Bio
Gary D. Rappaport is Chief Executive Officer of Rappaport, a retail real estate company he founded in 1984. Rappaport provides leasing, tenant representation, management and development services for more than 15.6 million square feet. Rappaport’s portfolio includes more than 60 shopping centers and ground floor retail in some 100 mixed-use properties, both residential and office, located primarily throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Mr. Rappaport is Principal Partner for approximately 4 million square feet of the shopping centers managed by Rappaport.
He has made tremendous contributions to the shopping center industry as former Chairman and Trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and through his service on ICSC’s Executive, Executive Compensation, Nominating, Government Relations, Long Range Planning and PAC committees. Additionally, his demonstration of a well-rounded competency of the industry earned him ICSC’s respected Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP) credential. Mr. Rappaport continues to lobby at the state and federal government levels on many issues important to the shopping center industry.
Mr. Rappaport is committed to sharing his knowledge and experience as an entrepreneur and has authored two editions of “Investing in Retail Properties,” which explains how to structure real estate partnerships for sharing capital appreciation and cash flow. The information contained in the book is the basis for classes he teaches for ICSC’s University of Shopping Centers and as an annual guest instructor at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, American and George Mason Universities as well as the University of Michigan and Georgetown Law Schools.
Shownotes
Welcome to Episode #1 of “Icons of DC Area Real Estate” In considering potential guests that qualify for the title “Icon” one of the first people that came to mind was Gary Rappaport. I’ve known Gary since 1986 and helped him finance three of his properties. My conversation with Gary explores his childhood in Long Island, NY through his college days at Syracuse where he met is ex-wife and then what triggered his interest in real estate through meeting his future father-in-law to his work as a home builder and finally into the retail real estate industry via his father-in-law’s business eventually into his own enterprise. He discusses:
- His father’s strong influence in his business and life philosophies with a strong work ethic and the priorities of Family, Business, and Giving Back (1/3, 1/3, 1/3) (33:00). His father told him: “Gary, not only should you strive to be a good businessman, but first strive to be a good man.” (35:00) (1:11:00)
- What he learned about retail properties and entrepreneurial real estate at Combined Properties, his ex father-in-law’s company (16:00)
- His first acquisition, a $1,500,000 shopping center deal, and how he structured it with only $17,500 of his own capital (18:00)
- How he built his company from its humble origins (24:00)
- His investment philosophy including his preference for acquiring existing property instead of developing property and his stated intention not to sell any property (26:00)
- His opinion of the retail market today and the influences of the internet and how both bricks and mortar and online retail complement each other (49:00)
- Why he looks at both institutional and high net worth investors for his partnerships and his philosophy of holding and recapitalizing instead of selling property. (42:00)
- His involvement in Skyland, a large mixed use project in Southeast Washington, DC which he won in an RFP with the District Government in 2001 and has only begun construction in the past year. He explains the odyssey he has traveled and why it means so much to him that he stayed involved. (1:12:00)
- How he responds to “If you had a billboard you could post for millions to see, what would it say?” His response is also my inspiration for this podcast. (1:20:00)
Transcript
Links
To learn more about the Rappaport Companies and Gary:
Corporate Website: https://www.rappaportco.com
Rappaport Linkedin Page: https://linkedin.com/company/the-rappaport-companies
Investor Page: https://rappaportco.com/investor-page/
“Investing In Retail Properties” Book: https://rappaport.sharefile.com/share/view/s7dffd2da490469a9
Gary’s Direct Email Address: gdr@rappaportco.com
