Gary D. Rappaport

Gary D. Rappaport, CRRP, CRX, CMD, CSM, CLS, CDP is chief executive officer of RAPPAPORT, a retail real estate company he founded in 1984. RAPPAPORT, stands among the shopping center industry’s preeminent private owners and operators of open-air centers. It provides leasing, tenant representation, management, and development services for more than fifteen million square feet. RAPPAPORT’s portfolio includes more than seventy-five shopping centers and ground floor retail in more than one hundred mixed-use properties, both residential and office, located primarily throughout the mid-Atlantic region. The company also represents more than seventy-five retail brands for leasing and tenant representation in the Washington, DC, market. Mr. Rappaport is a principal partner in approximately 5.5 million square feet of the shopping centers managed by RAPPAPORT. A former International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) trustee and chairman of the board of trustees, Mr. Rappaport is the only ICSC chairman to hold all six ICSC professional designations: Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP), Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX), Certified Marketing Director (CMD), Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM), Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS), and Certified Development, Design & Construction Professional (CDP), all of which he acquired through rigorous training and standardized testing. He has served on ICSC’s executive committee, executive compensation committee, nominating committee, government relations committee, long-range planning committee, and political action committee. ICSC, known for innovating commerce, serving communities is the member organization for the marketplaces industry advancement since its inception in 1957. ICSC promotes and elevates the marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, play, and gather as foundational and vital ingredients of communities and economies. Mr. Rappaport actively lobbies and advocates on a volunteer basis at the state and federal government levels on many issues important to the shopping center industry. Mr. Rappaport has demonstrated his commitment to sharing his knowledge and experience as an entrepreneur. He authored the first, second, and third editions of Investing in Retail Properties, which explain how to structure real estate partnerships for sharing capital appreciation and cash flow and promotes entrepreneurism in the shopping center industry. Mr. Rappaport is a guest lecturer and regularly teaches classes at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, American University, George Mason University, and Syracuse University (where he received his bachelor’s degree). He also teaches to law school students at the University of Michigan Law School and Georgetown University Law Center, where he educates students on the subject covered in this book. He has also taught this subject for ICSC in many different venues and programs over many years including ICSC University of Shopping Centers, formerly held at the campuses of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate.