Our History

The Lightstone Group was founded by Chairman David Lichtenstein, a first-generation entrepreneur.

His first investment was a two-family house purchased for $89,000 in 1986 with a down payment from his savings and his credit cards. Two years later, when the Lightstone Group was founded, he owned three apartment buildings.

In its first decade, Lightstone focused on multifamily residential properties. The firm transitioned to retail with the purchase of Prime Outlets, a chain of outlet malls, in 2003 when we came to view the multifamily market as overpriced. When the retail market then became “tight,” we shifted our investment strategy once again -- this time to industrial. In 2005, we also gained a significant foothold in the office market with the purchase of a portfolio of office buildings located primarily in the Chicago area. While the focus of our investment activities may vary in terms of asset class, the Lightstone Group’s investment strategy has always been consistent: we are always looking for properties whose prices do not reflect their intrinsic value.