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Edward McKenzie

Entrepreneurship & Real Estate Development

A Bit About Edward McKenzie

Edward P. McKenzie is the Owner and President of both EMCO Management, LLC, located in the Virgin Islands, and EMCO Management USA, LLC, located in Miami, FL,  a real estate company managing more than 100,000 s.f. of retail, office, parking, and self-storage, property in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 

Since 2001, Edward P. McKenzie has been the sole owner of EMCO Management, LLC, a real estate development and management firm located in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In that capacity Edward has developed commercial retail, self storage and industrial properties in St. Thomas and St. John. He has formulated a unique method of renting up his retail properties which has created by substantial profits for his real estate business while also generating off balance sheet profits in other endeavors. Edward continued his management of EMCO while creating and developing other profitable businesses, most of which he liquidated very profitably.

From 2009-2014, Edward was the Managing Director, Co-Owner, and Senior Executive Officer of Solar Systems, LLC. Solar Systems was a solar photovoltaic and thermal engineering company doing business in the US Virgin Islands. Under Ed’s guidance, the company grew from a start-up to $4mm in sales with 20 employees before he sold it.

In 2021 Edward P. McKenzie expanded his business operations to Florida, opening EMCO Management USA, LLC. With that company, he has acquired prime shopping centers, office complexes and commercially-zoned land in south, central and southwest Florida. 

Before forming EMCO Management, LLC, Edward P. McKenzie was a corporate and transactional attorney and Partner at Graham Curtin and Sheridan (1997-2001) in Morristown, NJ; Real Estate and Corporate Transactional Department Chair and Partner at Bressler, Amery & Ross (1992-1997) in Florham Park, NJ; Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Realvest Group (1987-1992) in Hudson County, NJ; Vice President of Thomas McKinnon Securities, Inc., New York, NY (1985-87); Assistant Vice President at Citicorp Investment Bank (1984-85) in New York, NY; and Associate at Rogers & Wells (1982-84) in New York, NY.

Simultaneous with his ownership of EMCO, Ed has developed numerous other businesses, not limited to Solar Systems, LLC. Ed built various food and beverage establishments over the years, including Rumbalaya Caribbean Grill, Joe’s Rum Hut, Captain’s Cabin, Knotheads, Dizzy D’s Pizzeria, and Spyglass Restaurant. Ed also built retail businesses including Silver Iguana and Palmetto Jewelers. A significant business Ed built was Solar Systems, as mentioned above.

Ed also constructed Courtyard Self Storage, a thriving self storage facility that he has expanded three times since its original construction in 2007. In addition, Ed established Sunshine Parking and Cassi Hill East Retail Center in St. Thomas, as well as each of Wharfside Village Shopping Center and Wharfside Landing in St. John, and today owns and manages, through EMCO, Wilton Station Shops (Wilton Manors, FL), Lakeside Plaza (Avon Park, FL) and Olympia Plaza (Punta Gorda, FL).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to his work, Edward McKenzie loves spending time with his two sons traveling and exploring the world. His youngest is a world class sailor with global success, having represented the US Virgin Islands in numerous continental and world championships, including the Youth Olympic Gams in Nanjing, China, in 2015. His offshore sailing team at Fordham University won the collegiate national championship in 2019. His oldest son graduated from NYU and is a successful business consultant and executive recruiter in New York City and Los Angeles, CA.

A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center with a concentration in commercial, tax, finance, securities, corporate, and real estate, Ed’s background in real estate law allowed him to hit the ground running when he decided to follow the call to entrepreneurship, something he’s worked to capitalize on ever since.

Prior to Georgetown, Ed received his undergraduate degree from American University, Wshington, D.C., with a B.A. in Political Science.

Interested in getting some good insights into real estate development and entrepreneurship? Be sure to check out this blog as Ed shares some tips and tricks from what he’s learned along the way.

For even more, be sure to follow Edward McKenzie online and stay up to date with the latest insights and updates.