Unlock Your Real Estate Potential
RiverSand Development is a joint venture advisory firm specializing in urban infill projects across New Jersey — delivering feasibility, finance, and execution for the developments that reshape cities.
Two firms.
One mission.
RiverSand Development is a joint venture between Paper City Real Estate Group and WSM Associates, LLC — two firms with deep roots in New Jersey's urban development landscape. Together, we offer end-to-end advisory and technical expertise for infill projects that transform underutilized sites into thriving mixed-use communities.
Our partnership was built on a simple observation: the most promising urban infill opportunities in New Jersey are frequently stalled by gaps in financial structuring, entitlements, or construction expertise. We bridge all three. Paper City brings master's-level financial underwriting, capital markets acumen, and community development strategy. WSM brings decades of architecture, design-build delivery, and certified construction management.
We are minority-owned, locally rooted, and committed to projects that deliver both financial returns and lasting neighborhood impact. Our team’s principals have served as project managers at Columbia University's Manhattanville campus, directed pricing and strategy for the large-scale transformative redevelopment, and built affordable housing throughout Essex and Hudson counties.
We don't just advise on deals — we help bring them across the finish line.
"We believe the best urban projects aren't extracted from communities — they're built with them. Every site we touch carries a responsibility to the block, the neighborhood, and the generation that comes next."
Our Team
Gardner Rivera, MSRED
Co-Founder20 years of commercial real estate experience. MSRED from Columbia University. Founder of Paper City Real Estate Group, Jersey City, NJ. Adjunct Professor at Baruch College — Real Estate Finance. National Board member, REAP Program
Co-FounderCecil Chris Sanders
"Mr. Architecture '95." 20+ years spanning residential, commercial, healthcare, and government design. President & CEO of CHS Construction Co. — certified MBE, SBE, and DBE. Licensed builder in Newark, NJ.
Our Process
We begin every engagement with a deep read of the neighborhood — its history, its trajectory, and its people. Financial returns matter, but they must be anchored in the real conditions of the market, not optimistic assumptions. We underwrite conservatively so that projects hold up through cycles.
Place-First Underwriting
Most advisory firms either know finance or construction — rarely both. RiverSand is built around the integration of these two disciplines. When deal structuring, design, and buildability are aligned from day one, projects move faster, cost less, and perform better.
Integration of Capital & Construction
We are not transient advisors. Our principals live and work in the New York–New Jersey metro area and have staked their professional reputations on the same neighborhoods where we develop. We pursue relationships and repeat projects, not one-time fees.