Westmount Realty Capital has appointed a former architect turned developer, Kyle Russell, to start and lead its industrial development business.
The Dallas-based company aims to build a development arm from scratch, taking advantage of available land sites and market conditions for new ground-up development.
Despite the current real estate market’s headwinds, Westmount Realty and its capital partners believe the timing is right for this business.
“When other people are kind of pausing and walking out, that’s when you want to be as active as you can in the market,” said Kyle Russell, managing director of development at Westrnount Realty.
Russell is in the market right now making offers on sites.
“We’re looking for the infill product, that the location is irreplaceable,” said Russell. “We are seeing some sites that were previously under contract that are now freeing up as things have changed dramatically in the last 12 months.”
Westmount Realty was established over 35 years ago and has owned or presently owns assets in over 20 markets.
Their portfolio is primarily composed of industrial and multifamily assets, with a small number of investments in the office sector.
The company’s strategy up to this point has been to acquire these assets with a value-add acquisition strategy versus ground-up development.
“Because the company’s gone through several economic downturns, it’s informed on the past and corning out of it,” said Russell. When you have a firm with this history, you look at the headwinds and understand that they’re legitimate, real, and serious, and you should plan for them. But there will be a day afterward.”
CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL INTERVIEW
View All