KEVIN NAPOLI

Founder, LENA Group

The LENA group of businesses began in 2008 when Kevin Napoli and Mark Levy founded LENA Group Inc., a boutique real estate investment and development firm focused on infill projects and urban renewal. With the development of City Market South beginning in 2013 and Mark’s departure to oversee the City Market of Los Angeles portfolio, Kevin continued to expand LENA to include LENA Construction, a full-service, general contractor specializing in affordable, multi-family housing. In 2015 Kevin partnered with Chef Steve Samson and his wife and business partner, Dina, to develop Rossoblu, an acclaimed regional Italian restaurant at City Market South. Kevin and the Samsons later expanded their partnership to create Superfine Pizza, the first location of which is also at City Market South.

Kevin has a particular passion for the redevelopment of underutilized urban land as well as the reinterpretation of historic sites into elevated work and living space. Over his career he has been instrumental in the development and construction of billions of dollars of infill projects throughout Southern California and abroad.

 

DISCIPLINE

To us, discipline goes beyond budgeting and due diligence. It’s the rigor of our work that enables us to reach our goals. We keep our attention on the market, continually interpreting and applying market insights to everything we do. We determine the right metrics – and then adhere to them as we evaluate design, potential strategic partners and financing strategies. Taking this reality-based investment approach allows us to maximize quality, functionality and value. It’s this mindset, matched with a set of financial capabilities that together generate the highest and best use for a site – which is ultimately reflected in the return.

PARTNERSHIP

Every project is specific, and building the right team on every project is critical to its success. The people who surround us, personally and professionally, are a reflection of who we are and what we value. We are deliberate in our partner choices, and commit with confidence when we find the right team and fit. We value integrity, accountability and transparency in our projects and in our partners.

DESIGN

Our vision of place revolves increasingly around human scale. We create places designed to make people want to stay in them. Each person’s experience is impacted by everything around them – from the height of a light fixture or ceiling to the width of a sidewalk. We look at outdoor space, differentiation, accessibility and comfort. We look for where we can create wonder, and still have optimal usability and utility. We consider these filters as we develop the design, vision and use, and as we evaluate the budget and financing to allow the best design to be realized. This approach maximizes quality, functionality and value in every project.

  • Park 101 Board Member: Park 101 is a visionary urban design solution to cap the 101 FWY in Downtown Los Angeles – reconnecting the city’s historic core, north of the freeway, with the civic, cultural, and financial cores of modern Los Angeles to the south.
  • Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust Advisory Committee member: A non-profit working to create and maintain parks and gardens in underserved areas of Los Angeles.
  • B.A. Cum Laude, Landscape Architecture, University of California at Berkeley
  • MBA, UCLA Anderson School of Management