ABOUT US
The Crest Group focuses on the development of property for residential, commercial, retail and industrial uses.
Since our inception in 2000, The Crest Group has focused on growth, development and progression. With our unique structure as a multi-service organization, we offer extraordinary benefits and synergies. Every venture we take on fits our vision of success and progress, with the goal of adding value at every turn. With an unmatched commitment to quality and innovation as the foundation for our success, we plan to carry out that very same pattern well into the foreseeable future.
The Crest Group is a real estate management and development firm specializing in property management for residential, office, retail, industrial and hospitality. With a long and proud tradition of developing desirable properties, we continue to attract and retain a distinguished list of office, retail, and industrial tenants.
With our initial success in the residential housing market, The Crest Group applied its progressive management and development techniques to other sectors in the market, expanding into office, retail, hospitality, and industrial development. Today, our roster of tenants includes well-known national chains, respected local retailers, industry leaders in healthcare, and hospitality.
The Crest Group is driven to take on new challenges, while focusing on creating and preserving value. As a strategic organization with broad horizons, we have expanded into private equity, with investments nationwide, providing services for business interested in seeking management expertise and capital to grow their companies. We specialize in transaction values between $5 and $20 million, allowing us to focus on small to mid-sized companies seeking growth and capital. Our mission is aligned with each client’s vision for success, and our goal is to empower our clients to enable them to realize their full potential value.
Our most valuable assets are the highly respected relationships we have developed in the past 20 years. Our success relies on our relationships with our neighbors, vendors, service providers, and in our professional relationships with municipalities and financial institutions. Most importantly, a vital component of our achievements starts with our team: our trusted and seasoned employees are the hallmark of our success.
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
ENRICO P. SCARDA
Enrico Scarda has had a passion for real estate his whole life and his dedication to the industry is clearly reflected in the growth and success of The Crest Group. Founded in 2000 with only a few employees, it was a dynamic startup from the beginning: leveraging his own capital and reinvesting into the business from the start. With his forward-thinking and ambitious leadership, and his ability to identify value and opportunity, he has assembled a professional and effective team, with over 300 managers and employees. Today, The Crest Group is comprised of three divisions: a fully integrated Management/ Development division, a Hospitality division, and a boutique Private Equity division.
As a national Firm, The Crest Group has over $500 million of assets under management. Enrico oversees all aspects of management from conception to completion. While he practices a hands-on management approach, he focuses on sourcing and structuring new acquisitions, capitalization, and disposition.
His education includes his Juris Doctorate Degree from New York Law, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business. As a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association, Long Island Builders Institute, Port Jefferson Lions Club and Long Island Heart Association, he is integrated in the community he works in. He believes that he owes his success to the valuable relationships he has developed with his team and employees, as well as his connections to the communities he serves.
DANIEL SCARDA
Chief Operating Officer
Daniel (Danny) Scarda has been on the construction and development side of the real estate world for over 20 years. He operates a successful development division with approximately 150 employees. He has completed several significant projects in the multifamily, commercial, and industrial sectors which he has developed from the ground up as well as rehabilitated and repositioned properties with great success. With his extensive experience in the New York Boroughs and Long Island. His expertise extends to the private sector as well as municipalities (MTA and NYC SCA). He prides himself on the quality control and efficiency he provided for each project. In addition, Danny’s acumen and a keen eye for job oversight and cost-effective purchasing greatly contributed to our development success.
MARILYN PRICE
General Counsel
Marilyn Price is a highly skilled legal professional who specializes in commercial and residential real estate. She is a 25-year veteran of one of the largest and well-respected firms on Long Island, Certilman Balin. While at Certilman, Marilyn was the real estate transactional partner handling all matters on a national basis from acquisitions to all forms of financing and dispositions. Marilyn has worked with The Crest Group for many years but joined the company as in-house counsel in 2014. A recognized leader in her field, she was named by Long Island Business News as one of the “Top 50 Women on Long Island” in 2000, 2007 and 2011 at which time she had the distinction of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. In 2001 she was named by The March of Dimes as one if its Women of Distinction in addition to being listed in Strathmore’s Who’s Who as a leader in the legal profession, the Nationwide Register’s Top 50 Professional Women and Marquis Who’s Who of American Women; and in 2003 she was named one of “Long Island’s Most Influential Women” by LIBN. Marilyn has also achieved the highest professional rating by Martindale Hubbell of AV, indicative of her high ethical standards and professional ability. Marilyn is admitted to practice in the state of New York; the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York; U.S. Supreme Court; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.
CHRISSANDRA PASSAFIUME
Corporate Controller
Chrissandra Passafiume has been in the Hospitality and Real Estate field more than 30 years. Chrissy started as a staff accountant and worked her way up to Corporate Controller of The Crest Group. Her expertise and experience include accounting management, cash management, financial analysis, forecasting, budgeting, cost reductions, technology integration, efficiency improvements as well as regulatory compliance. She is highly skilled in various accounting and operational software which enables The Crest Group to excel seamlessly into new ventures. Chrissy graduated from St. Joseph’s College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance.
DANIEL SCARDA
Director of Corporate Finance
Daniel Scarda is a graduate of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business where he majored in Finance. He began his career at The Crest Group as an intern during his summers throughout his high school career and went on to work as a strategic analyst during his college years at BNB Bank and BMO’s Investment Bank. Before joining The Crest Group, Daniel worked at Blackstone in their Real Estate Asset Management Group where he focused across asset classes in their US portfolio. Daniel currently serves as a Board Member of Georgetown University’s Steers Center for Global Real Estate, where he has been an active member since 2021. He is a valued member of The Crest Group management team, focusing in business development, deal analysis, and performance evaluation.
