Media Release
Roers Companies Triples Down on Real Estate Development
MINNETONKA, MINN. — November 30, 2020 — Roers Cos. is declaring its clear intent to thwart the economic chaos of 2020 and seize new opportunities that invest in long-term growth for the firm. The multi-family real estate developer, already ranked as a top-five Twin Cities developer, typically kicks off six new development projects per year, covering a mix of market-rate apartments, senior living, student housing, and affordable apartments with a development staff of three. This year, the team is pushing for exponential growth.
In 2020, the company is — like so many others — scrapping the status quo. Roers Cos. hired five new developers to join the existing team of Principal Partner Jeff Koch, Director of Development Shane LaFave, and Developer Andy Bollig. The nearly tripled team will expand the company’s geographic footprint and product diversity.
Ross Stiteley, senior developer, is based out of Madison, Wisconsin and focuses on tax-credit and historic redevelopment projects. Ben Taylor, senior developer, will lead a Denver-based team focused on bringing more affordable housing to the region. Brandon Hodge, James Riley, and Logan Schmidt join as senior development associates, bringing additional tax-credit expertise to the team.
“Roers has traditionally been a Midwest-focused developer doing market-rate projects, but with getting into the tax credit market in the past couple years, we have seen new opportunities present themselves,” says LaFave.
“Expanding the team with highly talented and motivated individuals allows us to pursue these opportunities with the same energy and tenacity that Roers Cos. is built on.
Roers has a track record of rapid growth, and we plan to continue that trajectory with an expanded team, allowing for substantially increased capacity to develop new projects,” he says.
While the turbulence of 2020 has spelled disaster for many businesses, Roers Cos. is taking advantage of low interest rates and three profitable apartment sales in 2020 to expand the team in order to pursue more projects, larger-scale projects, and more complex projects.
“We’re bumping up our development capacity from six projects a year to 10 or more,” says Koch. “At the same time, we’re increasing the unit count for each project so there are more total apartments in development, we’re introducing new product types like workforce housing and active 55+ apartments, and we’re pursuing competitive tax credit and historic redevelopment projects that are more complex than most of what we’ve done to-date.”
LaFave echoes Koch’s sentiments.
“With tax credit development, including both low-income and historic projects, the level of financial complexity, government regulation, and importance of timing synchronization is amplified, so it takes the right kind of person and team to take on these kinds of projects,” notes LaFave. “The individuals joining our team come with a robust and diversified background in low-income, historic and market-rate housing development — giving us the expertise and experience needed to take on complex projects in new markets.”
Roers Cos. has already broken ground this year on new developments in Woodbury and Lakeville, with Fridley and West St. Paul coming soon. Additional projects are planned for Apple Valley, Burnsville, Bloomington and Maple Grove as well as Sun Prairie and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Beyond the Midwest, the newly expanded team is now investigating opportunities in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah and beyond.
“It’s in our DNA as a company to double down in tough markets. We saw a lot of turbulence during the recession of 2009, but we took steps to diversify and grow then, too. We stayed nimble and worked hard to set the company up for success,” says Owner Kent Roers.
“We’ve grown exponentially in recent years,” Roers Cos. adds, “so it makes strategic sense for us to continue to invest in growth by hiring the right team to continue diversifying our project types and expand our portfolio beyond the Midwest. I know 2020 has thrown everyone some curveballs, so expanding our development capabilities really feels like a home run for us.”
This media release was covered by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (here).