August 21, 2007 - Joel Brudner joins Gottesman Real Estate Partners
Andy Gottesman, CEO of Gottesman Real Estate Partners, the newest venture for one of New Jersey and New York’s well-known real estate families, has named Joel S. Brudner Executive Vice President and Partner.

Gottesman Real Estate Partners, an experienced owner and operator of high-quality commercial properties, is seeking to expand its presence through an aggressive acquisition program of properties that fit its long-term investment philosophy.  The company is presently pursuing office, retail, flex and light industrial properties, with an emphasis on those where value can be improved via superior expertise, creativity, and active, hands-on management.

“The ability to leverage market knowledge, critical and efficient due diligence standards and rapid decision-making, coupled with immediate funding capabilities, differentiates Gottesman Real Estate,” Brudner said.

Says Gottesman, “Joel is the perfect fit for our organization.  Not only are his qualifications and experience top-flight, he shares the same core values we at Gottesman have always embraced: integrity, hard work, problem solving, and flexibility.  He believes, as we all do, in intelligent asset management.  Joel’s presence and insight will only enhance our business acumen and decision-making.” 

Brudner has more than 20 years of experience in the New Jersey commercial and residential real estate markets.  He will direct Gottesman Real Estate Partners’ operations, including sourcing acquisition candidates, due diligence, financing and asset management. He also will be involved with strategic planning.

For the last 15 years, Brudner was Executive Vice President and CFO of the privately held real estate firm The PRC Group, based in West Long Branch, N.J.  He oversaw business development, financing, and investor relations, and he expanded the organization into a diversified real estate investment company with a wide range of services and capabilities.  Prior to PRC, Brudner spent eight years as an executive with the M. Alfieri Company in Edison, N.J.

Brudner, a CPA, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Rutgers University.

“I’ve long admired the Gottesmans for their strong family heritage,” Brudner said.  “It sets them apart from the competition, as does their long term approach toward investment real estate.  Above all, Andy and I are committed to customer service and responsive management, a dedication not often found in today’s commercial real estate market.”

Gottesman Real Estate Partners will carry out its investment plan in a focused, strategic fashion, concentrating on properties whose value ranges from $5 million to $35 million.

Says Gottesman, “The company brings together the best of modern real estate ownership and the best of family ownership, and its impetus will remain those same values from which it began a half century ago.”

The Gottesman family has a 50-year history of owning and operating high-quality commercial properties in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, including the 750,000-square-foot Hippodrome Building at 1120 Avenue of the Americas in New York City.

The firm is capitalized and managed by a family-owned business whose real estate roots originated in 1956, when brothers Harold and Jerry Gottesman opened their first parking lot on Edison Place in Newark, N.J.  They expanded rapidly, and the Gottesman name became well-known in the New York metropolitan area for expertise, diligence, problem-solving abilities and first-class operations.  Edison ParkFast ultimately owned or managed more than 160 locations and consulted for other owners who needed help building or operating parking facilities.  Manhattan Mini-Storage in the 1970s was the family’s next venture, with facilities in several neighborhoods in Manhattan.  In 1978, the company purchased and significantly improved The Hippodrome Building in New York City. 

In 1998, Harold and Jerry Gottesman separated their business interests, with the Hippodrome Building remaining in joint ownership. 
The family of Jerry continues to own Edison Properties, LLC, parent of Edison ParkFast and Manhattan Mini-Storage; Edison Properties also is pursuing significant development opportunities in New York City and Newark.

Harold opened Edison Investment Advisors, LLC (EIA) in Livingston, N.J. to pursue other investment strategies and additional real estate opportunities.  EIA has made, and will continue to make through Gottesman Real Estate Partners, numerous real estate investments with sophisticated partners and operators.

Upon Harold Gottesman’s passing in 2001, Andy became CEO of Edison Investment Advisors.  As regards Gottesman Real Estate Partners, Andy Gottesman is primarily responsible for setting strategic direction and overseeing the acquisition and management processes.  He also is responsible for leasing and building operations at The Hippodrome Building.

A reporter and editor at the Chicago Tribune for eight years before joining the family company, Andy Gottesman earned a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of Michigan and an MBA with high honors at the University of Chicago.

Joining Gottesman and Brudner in the Livingston, N.J., office is CFO Anthony Angelosante, who has been with EIA and Edison Properties since 1995.  He is responsible for the financial analysis of all real estate transactions, including modeling of properties prior to acquisition and the financial oversight of properties after acquisition, as well as financing, tax, and budget analysis.  He received a BA in business administration from Rutgers University and is a member of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants.