First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey announced that Robert S. Hekemian has advised the trust of his election to step down as chairman, chief executive officer and a trustee of the trust, effective upon the conclusion of the trust's 2018 annual meeting of shareholders to be held in April 2018. Mr. Hekemian will continue to serve the trust in a consulting capacity thereafter. Robert S. Hekemian has served as an executive officer of the Trust for 36 years, serving as the president of the trust from 1981 to 1991 and as the chairman and chief executive officer of the trust since 1991, and he has served as a trustee for 37 years, since 1980.

Mr. Hekemian has also served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Hekemian & Co. Inc., the trust's managing agent, since 1983. The board of trustees named Robert S. Hekemian, Jr., a trustee of the trust and president and chief operating officer of Hekemian & Co.

Inc., to succeed Robert S. Hekemian as chief executive officer of the trust, and the board named Ronald J. Artinian, a trustee of the trust and the chairman of the audit committee of the board, to succeed Mr. Hekemian as chairman of the board. Robert S. Hekemian, Jr.'s appointment as chief executive officer and Ronald J. Artinian's appointment as chairman will each be effective at the conclusion of the trust's 2018 annual meeting. Ronald J. Artinian worked in the financial services industry for 26 years, including with Smith Barney Inc. from 1989 to 1998, where he held positions as a managing director and national sales manager.

Mr. Artinian joined the board of The Reserve, in 2007, and served as its lead independent director from March 2009 through December 2016.