Realty Associates history

Two early brokerages listed at Business History had begun operations as early as 1875.

By 1879, the second had established his firm as a manager, developer, and seller of Northern California real estate.

The connection of the Mack family to real estate dated back to 1896 when members became involved in New York demolition as well as residential and industrial construction.

In 1936, grandfather Moses Gilbert obtained the 11 Tetlow Street building on a foreclosure from Home Savings Bank of Brookline, Mass.

Since 1937, DiLeo Realty Associates successfully provided its clients with the highest standards of professionalism and performance.

1949: Cali Associates is formed.

1957: Robert Martin Company is established.

Creation of REITs: 1960

The foundation on which Lewis Realty Associates, Inc. was built began in 1962 when the late Evelyn Mayrand of Topsail Beach opened Mayrand Real Estate.

After Moses' passing in 1965, father Richard Gilbert inherited the Tetlow Street and Palace Road properties and bought out the shares that his grandmother and uncle had retained.

Then, in 1966, Richard leveraged the properties in order to purchase buildings at 24 and 28 Westland Avenue.

In 1969 Cali began constructing office properties, which at the time were in great demand in the area.

Richard's son Paul Gilbert formed Gilbert Realty Trust in 1976 and purchased the buildings at 137 and 143 Park Drive.

Since 1977, ERA Real Estate has been a national sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, helping give new hope to adults and children living with neuromuscular disease.

On such a forward-thinking foundation, the ERA® system's growth was dramatic, with member brokers in all 50 states by 1979.

Hersh had been a partner with Mack since 1982.

The next great ERA® advance in the United States came in 1985, when ERA Real Estate was purchased by IMB Capital, further enhancing the stature of the brand.

Despite these major changes in law, REITs were still not embraced as investment options in the late 1980s, as banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and foreign investors (in particular, the Japanese) provided the lion's share of real estate investment funds. It was the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that began to change the nature of real estate investment.

Mayrand took in a partner to the business in 1987; Elizabeth Peggy Lewis.

In 1988, Peggy bought Mr.

Mayrands remaining shares of the company and in 1992 changed the name to Lewis Realty Associates, Inc.

Cali, despite a 1993 loss of $1 million, had typically strong cash flow and was not about to lose any of its properties.

To also serve customers through the pioneering medium of the Internet, in 1994 ERA Real Estate became the first company of its kind to post all listings online, through an alliance with listings publisher Homes & Land.

One of the few REITs in the country to focus on suburban office buildings, the trust spent $200 million buying properties over an 18-month span beginning in 1995.

In 1996, ERA Real Estate was acquired by HFS Incorporated, and became ERA Franchise Systems, Inc.

Keeping in step with change, the company welcomed Peter Burgdorff as its new President & CEO. Then in 1997, the company updated its image, while preserving its proven strategies and services, with a new logo and marketing look.

The trust had not acquired any new properties since September 1998, when a Connecticut deal had increased its portfolio to 253 properties totaling 28 million square feet in 12 states.

In March 1999 Mack-Cali formed a joint venture with SJP Properties of Parsippany, New Jersey, to construct two office buildings.

Mack-Cali indicated that it would refocus on a regional strategy, announcing in November 2000 that it intended to sell $600 million of its Southwestern portfolio within the next two years.

In March 2001 it announced it would sell the 20 office buildings it owned in Colorado.

The year 2006 marked a bright spot in ERA Real Estate's history as the start of a new era of opportunities and growth.