Growing up in the Italian Alps, Luca Giovanardi was first on skis at the age of three. But skiing was not the only thing he experienced early in life. Luca’s father was a developer who brought Luca to site visits at a very young age. It was these frequent and experiential snippets that led Luca to uncover his passion for real estate development.
After moving to the US at age 19, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a BS in Business Management, at which time he launched his career following in his father’s footsteps.
Before joining NewMark Merrill, he was Vice President and Director of Project Management at Evergreen Devco, where he established and led a development team responsible for executing the strategic rollout of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores in CA for Tesco, the third-largest retailer in the world. During his time at Evergreen Devco, he managed more than 45 ground-up and remodel developments and completed over 500,000 sf of retail space equating to approximately $100MM in construction costs. He was responsible for the development of the 300,000 sf Goodyear Centerpointe regional shopping center in Goodyear, AZ.
As NewMark Merrill’s Director of Development and Construction, Luca is responsible for the execution of all ground-up and remodel projects nationwide, including due diligence, lease exhibit negotiations, budgeting, entitlements, design, permitting, bidding, value engineering, and construction management. Since joining the company in 2012, he has overseen the development of over 1.25MM sf of retail space and managed over $100MM in construction costs.
Most notably, Luca executed the ground-up development of the 490,000 sf, $90MM Village at the Peaks mall in Longmont, CO, and the redevelopment of the 314,640 sf Crenshaw Imperial Plaza shopping center in Inglewood, CA. The prior renovation of the 180,000 sf Park Plaza On Maine shopping center in Baldwin Park, CA received the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Best Retail Project award in 2014.
With a knack of building strong relationships with municipalities and retailers, and always seeking and identifying value-engineering opportunities, Luca has been instrumental in positioning NewMark Merrill with a strong competitive edge. He’s currently working on hotel and residential development opportunities to enhance the company’s retail centers and expand their capabilities.
In addition to spending time with his wife Katherine and son Leo, Luca still ranks skiing at the top of his favorite activity list, along with travel to anywhere with a white sand beach. During the pandemic, he was drawn to the “socially-distanced” sport of golf and is now on the course every chance he gets.