Adam America Real Estate Hires David Brickman as CEO

Adam America Real Estate has a new CEO. 

The New York-based multifamily development and investment firm announced Wednesday that it has hired David Brickman as CEO. Brickman will quarterback the firm’s long-term growth strategy and its investment and development platforms. 

Brickman comes over from Onex Real Estate Partners and Skyview Companies, where he served as a partner at each firm over the last 15 years. 

Brickman told Commercial Observer that he has known the principals at Adam America, primarily Dvir Cohen Hoshen, for several years, and the parties began discussions a few months ago about bringing him onboard.  

“I was finishing up a project in Florida, they were wrapping up a few projects and looking for a management change with new leadership, they reached out, and the rest is history,” he said.

Brickman added, “There’s a comfort level with the founders and partners that I had, and I was very impressed with their pipeline and track record.” 

Adam America Real Estate was founded in 2009 and has developed more than 5,750 residential units in the last 17 years. The firm currently has a portfolio valued at $4.2 billion, with an additional 1,600 units being developed in its pipeline, which encompasses national multifamily and condominiums, as well as student housing and build-to-rent (BTR) projects.

Brickman believes the firm has established itself in multifamily and condos and is poised to take further hold of the student housing and BTR subsectors, bringing the firm into a third phase of its evolution.  

“We’re really experts in living-sector development, and where we have been successful is developing condos and [multifamily] for two decades,” he explained. “Now over the last five years, we’ve leaned into student housing and build-to-rent development, we’ve successfully executed those, and our vision for our company going forward is leaning into those new sectors.”

Major deals the firm has been involved in over the last six months include executing a $109 million recapitalization of 409 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; selling 595 and 577 Baltic Street in Brooklyn to Hubb NYC for $54 million; and acquiring a site adjacent to the University of Texas at Austin to build a $200 million student housing facility. 

“We’re very bullish on where the multifamily business is over the next few years,” said Brickman. “We feel supply has peaked and demand has been historically strong, and we see, in the right locations, a real opportunity over the next few years with a smaller supply pipeline.” 

Brickman has developed in excess of 5 million square feet of mixed-use and residential projects during his 22-year career. He earned a master’s degree in real estate finance and investment from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate in 2004 and a bachelor’s in economics from Brandeis University in 2002. 

“David is a dynamic and highly respected leader who brings a unique combination of institutional investment expertise and hands-on development experience,” said Omri Sachs, co-founder of Adam America Real Estate. 

Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com.