NEW YORK, NY – March 5, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — RKF, the leading independent real estate firm in retail leasing, investment sales and consulting services, has announced four promotions for brokers in its New York office.
- Richard Gelber has been promoted from senior director to managing director. Through his decade-long tenure with the firm, he has made significant contributions to RKF and has advised many retailers on their Manhattan retail real estate requirements. Gelber has been involved in many noteworthy transactions on behalf of Citibank N.A., Jenny Craig International, McDonald’s, Cohen’s Fashion Optical and Regis Corporation (Jean Louis David, Super Cuts and Vidal Sassoon). He has also represented many prominent landlords, including Extell Development Company, The Witkoff Group, KLM Construction, The Hakimian Organization, and Manocherian Brothers, on transactions of all sizes. Most recently, he was part of the team that secured a 25,000-square-foot Blink Fitness on behalf of Vornado at 692 Broadway.
Prior to his tenure with RKF, Gelber was with Retail Development Partners, where he worked on the retail leasing of Millennium Partners’ urban-area portfolio. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business law and public policy from Syracuse University’s School of Management. He is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the state of New York and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Real Estate Board of New York.
- Caleb Petersen has been promoted from director to senior director. He specializes in advising and representing fashion and lifestyle retailers on their retail real estate strategies. His retailer clients include Rag & Bone, The Frye Boot Company, Jeremy Argyle, among many others. His most recent transactions include Oakley’s flagship location in Times Square and Godiva’s flagship on Fifth Avenue. On the ownership side, Petersen’s client roster has included Jamestown Properties, Pam Am Equities, LCOR, RFR Realty, Hines, among others. He was also part of the Chelsea Market team that leased 16,000 square feet to Anthropologie.
Before joining RKF, Petersen was an associate at CB Richard Ellis. He got his start in commercial real estate as a developer in Hawaii. Petersen earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Washington, and is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the state of New York and a member of ICSC.
- Brian Segall has been promoted from director to senior director. He specializes in retail leasing and investment opportunities in New York City and other select urban markets. Segal’s investment sales experience includes the $11.05 million sale of the retail condominium leased to Capital One at 123 Third Avenue, the $17.5 million sale of the retail condominium leased to Banco Popular at 11 West 51st Street and the $7.4 million sale of the leasehold interest in two, five-story mixed-use buildings totaling approximately 20,000 sf at 36 West 34th Street and 41 West 33rd Street, all in Manhattan. He also represents notable landlords, including Muss Development, Premier Equities, World-Wide Group and United American Land, in the leasing of their retail space. Segall is also currently overseeing the disposition of Zales’ portfolio of retail leases in Manhattan and the outer boroughs, and also working on behalf of PetSmart to secure locations in-line with their expansion strategies.
Before joining RKF in 2007, Segall started his career in sales at the digital media firm, Endai Worldwide, and later became a division vice president. Segall received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Emory University. He is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the state of New York and a member of ICSC and the Israeli Bonds Real Estate Division New Leadership Committee.
- Greg Covey has also been promoted from director to senior director. Since joining RKF in 2007, Covey has been active with both landlords and tenants alike, including such firms and brands as CIM Group, The World-Wide Group, Credit Suisse, 7-Eleven, Zadig et Voltaire, GNC, among many others. He has secured more than a dozen locations for 7-Eleven and is currently working on its plans for 100 more stores. Some of Covey’s notable transactions include: the leasing of One Madison Avenue on behalf of Credit Suisse to Schnipper’s Quality Kitchen and Gustavo America; 148 Lafayette Street on behalf of Louis Dreyfus Property Group to Utrecht Art Supplies; 270 Greenwich Street on behalf of Edward J. Minskoff Equities to SoulCycle and GameStop; and many others.
Prior to joining RKF, Covey was the real estate manager-development at Equinox, the upscale health club and spa subsidiary of Related Companies. He began his career at Studley in San Francisco. Covey graduated with a B.A. from Emory University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in real estate finance from New York University. He is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in the state of New York and a member of ICSC.
About RKF
The country’s leading independent real estate firm specializing in retail leasing, investment sales and consulting services, RKF serves a broad spectrum of domestic and global clients in services ranging from national tenant and owner representation to advisory, consulting and disposition. With more than $20 billion in aggregate real estate transactions to its credit, RKF has been responsible for identifying scores of real estate opportunities throughout the United States for leading American and international chains, retailers, developers and institutional clients. RKF is headquartered in New York with offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Northern New Jersey and San Francisco. www.rkf.com
RKF is located at 521 Fifth Avenue, Floor 7, New York, New York 10175, T: 212.599.3700. www.rkf.com.
Contact:
Dan Bullock / Quinn & Co. / 212.868.1900 x362 / dbullock (at) quinnandco (dot) com