VIN GRILLO
Vice President of Property Management
Vin Grillo has over 30 years of diverse operations management experience. Before joining The Crest Group, Vin spent 10 years as the Executive VP and then the Chief Operating Officer for a large national real estate development and management company. Vin’s responsibilities included supervising the field staff in the successful operations and P&L management of all the properties, working with the VP of Facilities and Construction on budgeting and spending. Ultimately, his role was ensuring the highest level of performance both operationally and financially for all the company’s properties. Prior to that, Vin spent 11 years with Starbucks Coffee Company at various management levels. As the Regional Director of Operations, he was responsible for operations, real estate development and training in an area that spanned 15 states with over 200 retail units in the eastern half of the country. Vin is a recent addition to The Crest Group, having started early 2019 and has already proven to be a tremendous team player, managing the retail and commercial office areas, and executing large projects with ease and efficiency. Vin is a graduate of St. John’s University.
MICHAEL BONAWANDT
Director of Multifamily and Hospitality
Michael Bonawandt has been in the hospitality business since he was 16 years old and has a true passion for what he does. With over 30 years of experience, he has held and mastered a wide range of positions from a front desk clerk to sales manager to director of operations to executive management. Michael started with The Crest Group in 2016, with their acquisition of Danfords Hotel, Marina, and Spa. As the Director of Multifamily and Hospitality for Crest, Michael oversees our National Multifamily assets along with our current Hospitality assets. Michael is also an integral part of the acquisition process when evaluating assets for the Crest Group when contemplating purchasing. Michael is directly involved in operations to minimize costs and maximize both profitability and work efficiencies. Michael graduated from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management and Communications.
JOHN ANSELMO
Director of Construction
John Anselmo oversees all phases of construction from pre-development through project closeout. With more than 20 years of experience across residential, multifamily, and commercial construction, John brings a hands-on leadership style supported by strong operational oversight. In his role, John manages multiple concurrent projects, leads project managers and field teams, and coordinates subcontractors while maintaining accountability for scheduling, budgeting, and quality control. He is known for his ability to manage complex, multi-phase projects while maintaining consistency across field execution, timelines, and project standards. John’s experience spans large-scale ground-up developments, including multifamily communities, commercial facilities, medical buildings, and specialty-use projects such as educational and childcare environments. His background working directly in the field across numerous trades has shaped a practical, detail-driven approach to construction management, allowing him to proactively resolve challenges and keep projects moving forward. As Director of Construction, John plays a key role in advancing Crest’s development portfolio while maintaining consistent construction standards across all active projects.
MARCO SCARDA
Director of Business Development
Marco Scarda graduated from the University of Miami’s Herbert school of business where he majored in Real Estate Finance with a minor in Entrepreneurship. During his stay at The University of Miami, Marco worked for Lennar Homes where he learned their acquisition process. Along with PUD underwriting and project entitlements. After graduation, Marco has been key in the Crest Group’s expansion and property development. With his learned skills he has been able to enhance productivity for the firm both at a corporate level and in the field. His responsibilities include project management, acquisition analysis, property management, expediting, underwriting, entitlements, and permitting. Marco started working at Crest as a Project Manager and successfully completed a 92-unit Townhouse Community. Marco has since moved on to further ground up development projects as well as assisting in managing the company’s operations nationally. Marco has developed the following asset classes from the ground up; Single Family homes, Medical Office, Retail Restaurant, and Multifamily. Marco also has a keen skill set for analyzing value-add opportunities while executing the highest and best uses for the firm’s properties.
Noah Matthews
Associate
Noah Matthews focuses on acquisitions, while generally advising on capital decisions. He leverages his financial modeling experience to quantitatively contextualize qualitative dimensions for the team, especially for underwriting and valuation. Moreover, he helps The Crest Group review critical infrastructure regarding transaction processes, marketing materials and workflow streamlining technologies. Prior to joining The Crest Group, he worked as an Analyst for Centerview Partners in their strategic advisory/M&A practice. His selected transaction experience included advising Pacific Biosciences (developer and manufacturer of long-read gene sequencing platforms), and on their $800mm acquisition of Omniome (Jul. 2021), advised CAI International (a global container leasing company), on its $2.9bn sale to Mitsubishi HC Capital (Jun. 2021) and advised Prevail Therapeutics (gene therapy company specializing in neurodegenerative diseases), on its $1.0bn sale to Eli Lilly (Dec. 2020). Noah enjoys realizing value through solving complex problems. He earned a B.S.B.A. in finance and accounting from Georgetown University.
Jessica Warren
Executive Assistant
Before joining The Crest Group, Jessica worked in the Tourism and Hospitality business for almost 15 years. She joined the Crest Group in 2021 where she worked as a Junior Sales Manager at Waters Edge, Long Island’s premier catering venue. Exponentially exceeding her sales goals in the first year and a half of opening, Jessica worked tirelessly to provide her clients with a one-of-a-kind experience that has helped build the business’ reputation to what it is today. She is now the Executive Assistant to the Executive team and has gained a strong grasp on the real estate investment side of the business. She has also taken on the role of working with local charities The Crest Group serves in the community.