Commercial Real Estate Profile | Mark Chait

Mark Chait
Director of Florida Leasing, Benderson Development Co.
University Park

Mark Chait has been with Benderson Development Co. for more than 16 years. Having joined the company when it was headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., Chait has been involved in leasing for the past decade and is the firm's primary spokesman. During that period, Benderson has solidified its spot as one of the largest privately held development firms in the U.S. Today, Chait is the company's executive director of leasing. In that capacity, he oversees the execution of lease commitments for Benderson's properties in and around University Town Center, a collection of retail centers whose centerpiece is the $315 million Mall at University Town Center.

The University Town Center corridor has seen tremendous retail growth this cycle, and the area has successfully become its own retail node. Has development there fulfilled Benderson's vision for the area?
It has. The vision is not complete yet, and there's a lot of development to come in future years, but the area has absolutely fulfilled the vision that began in 1998 when Nate Benderson first bought the former outlet center there off University Parkway.