The Lustig Group: A marriage made in leasing heaven
Twelve years ago this month, Justin Lustig and Nicolle Barcia met as new members of the leasing team at DLC Management Corp. in Elmsford, N.Y. They got along great and worked well together — so well that they became a couple and got married.
Today they are partners in The Lustig Group (TLG), a newly formed retail advisory firm rooted in decades of combined experience of principal-side leasing and redevelopment experience. Among the first challenges the New York City-based company has taken the national rollouts of Riko’s Pizza and the Ukrainian bakery Holy Burek.
The pair aims to help create one-of-a-kind retail environments that reflect local culture, attract first-to-market brands, and celebrate the diverse consumer base unique to each development.
“You can’t attack expansion the way you could even a year or two ago,” said Justin. “Retail real estate directors can’t demand 30 feet of frontage anymore. Those days are over. So we try to meet their needs the best we can by making intelligent decisions for them.”
“We don’t just fill spaces — we curate environments that work for the people who build them, operate them, and shop in them,” added Nicolle.
At one new location Mavis was very interested in, no outparcels were available. So the Lustigs convinced their client to take an in-line space in the center — very unusual for a tire retailer with garages.
“We had to do some selling on both sides of the deal to establish that location, but with prime space at a minimum, you have to dig deep and find a way to make the best available position work,” said Justin.
On the development side, TLG is handling the retail leasing for several ground-up mixed-use projects such as Pelham House in the Village of Pelham, N.Y., Briarhouse in downtown Briarcliff Manor, N.Y, and the repositioning of the former Bed Bath & Beyond building in Norwalk, Conn.
After departing from DLC, Justin became the director of big box and anchor leasing at Brookfield and spent four years as VP of leasing at Urban Edge.
Nicolle spent the intervening years as a project and leasing manager at Urbanspace NYC and director of leasing at ASG Equities.
