Larken Associates President and CEO David Gardner Receives 2025 NJBIZ Icon Award for His Leadership in the Residential and Commercial Real Estate Industry
Larken Associates, a regional leader in real estate building, development and management, is proud to announce that President and CEO David Gardner was named a 2025 NJBIZ Icon at the ninth annual NJBIZ Icon Awards Ceremony on May 20th at The Marigold in Somerset, New Jersey.
Held annually, the NJBIZ Icon Awards celebrate business leaders for their notable success and demonstration of strong leadership both within and outside of their chosen fields.
Being named an NJBIZ Icon alongside many of New Jersey’s most distinguished leaders is a tremendous honor. However, this recognition would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our entire team at Larken Associates. I look forward to building on all of our success and continuing to create great spaces for people to live and work.
Since joining Larken Associates in 1985, Gardner has spearheaded the firm’s transformation from a small single-family home building firm to one of the Northeast’s most prominent commercial and residential real estate companies with over 165 employees. As the company celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025, Larken Associates’ portfolio includes approximately 3,000 owned and managed residential units and about four million square feet of commercial spaces across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Gardner’s contributions have been widely recognized within the commercial real estate sector, having earned a spot on the NJBIZ Commercial Real Estate Power List for five consecutive years. His ability to adapt to market trends and anticipate industry shifts has continued to position Larken Associates as a resilient and forward-thinking company with a workplace culture rooted in integrity, innovation and collaboration.
Beyond his business acumen, Gardner is deeply committed to giving back to communities in need. One of his most impactful charitable endeavors is his support of From Houses to Homes, a nonprofit dedicated to providing impoverished indigenous Guatemalan families with sustainable housing, education and access to healthcare. An avid supporter of the organization for over a decade, Gardner has personally made more than 15 trips to the nation to help construct homes and deliver essential supplies to those in need. In 2019, Gardner invited Larken Associates employees to get involved and the company has since completed six mission trips to the nation.
Lenny Tartamella, Chief Operating Officer at Larken Associates, added, “David’s not just a visionary and accomplished business leader, but an all-around great human being. This recognition is very well deserved and a testament to the lasting impact he has made over the course of his career. I know I speak for our entire team at Larken Associates when I say how proud we are of David for all that he has accomplished.”
About Larken Associates
Larken Associates is a regional leader in real estate building, development and management. Leveraging 60 years of experience, they are dedicated to bringing great spaces to live and work to life through a long-term ownership strategy and full suite of in-house capabilities. With a diverse commercial portfolio consisting of nearly four million square feet and 1,000 tenants across office, industrial, retail and mixed-use and approximately 2,800 owned and managed residential units across 20 unique communities with another 1,500 in the development pipeline, Larken Associates is deeply committed to the communities in which they work as well as the tenants and residents who call their buildings home. To learn more about Larken Associates, please visit us at https://www.larkenassociates.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
