As New Jersey developers and investors face the most challenging financing environment in a generation, the state’s leading commercial real estate organization is bringing together a “war room” of experts to reveal how deals are actually getting to the finish line in 2026.
NAIOP New Jersey (The Commercial Real Estate Development Association) announced it will host a high-level dinner program, “Structuring Success: Real Deals, Real Capital,” on April 23, at the Delta Hotel Woodbridge.
The program arrives at a critical juncture for the Garden State’s skyline. After two years of high interest rates and cautious lending, the “playbook” for real estate investment has been rewritten. Rather than theoretical projections, the panel will focus on real, recently closed transactions, deconstructing the creative math and grit required to move a project from concept to closing.
“With higher interest rates and a rapidly evolving capital markets landscape, even the most experienced developers and investors have been tested,” the association noted in its program announcement.
Key areas of exploration will include:
- Equity Sources: Identifying where the dry powder is located in 2026 and what today’s investors are demanding in exchange for their capital.
- Creative Structuring: How sponsors are using innovative “gap” financing and debt layering to bridge valuation mismatches.
- The Investor Appetite: A look at which asset classes—from logistics to multi-family—are still commanding premium attention.
The discussion will be moderated by Michael P. Affuso, president and CEO of the New Jersey Bankers Association, providing a direct line of sight into the state’s institutional lending climate.
He will be joined by a diverse group of industry leaders who are currently active in the New Jersey market:
- Wesley Wilcox, Partner at G.S. Wilcox & Co. (specializing in mortgage banking).
- Brian Dobbins, Senior Vice President at OceanFirst Bank N.A. (providing the regional bank perspective).
- Jesse Harty, Head of Logistics at CBRE Investment Management (offering insight into the state’s dominant industrial sector).
Event Logistics for the CRE Community
The program is designed for maximum networking, a vital component for New Jersey’s tightly-knit real estate community as they seek new partners in a restricted capital environment.
- When: Thursday, April 23, 2026
- Timeline: Registration and networking begin at 5:00 p.m.; Dinner program starts at 6:00 p.m.
- Where: Delta Hotel Woodbridge, 515 US Highway 1, South Iselin, NJ 08830.
As the industry looks toward the second half of 2026, the insights shared in Iselin may serve as the blueprint for the next wave of development across the Jersey Gold Coast and the state’s suburban corridors.
