No. 6: Jon Hanson and Jimmy Hanson

Jon Hanson, the founder and chairman of The Hampshire Cos., is one of the most well-known developers in the state. Under the Bergen County native’s leadership Hampshire helped bring to fruition two of New Jersey’s largest developments, American Dream Mall and the Atlantic City Gateway Redevelopment project. But the firm is much more.

In the past, Hanson’s negotiations brought the New York Jets and New Jersey Devils to the Meadowlands, and he served in an advisory role under Gov. Chris Christie. In 2020, Hampshire has been proceeding with a number of high-profile projects despite the pandemic. Earlier this year, the firm formed a joint venture with Woodmont Properties to redevelop the former site of the Bergen Record in Hackensack. Hampshire is also nearing completion of the 389 Main multifamily building in Hackensack.

Back in January, Hampshire and Hackensack Meridian Health also celebrated the opening for the Mountainside Medical Office Building on the site of Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair/ Glen Ridge. Since the beginning of this year, Hampshire also completed eight self-storage facilities across the eastern U.S. with a high-profile project in Elizabeth, to transform their former National Guard armory.

Hampshire has grown into one of the nation’s leading privately held, fully integrated real estate firms and investment fund managers with over $2.4 billion in assets currently under management and a development pipeline throughout the East Coast across the multifamily, self-storage, industrial, and retail sectors exceeding $1.2 billion.

Jimmy Hanson represents the second generation of Hanson family leadership at Hampshire. Serving as president and CEO since 2004, Hanson has been a driving force in levering the firm’s decades of real estate development experience to become a prominent real estate investment fund manager attracting investors both nationally and globally, having raised and deployed over $1.5 billion in equity over that span. He currently oversees the firm’s operational and investment activities.