45. Disciplined Development with Michael Sommer, Chief Development Officer, Kushner Companies

On this episode, Aaron Strauss is joined by Michael Sommer, Chief Development Officer at Kushner Companies. Michael oversees development and construction efforts across the entire Kushner portfolio which includes residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and industrial properties, over 12.9 million square feet currently under development, and over 26,500 apartments across 13 states. 

Michael’s storied real estate career includes over 27 years at the leading edge of development and construction. He’s developed more than 10 million square feet of residential, retail and office assets. Most notably, Michael led the development of over 6,000 residential units in New Jersey.

Prior to Kushner, Michael served as Senior Vice President of Development and Construction at Cedar Realty Trust, a NYSE listed retail REIT with a portfolio spanning from Washington, D.C. to Boston.  Before Cedar, Michael was Executive Vice President of Development at Edison Properties where he led the redevelopment of the award-winning Ironside Newark in Newark, New Jersey.  Michael also served as Managing Director of Development at Advance Realty after starting his career at Premier Development.

Michael holds an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University and a bachelor’s in economics and business from Lafayette College. 

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