The home of Denholtz (formerly Denholtz Properties) at 116 Chestnut Street. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
It’s a company poised to transform a large swath of Red Bank’s geographic core, with social and economic ripple effects that could outlive us all.
But while the Red Bank real estate firm Denholtz is proposing a massive redevelopment of the town’s train station area, it’s also undergoing a growth spurt and dramatic transformation of its own.
An article published Monday on the website NJbiz.com chronicles the company’s recent transformation from developer to private investment management firm with a new CEO recruited from the New York City real estate world and a growing portfolio stretching from Texas to North Jersey. The company is hoping to set up its first investment fund in 2025, according to the report.
“We’re going to be out raising capital,” newly named CEO Katie Kurtz told the publication. “We want to be doing deals. Denholtz is ready to go.”
A view of the Red Bank train station with Denholtz’s building “The Rail” in the background. (photo by Brian Donohue)
The article includes an extensive interview with Kurtz, formerly co-chief investment officer and chief financial officer for Silverstein Properties. Former CEO Stephen Denholtz assumed the role of chairman with the move.
Kurtz described managing the dual roles the company will now have as both a builder and financial steward.
“There’s all different things you can invest in, but you have to – at the core of it – be really good investors, because while you’re trying to have an impact on the world … you’re taking in people’s money and you’re accountable to them as a fiduciary to generate a return and protect that money,” Kurtz said. “You’re taking in people’s retirement money, their kids’ college funds. That’s a huge responsibility and we’re the main fiduciaries of that. So that starts by being a good investor.”
The article follows another piece njbiz.com did in January describing how the $2 billion company recently “widened its Southeast footprint, adding properties in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Additionally, Denholtz expanded its acquisitions and development team in October, including with a particular focus on the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast,”the article reads.
Denholtz has been named the designated developer by NJ Transit for the large swath of parking lots around the train station, where the agency is seeking to further its goal of creating more dense, transit-oriented development around rail stations. Denholtz has also purchased multiple properties in the area on its own and is proposing a mix of up to 400 apartments, retail and green space in the 13-acre area.
RED BANK: 400 APARTMENTS, GREEN PLAZA, NEW STREETS IN TRAIN STATION PLAN
You can read the most recent njbiz.com article (no paywall or subscription needed) here.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
