Each year, Midwest Real Estate News elects a new class to its Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Here is a look at the busy career of one of our latest inductees, Jay R. Lerner, president of Omaha, Nebraska-based The Lerner Company.
A true legend? You can claim that title when you’ve logged more than 50 years in the commercial real estate industry. And Jay R. Lerner, president of Omaha’s The Lerner Company, has done this, forging a career that has lasted more than five decades.
It’s been an especially successful career, too. Lerner, a shopping center specialist, has been involved in the development, leasing and management of more than 70 shopping centers and mixed-use developments in a six-state area.
Lerner can trace his involvement in shopping centers to 1973. The Lerner Company opened its first project in 1985. Today, The Lerner Company has developed nearly 3.45 million square feet, and its portfolio includes shopping centers in Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin.
What’s behind this success? Lerner points to the people with whom he works.
“I am successful because of the quality of people I surround myself with, from the partnerships and relationships in the industry that I have formed and, most importantly, my partner, Sal Carta, and all of my associates at The Lerner Company,” Lerner said. “The Lerner Company was founded on the principles of trust and teamwork to provide our clients with a quality, experienced approach required to achieve their goals. A good team is the key to success.”
Lerner and his company have made an especially big impact in the Omaha area. The Lerner Company’s projects here include West Village Pointe, a 145-acre mixed-use development; Shadow Lake Town Center, an 870,000-square-foot regional center; Settler’s Creek, a 250,000-square-foot retail center; and Eagle Run, a 412,000-square-foot regional shopping center.
The Lerner Company’s brokerage services are making an impact in the Omaha region, too, representing an extensive portfolio of retail space and providing tenant representation services to more than 50 national retail chains. These big-name clients include Top Golf, Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Five Below, Verizon and Chick-Fil-A.
Despite these success stories, Lerner and his company have faced challenges. That’s to be expected for someone who’s worked in commercial real estate for more than 50 years.
The key, though, is that Lerner and his company have faced these challenges and overcome them.
“The greatest challenges I have faced are not from specific projects, but from the country and world,” Lerner said. “A global pandemic, inflation, unemployment, they all create many obstacles such as financial development challenges, supply chain issues and more. The other major challenge is that time kills deals.”
Lerner, though, has never let these challenges dampen his passion for both commercial real estate and for providing the best results for his clients. As he views it, working through these challenges is what a successful CRE professional must do.
“I enjoy working through all the challenges and issues that come with every project to ensure a satisfactory outcome for all parties involved,” Lerner said.
And when this industry veteran isn’t working? He is an avid cyclist and a collector of unique and rare cigars.