No. 9: Ed Russo

The president and chief of executive officer Russo Development is regarded as a top developer in all of the asset classes in which he and his firm are involved, including data centers, industrial, multifamily and mixed-use projects. In the process Russo transformed the business his father founded in 1969 into one of the state’s most active development companies.

While his family was known for industrial projects, he and his firm have delivered 3,000 units in Harrison, Union, Garfield and Kearny. Projects completed under his tenure include over 2 million square feet of mission critical space for various clients including JP Morgan Chase, NYSE Euronext, Credit Suisse, and Bloomberg. He has also overseen the development of built-to-suit industrial facilities for various clients including the Pepsi Bottling Group, Macy’s, and HD Smith.

Russo was selected to develop the 718-acre Kingsland Meadowlands site spanning the municipalities of Lyndhurst, Rutherford and North Arlington. Plans include up to six buildings with the ability to deliver a single building totaling more than 1,200,000 square feet in an industrial/warehouse submarket that is nearly fully occupied and rarely offers floorplates of more than 250,000 square feet. And the former site of The Record newspaper at 150 River St. in Hackensack was Russo Development’s first Opportunity Zone investment. The partnership of Russo Development, The Hampshire Cos. and the Borg Family’s Fourth Edition Inc. Is redeveloping the site into 650 apartments and 18,000 square feet of retail.