Sandy Sigal Headshot

NewMark Merrill Companies’ Sandy Sigal Honored by California Business Properties Association (CBPA) for Contributions in the Real Estate Industry

Woodland Hills, CA. (March 16th, 2022) – NewMark Merrill Companies, a Woodland Hills, California-based retail shopping center development company, announced that President and CEO Sandy Sigal is being honored by California Business Properties Association (CBPA) with the Ernest W. Hahn Award during its Awards Dinner on March 24. 

The CBPA Awards Dinner is a chance to recognize the unwavering leadership of individuals and companies dedicated to the commercial industrial retail real estate industry. The Ernest W. Hahn Award honors its founder’s many contributions to the real estate industry.  The award is given to an individual and/or organization that go above and beyond the call of duty to impact legislative, regulatory, or public policy issues on behalf of the real estate industry.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Sigal and NewMark Merrill were very involved with educating policy makers at the National, State, and Local level as to the needs of the retailer and the small businesses. This included discussions with members of Congress on making Paycheck Protection Program most helpful to recipients, outreach to State Legislators in multiple states to modify or eliminate bills that may have had a negative impact on their tenants, as well as a significant outreach effort to educate the public to the importance of supporting local merchants. This included well over 100 interviews, weekly social outreach to all the communities the company has does business in, and encouraging other operators to involve themselves in the political process, often for the first time.

NewMark Merrill is deeply involved in the welfare of the retail industry with a big focus on tenants. In March of 2020, the company launched the NewMark Merrill “Together We Can” program aimed at helping its small businesses secure available funds from a variety of local, State and Federal funding sources including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Overall, the company helped almost 400 tenants collect approximately $24.5 million in assistance.

The company’s outreach included a personal phone call to each and every tenant, company webinars to further explain the process; providing Retail Smart Guys as a free resource to help tenants navigate the application process and answer specific questions for their businesses; and coordinating with a lending partner, A10 Capital, to simplify and personalize the application and funding process. The company has also set up a dedicated website that contains real-time resources to help them with the PPP process.

NewMark Merrill Companies, Inc. under the guidance of Sigal has continued its community support initiative called “Wave of Kindness” where the shopping centers partnered with the local tenants to give back to first responders, emergency room staff, educators, the under housed, and seniors among other groups. To date, the Wave of Kindness events have donated over $500,000 and supported over 13,000 families to members of our shopping center communities.  

“I am greatly appreciative of this honor from CBPA,” said Sandy Sigal, NewMark Merrill Chief Executive Officer. “The opportunity to work with CBPA and ensure policy makers understand the needs of our merchants and legislation that can help support their success was and will continue to be a real difference maker for all of us.  To succeed in our business today we need to stay connected to legislation as it is initiated and make sure we provide early input.  CBPA has been a watchdog for our industry and deserves our support.”.

About NewMark Merrill Companies

NewMark Merrill Companies, Inc. owns and/or manages a portfolio of over 90 shopping centers valued at more than $2 billion. Since 1987, President and Chief Executive Officer Sandy Sigal has led the company of shopping centers representing over 1,800 tenants and 12 million square feet in California, Colorado, and Illinois. The Company has founded and invested heavily in BrightStreet Ventures, its technology company, which is working on leading edge solutions for landlords and tenants to succeed in today’s retail environment. For more information, please visit NewMarkMerrill.com.

About California Business Properties Association

California Business Properties Association (CBPA) is the recognized voice of all aspects of the commercial retail industrial real estate industry in California — representing the largest commercial real estate consortium with over 10,000 industry members. CBPA is the designated legislative advocate for ICSC, the California Chapters of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP), the Building Owners and Managers Association of California (BOMA CAL), the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), and the Association of Commercial Real Estate – Northern and Southern California (ACRE), AIR CRE, and the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED). CBPA is a coalition of the Leading companies and professional associations in the commercial, industrial, and retail real estate sector. Established in 1972, CBPA proudly serves as the legislative and regulatory advocate for property owners, tenants, developers, retailers, contractors, land use attorneys, brokers, and other professionals in the industry by representing their interests at the State Capitol and in Washington, D.C.