Prime Retail

The Lightstone Group

Type	Private
Industry	Real estate, Private equity
Founded	1988
Founder	David Lichtenstein
Headquarters	New York, New York, United States
Products	Multifamily, Office, Industrial, Hotel, Retail
Number of employees	450+
Website	www.lightstonegroup.com

The Lightstone Group is a privately held real estate investment company which owns and operates a diversified portfolio of multifamily, office, industrial, hotel and retail properties. Lightstone has invested directly in individual real estate assets and in real estate operating companies. The company was founded by David Lichtenstein in 1988.

The company's portfolio of real estate properties spans 20 U.S. states and includes more than 11,000 multifamily units and approximately 9 million square feet of commercial space in the office, industrial, hotel and retail sectors.

The Lightstone Group has more than 450 employees and is headquartered in New York City with regional offices in New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois.

The Lightstone Group operates through a group of subsidiaries and investment vehicles, and it owns approximately 300 retail, office industrial and residential properties in 20 states. The company's mall holdings are managed by Paragon Outlets in Baltimore, Md. The residential properties are managed in the Lakewood, NJ, office by The Lightstone Group. The company's New York City developments are managed from its New York, N.Y., headquarters.

In 2006, Lightstone group debuted a $300 million real-estate investment trust (REIT), which allowed Lightstone to raise money from outside investors for the first time. The non-traded Lightstone Value Plus REIT invested in a mix of office, retail and other commercial properties, and by the end of 2009 was fully invested in a total of 30 properties. By the end of 2011, Lightstone Value Plus I was the 18th largest non-traded U.S. REIT and had generated a dividend stream of 7%. According to the fund's 2011 annual report filed with the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission], Lightstone Value Plus I reported net asset value (NAV) was $10.65 per share. In the summer of 2010, the company went to market again offering its second, non-traded REIT (Lightstone Value Plus II), which is following a similar investment strategy to its debut fund, committing capital to the hospitality, retail, multi-family and commercial segments, according to documents filed with the SEC. The Lightstone Group is a significant investor in the fund, committing 10% of the capital raised by the REIT and paying 100% of the front-end costs of the offering. By December 2011, LVPII had invested in several properties, including the Crowne Plaza Boston hotel, Saxon Hall Rego Park, TownePlace New Orleans Metairie hotel in New Orleans.

Beacon Management is a Lightstone subsidiary, which manages the company's residential apartment business. The division was recently reorganized bringing all of Lightstone’s apartment business, which comprises roughly a third of the overall company, under one umbrella.