Charles H. Sarlo, Esq.

A pillar in the New Jersey real estate and development sector, Charles H. Sarlo, Esq. has served as DMR Architects’ General Counsel since 2001. In 2017, he was among those named as the firm’s first partners.

With a unique set of qualifications that includes an engineering degree, an MBA and a law degree, Charles brings 40 years of diverse experiences to the firm. He is particularly skilled in real estate development, redevelopment, land use and environmental matters. He has advocated for and secured land use approvals across New Jersey for nearly every conceivable type of project.

At DMR, Charles handles a broad spectrum of legal affairs including contracts, insurance, risk management, and employment and regulatory adherence. He also provides expertise on land use, environmental and legal issues to the technical staff, offering a value-add to the clients of DMR.

He has been an advocate for alternate public procurement methods, advancing the initiative through both public outreach and projects at DMR. In Ridgefield, he formulated a unique approach for the design and construction of the Ridgefield Municipal Complex which allowed the borough to engage redevelopers on a maximum-cost basis and has also taken a leading role in what is expected to be the first Public-Private Partnership (P3) project under legislation enacted in early 2019.

Licensed to practice law in New Jersey and New York, Charles maintains a legal practice and has argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court in the matter of Piscatelli v. City of Garfield Board of Adjustments. He has been a member of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) board since 2005, currently serving as Vice Chairman. Since 2007, he has served as Chairman of the NJEDA’s Real Estate Committee. He is also a member of the Policy and Audit Committees.

He received his Juris Doctorate from the Pace University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Pace International Law Review. He also has an Environmental Law Certificate from Pace’s highly ranked Environmental Law program, an MBA in Corporate Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Outside of his professional life, Charles is an avid sports enthusiast, having enjoyed his own college sports career. He spends most of his spare time coaching youth travel and rec baseball, softball and basketball teams for his son and daughter. He is interested in the area of youth sports liability and amateur athlete matters, ultimately translating this interest into a position on the Board of Directors of his local baseball/softball organization.