Glenpointe Center West, Teaneck – ALFRED SANZARI ENTERPRISES –
Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Alfred Sanzari Enterprises has long been a respected commercial real estate firm in New Jersey. The company’s deep office, industrial, retail and medical portfolio includes such iconic properties as Court Plaza in Hackensack and Glenpointe in Teaneck.
Ryan Sanzari –
President and CEO David Sanzari and COO Ryan Sanzari represent the second and third generations of the Sanzari family leadership of the company. NJBIZ spoke with Ryan Sanzari about how the firm is trying to remain relevant and profitable during trying times.
Like many other landlords in the nation, and especially New Jersey, Sanzari Enterprises has seen many of its office properties empty out over the last eight months as businesses cope with the effects of COVID-19. Sanzari said to successfully weather the pandemic, the firm has adhered to its foundational ideals while seeking to evolve and meet the challenges of the future.
Asked how that can be achieved in the wake of something as devastating as the virus, Sanzari said the company focuses on what can be controlled and doesn’t get distracted by the noise around the industry. For context, he said that from the beginning of the first wave in March, he and his father David would speak to their renters – who they refer to as partners – to learn what specific needs each one saw as important. Ryan said that by remaining fluid and adapting to the circumstances around them is part of their success.
He likens his approach to business to a Bruce Lee quote, “Don’t get set into one form, adapt to it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.”
“We would like our company to operate like water. To maintain that fluidity and take shape, be forceful or aggressive when needed, but constantly evolve around anything it comes in contact with,” Ryan Sanzari said.
Just how Sanzari Enterprises has remained fluid during COVID-19 can be seen at the Glenpointe property, a 50-acre campus with more than 650,000 square feet of premier Class A office space. The Sanzaris recently completed a multimillion improvement plan aimed at modernizing the building’s amenities and common areas. Unfortunately, as Teaneck became the epicenter of N.J.’s COVID-19 outbreak this year, David and Ryan also were among the first office owners in the state to experience COVID-19. But with a tenant-focused, hands-on management approach, the firm worked alongside hundreds of commercial tenants in both Teaneck and the rest of their portfolio to help navigate COVID-19. Doing so entailed not only responding to tenant needs, but adapting when it came to property management, operations and other facets of the business.
“We have a situation, this reality of the world today. We want to maintain a fluid nature and want to take shape with those realities in front of us,” said Ryan. “This is a philosophy that is easier said than done, as it isn’t always easy to implement that, especially when we try not to maintain a position that ‘we will always do this.’ Certain situations don’t allow you to lock into any one position; we stay fluid. It is my job to turn the philosophical overview and execute it into our day-to-day operations.”
During Mach, April and May, the Sanzaris were contacted by tenants saying that they weren’t sure how they could pay rent on top of everything going on. Sanzari executives conducted calls at three to five times per week and they would speak to their tenants on a regular basis to figure out as partners how they could get through. That’s why Ryan believes the company has some tenants that have been with the firm for more than 50 years – they value their tenants the same way they do a partner. With all the available space in the market, Sanzari said he knows the company’s relationships and their properties must give tenants a reason to stay.
Alfred Sanzari Enterprises’ oldest tenant, The Print Group, considers themselves part of the family. Founded in 1954 by Leon DeStefan, The Print Group’s close relationship with Alfred Sanzari Enterprises extends back 60 years. When asked why they have stayed for so long, current President Michael DeStefan said, “It has never felt like we were dealing with a company, we always knew we were working with a family. And since they never sold the building, we were confident in that long-term family relationship.”
Sanzari takes care of its family of properties. During the pandemic, its buildings have not been shut down. Sanazri Enterprises did make technological improvements, a program Ryan said he and David started as soon as they learned how COVID-19 was affecting office life.
The company’s operation and engineering teams stepped up sanitization and cleaning protocols, applied self-sanitizing film on high-touch surfaces and reoriented common areas to promote social distancing. HVAC and mechanical protocols were updated to exceed standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and elevator capacity was limited. On-site security staff were coached on the new building procedures. Food and beverage areas were fitted with Plexiglas barriers and hand sanitizers were also installed in multiple areas.
Before the pandemic Sanzari collaborated with a tenant engagement service Better Spaces to promote employees’ personal and professional wellness through full suite of experiential amenities and programming at Glenpointe. Although The Better Spaces service launched in April 2019 at Glenpointe, it has proven an important communication tool as it increased the amount of information being shared during the height of the pandemic, helping to keeping the tenants up to date.
A real estate tech company with a human touch, Better Spaces uses an app to engage the tenant population, which acts as a “key” for tenants to access the amenity space, sign up for classes and programs and book available private rooms. As a leader in tenant amenities and insights, the platform also provides measurable data to landlords and community managers that enables them to tailor programming and amenities in line with demand from each tenant population.
“We consistently look for new ways to ensure that Glenpointe can continue to be one of New Jersey’s premier office destinations,” Ryan said upon the product’s launch. “Our partnership with Better Spaces will not only continue to drive us toward that goal but also give us the opportunity to learn and better respond to the needs of our tenants in real time. The actionable data Better Spaces’ platform provides will allow us to home in on tenant preferences and satisfaction to deliver a truly superior tenant experience.”
And it’s that experience that keeps Sanzari and its tenants/partners in long-term relationships. The vulnerabilities that COVID-19 exposed and the way Sanzari adjusted its businesses to its operations, even better suggests that the company should be able to keep its tenant family intact.
