repeatedly able to recognize and capitalize on ideas and opportunities others simply did not recognize. Paul is also known for his leadership and philanthropic efforts in education, in assisting with the revitalization of Newark and in bringing opportunity to others, particularly the economically disadvantaged.
I am lucky enough to know the more private side of Paul: a good friend, an avid adventurer, a person who can tell and share a good joke, but perhaps most endearing, as a good family man, a loving father and husband.
I am fortunate to be able to call Paul a friend.
Happy Birthday, Paul.
TOM NUARA (TAMBOURINE MAN) RESOURCE REALTY
I have known Paul Profeta for over 45 years. It started out as a strictly business relationship but turned into a friendship due to mutual interests such as food, guns, cars, football games, food, motorcycle trips, food! etc., etc.
To be more specific, Paul’s “Bucket List” included motorcycle trips across country (The Wild Hogs) which led to jeep adventures in Moab, Utah, then rock crawling in St. George, Utah. All considered our “Bucket List,” which is getting longer each year. Every time he calls and says, “I got an idea,” I get worried if I’m going to die this time — not really, but sometimes I wonder if driving at Pocono Raceway at 150 miles per hour is a smart idea, but it turns out that it’s way more fun than sitting at the beach.
What could be more fun than “hair pin turns” at Monticello Racetrack?! I know, having braciole at Luciano San
Vito’s in Bayonne — ABUNDANZA!
Oh, and let’s not forget his 80th birthday party, where he created a band for the event with Paul playing drums, Joanne (his wife) playing keyboard, Dave Baraff (his friend from kindergarten) playing lead guitar and singing and then, as an afterthought, he told me I needed to play the tambourine.
I needed to disguise myself in a long wig, sunglasses and a hat so no one would recognize me, but they all did, and it was a hoot! I’ve sent the pics to all my friends and family.
I look forward to the next “Bucket List” adventure suggested by my longtime friend Paul.
HAPPY 80TH PAUL! WHAT’S NEXT?
BOB MITCHELL
HISTORIC MOTOR SPORTS
Paul and I go back 40-plus years when I was a fresh (38-year-old) MBA from the University of New Hampshire and Paul was looking for someone to manage the properties that he then owned (Pre-ERISA Limited Partnerships) in New Hampshire. We worked together for about two years before my interests led in a different direction, but have remained friends ever since.
In recent years our interests have reconverged in the area of vintage cars. With Historic Motor Sports in New Hampshire as my retirement business, I have helped Paul in assembling his growing car collection. “Car people” are a special breed.
Over the years I have followed (and applauded) Paul’s growing commitment to the health of New Jersey — and specifically to the vitality of Newark. May he — and they — live long and prosper.
KAREN PISCIOTTA
REAL ESTATE NJ
PROFETA URBAN INVESTMENT FOUNDATION
Known for his generosity, Paul has a particular focus on entrepreneurship. He is an inspiration to the entrepreneurs
who have been fortunate to benefit from his instruction in Profeta Entrepreneurship Workshops, mentoring during one-on-one meetings and his generosity through the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation. Through his Foundation, entrepreneurs have received necessary capital to grow, mentoring to assist them to make smart business decisions and security in knowing that a self-made successful entrepreneur is willing to assist them in their own entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurs are often amazed at his willingness to take time from his busy schedule to give them personal attention and his laser focus on their businesses. It is a pleasure to work with Paul to help people launch, build and grow businesses, particularly in Newark, a city that Paul has held dear throughout his life.
JON RAYVID REAL ESTATE NJ
Through his leadership and direction, Paul Profeta has guided Real Estate NJ to become what it currently is — THE top media company for commercial real estate. With just about 50 years in business, tens of thousands of people look to Paul every month for the magazine as his integrity and reputation are second to none. Happy Birthday, Paul, and “דע היחתש 120 “ad meah v’esrim” — May you live until 120.
ROB SOBEL
EPIC INSURANCE BROKERS
&
CONSULTANTS
Paul, we have worked together for over 30 years. You possess two qualities that I admire tremendously — unvarnished candor and loyalty — and for that, I am grateful to know you as a client and a friend. Know that I continue to be grateful to work with you and in those moments, over the years when we had several difficult conversations, somehow, a dinner and a bottle of wine at Fernandes Steak House got everything sorted out. Thank you for all you have done for me and by extension my family. Wishing you a very happy and healthy 80th birthday! RE
