From condo developments to business parks, stalled projects have left a gap in projected revenue for many cities. Moving redevelopments forward amid this recession is the goal of the multi-faceted Strategic Alliance, a group of eight professionally diverse firms, working with municipalities to jumpstart projects in today’s real estate market.
  To reach key decision makers, Strategic Alliance members will be participating in one of Atlantic City’s largest conventions, the 94th annual conference of the NJ League of Municipalities (NJSLOM) to be held on November 17 – 19 in Atlantic City. The Alliance members will be providing an exhibit booth during the three-day event offering solutions in today’s recovering economy. The conference attracts New Jersey politicians, mayors and city administrators.
  Whether it’s securing financing or advising on ways to build green, the Strategic Alliance acts as a single source for municipalities looking to reactivate development and redevelopment by getting them back on track. Each member firm brings a different scope of services to the table. Combined, they total a workforce of more than 500 professionals in the Tri-State and Mid-Atlantic states area.
  “Many projects are having difficulties because redevelopment master-plans were created for different market conditions. Unfortunately, those redevelopment plans don't work in the current environment,” says Strategic Alliance Founder Bill Feinberg, whose firm Feinberg & Associates assists with architectural design services. The firm has been recognized as a top designer in the real estate industry, specializing in mixed-use communities and town center designs.
  For many municipalities it’s time for a reality check, explains Doug Smolev, president of Elmsford, N.Y.-based The Marcon Group. His sales and marketing firm works with the Alliance, educating municipalities on repositioning problem projects to realize the “new reality of today’s market. We want to show towns how to reposition projects based on what’s changed in the marketplace and what works.”
  Many members of The Strategic Alliance have been intimately involved in successful redevelopment projects including the following in New Jersey and New York:
  Livingston Town Center, Livingston, N.J.
  Washington Town Center, Robbinsville, N.J.
  Yonkers Downtown Waterfront Redevelopment, Yonkers, N.Y.
  Cambridge Crossings, Clifton, N.J.
  Cambridge Heights at Nutley, Nutley, N.J.
  White Plains Railroad Station Area Redevelopment, Westchester County, N.Y.
  Ideally, the Strategic Alliance’s services are suited for municipalities with populations of more than 75,000 people, which have an infrastructure in place that can benefit from the Alliance’s financing resources, grant money assistance, and legal resources. “We can examine the financial components of a project and investigate various funding resources,” states Charles H. Kauffman, Jr., president of C.H. Kauffman & Associates, a Red Bank, N.J., commercial mortgage banking firm.
  “We understand how residential communities and town centers work,” added Feinberg. “The Strategic Alliance can help municipalities re-start their stalled redevelopment plans and stimulate economic development so that they can create ideal neighborhoods where people can live, work, and play.”
 
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Pictured: Members of the Strategic Alliance of real estate-related professionals will exhibit at the upcoming NJ League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City, N.J. Alliance members pictured are: (standing, L-R) Joseph DiBernardo of Joseph DiBernardo & Associates; Scott Wolford of Patton Harris Rust & Associates; Charles Kauffman of C.H. Kauffman & Associates; William Becker of The William E. Becker Organization; Doug Smolev of The Marcon Group; (sitting, L-R) Rod Ritchie of AKRF; Thomas Osborne of Patton Harris Rust & Associates; Bill Feinberg of Feinberg & Associates; and Nick Cinalli of O'Donnell & Naccarato.