Peter Ripka, Stephen Preuss Sr. and Mark Kaplan

Teamwork is not just a buzzword at Manhattan-based Ripco.

“Ripco’s success reflects the same resilience and unity the Knicks have shown this season — each team member contributes tirelessly,” founder Peter Ripka said, citing the New York NBA franchise that was making a run at a championship title as of early May. “The more we collaborate, the smarter we become, improving our client services.”

These contributions and improvements relocated Home Depot from 731 Lexington Avenue to 120,000 square feet at the corner of First Avenue and 61st Street, and brought Wegmans to Manhattan — twice: 82,000 square feet at 770 Broadway, and 58,874 square feet at 1932 Broadway.

“Over the past year we continued to invest in growing our company,” Mark Kaplan said, noting Ripco’s expansion of support staff, broker ranks, and investment sales and debt advisory services to become a full-service firm, from retail leasing to capital markets.

These efforts, Kaplan said, translated to substantial growth: a 231.8 percent increase in total capital markets transactions from 2021 to 2023, including 10.6 percent growth from 2022 to 2023. And that’s not all. 

“We’re not just conducting transactions, but shaping the city’s future, delivering over 600 new homes and significant commercial spaces that will invigorate communities and fulfill pressing housing needs,” Stephen Preuss Sr. said.

He’s talking about sales like the $103 million site near LaGuardia Airport (90-10 Ditmars Boulevard and 37-10 and 20 114th Streets) slated to become some 600 housing units plus 250,000 square feet of commercial space. And what Preuss calls a “critical” mixed-use development site in Jamaica, Queens, valued at $49 million.

And it’s not just in New York that the firm has been on a tear; they’ve set up offices in South Florida, and just last month they purchased the Miami-based retail firm Acre. In the last few years the size of Ripco has gone from 63 brokers to more than 150.

These deals and more are the result of a firmwide tactic: collaboration. “This is what sets us apart in the marketplace,” Preuss said. “Our team operates with unity and efficiency that’s simply unmatched, with everyone from our brokers to our owners working together to achieve extraordinary outcomes.”