Bob Faith
Bob Faith
Founder, Chairman and CEO at Greystar Real Estate Partners
In early June, while the coronavirus pandemic consumed much of the commercial real estate industry, Bob Faith’s Greystar closed on its acquisition of property manager Alliance Residential, which has more than 500 multifamily properties across 21 states.
The move expands the domestic footprint by 25 percent of what’s long been the largest property manager in the United States. On the development and construction side, by late July, Greystar had more than 55 projects going in 45 cities, with a value of more than $7 billion, Faith said.
Greystar, which Faith founded in 1993, manages and operates around $200 billion of real estate in nearly 200 markets worldwide, including 660,000 apartments in 2,400 complexes across 42 cities and 13 countries. In 2019, the firm moved into Ireland with its acquisition through an affiliate of Dublin Landings, and Greystar opened an office in Japan to explore market opportunities there, Faith said over email.
Also in 2019, the company closed its 10th multifamily fund, this one a $2 billion vehicle focused on acquiring rental housing assets in top national markets. The firm billed it as the largest fund-raise ever for a U.S. multifamily value-add fund, and investors came from across the globe. That was in November. A month later, Greystar marked the opening of its new headquarters in Charleston, S.C.
The coronavirus, of course, has meant that the company can’t be at the five-story structure, done in the Greek-revival style, right now. The pandemic has challenged Greystar in other ways, but Faith is optimistic.
“The safety of residents is a top priority, especially when you consider over 1.5 million people live in our properties,” he said. “We’ve had to ensure our services and operations are not interrupted despite the challenges in the current environment, but, like the rental housing industry, our team members are just as resilient as we power through these tough times.”—T.A.
