Longtime real estate veteran Jay Stark has been named to the newly created position of president at commercial and residential property firm Slate Property Group after he spent months coming up with a vision for the firm that wowed its founders.
Stark will oversee New York-based Slate’s investment strategies, capital raising capabilities and help to grow and manage its relationships in the institutional investment community, the firm said Wednesday.
Slate's portfolio spans both new development and redevelopment across market rate and affordable multifamily properties. It has invested more than $6.4 billion in real estate assets, including equity and debt, that over 3,000 multifamily units. Since its inception a decade ago, Slate, which also has a lending arm, has a portfolio of more than 50 investments.
Slate co-founder and principal David Schwartz “and I have known and worked with Jay for years and have always been impressed with his entrepreneurial drive and mastery of the real estate investment and development industry,” Martin Nussbaum, Slate co-founder and principal, said in a statement.
The firm's founders asked Stark to take a few months to “examine and recommend ways to improve every facet of our business,” Nussbaum said. “We were so impressed with his vision for Slate that we asked him to work with us full-time to implement his ideas.”
Stark’s more than 30 years in the industry include previous roles as a transactional real estate lawyer, operator and investment fund manager, Slate said. Most recently, he founded and led Deal Lake Capital, a capital allocation advisory firm focused on special situations including debt restructurings, Slate said.
Prior to forming Deal Lake, he served as chief operating officer of Winter Properties, the real estate investment arm of Standard Industries, a multi-generational owner and operator of properties in the New York tri-state area. Before Winter, he was a founding principal of Latus Partners, a real estate investment manager that focuses on opportunistic and value-add opportunities across the country.
“This is an intriguing and opportune time to join” Slate, Stark said.
He said he will use his experience and relationships in the institutional investor community to help “take Slate to a whole new level” after Schwartz and Nussbaum built "Slate from scratch into what is now one of the biggest players in the multifamily market."
Stark graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of arts degree in economics and English. He earned his law degree from University of Chicago.