Our Company
Lighthouse Living is a vertically integrated Real Estate Development company focused on multi-family projects in Westchester County. We source the properties, design the projects, acquire the approvals, manage the construction, create and apply the marketing plans, and manage the initial lease-up of each project. Lighthouse’s success is due to its core goal of delivering value to the customer. Top of the line finishes combined with contemporary design enables us to deliver a product the people want. Lighthouse prides itself on its attention to its residents and strives to create a higher standard of living in all of our communities.
Our Team
David Mann
President & Founder
David grew up in Great Neck, NY and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999. What seemed like a good decision at the time, David joined the family business in the Garment Center after attending F.I.T. for one year. After spending 9 years in the garment center, David realized not only does he not have any sense of women’s fashion, but also that his true love was real estate development. He left the garment center and enrolled at the real estate school at NYU, called the Schack Institute. School started almost on the day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in 2008 and David proceeded to receive a crash course on what not to do in real estate. In May of 2010, he received a Masters in Real Estate Development and could not find a job in the terrible economy. Left with no other choice and a baby on the way, David founded Lighthouse Living and started his real estate development career on his own. Today, after 14 buildings and one single-family home, David lives in Armonk, NY with his wife Nicole and 2 kids
Aaron Dweck
Principal
Aaron launched his career in real estate in 2003 when he took a part-time position with a Brooklyn-based real estate firm to earn income toward his college tuition. After graduating from Rutgers Business School in 2004 with a B.S. in Marketing he transitioned to a full-time role as Vice President. Aaron’s interest in development, and project management quickly became his sole focus. Over eight years of successfully completing a variety of retail, commercial and residential developments, he exited the company to pursue a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development at Columbia University. Shortly after graduating in 2012, Aaron joined David Mann at Lighthouse Living. Today, Aaron is primarily responsible for the pre-development process, including entitlement and design, and managing the stabilized portfolio.
Aaron and his wife Melanie currently reside in Manhattan, NY.
James Leto
Principal
James began his construction career while still in college in Burlington, VT building dorm room lofts for fellow classmates and remodeling income properties for one of his professors. After graduating with a degree in psychology he remained in Burlington with his then girlfriend and now wife, Angela. Over the next 2 years he worked at ARD, Inc, a firm that focused on international development projects.
Both he and Angela felt the need to move on to a larger city, the first move was to Boston where James worked for a headhunter focused on construction and real estate development jobs. Angela wasn’t feeling it in Boston so she applied for, and was accepted into, the New York City Teaching Fellows program. Not wanting to be apart from her, James moved to Brooklyn with Angela and used the move as an opportunity to continue pursuing his passion of construction and development.
He found an entry level position with Michilli, Inc., a boutique, high end retail contractor based in Manhattan. There he learned all facets of the construction industry. He spent the next 8 years there working in various capacities as an estimator, project manager, and ultimately, the company Operations Manager. During his tenure there the company quadrupled in growth and became a leading builder of high in retail store construction in NYC and across the country.
After the birth of their first child, Jackson, they reluctantly moved to Fairfield County. But luck would have it that Jackson and David’s daughter, Gianna, attended the same school and would ultimately be responsible for David and James meeting up. While Jackson and Gianna were learning the importance of sharing and finger painting, Angela and Nicole were working on a way to have their husbands meet up and work together.
James joined David and Aaron at Lighthouse in 2014 bringing with him his love of construction attention to design and detail. He has managed the development and construction of multiple Lighthouse properties throughout Westchester. When he isn’t searching for the next development site he is usually looking for an excuse to expand the company’s equipment and tool collection. He continues to follow Angela’s lead for all their important life decisions.