Capital Square Launches Private Equity Group to Focus on Build-for-Rent and Other Non-Traditional Real Estate Investments

 Capital Square, one of the nation’s leading sponsors of tax-advantaged real estate investments and an active developer of multifamily communities, announced today the launch of its Private Equity Group, a new corporate division that will focus on single-family build-for-rent homes and other non-traditional real estate investment opportunities. Industry veterans, Jon Trott and Dave Platter, have joined Capital Square as managing directors to lead the new division.

“Build-for-rent homes are an increasingly popular choice among renters in the Southeast through Texas, where Capital Square actively invests in multifamily housing,” said Whitson Huffman, co-chief executive officer of Capital Square. “Exceptionally strong demand has made build-for-rent a compelling investment strategy in response to a shortage of quality housing. With in-house development, capital markets, asset management and acquisitions, the build-for-rent space is a natural evolution for Capital Square and is another way to provide innovative and compelling options to a growing number of investors and financial advisors nationwide.”

Build-for-rent homes, comprised of communities of single-family homes built for renting, have become an increasingly popular investment option among institutions and individual investors. Demand for this rental option is growing exponentially among residents who seek a single-family lifestyle, the financial and leasing flexibility of a rental with the amenities and convenience of a professionally managed property. 

The U.S. has chronically underbuilt housing since the Great Financial Crisis and needs an additional 4.3 million housing units by 2035 to meet the demand for rental housing, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Demand for build-for-rent homes continues to increase with professionally managed communities offering one of the best solutions for the shortage of quality, affordable housing.  Institutional ownership and build-for-rent’s share of overall U.S. housing stock remains less than 5%, paving the way for long-term, sustained growth for the asset class.

“We are thrilled to have Jon Trott and Dave Platter launch the Private Equity Group at Capital Square and focus on build-for-rent homes and non-traditional real estate investments,” said Louis Rogers, founder and co-chief executive officer. “Build-for-rent is the hottest segment of multifamily investing and plays into the demographic trend where younger residents along with aging baby boomers want to live in a single-family home with the freedom and flexibility of a rental. We believe build-for-rent housing will become one of the most popular strategies in Capital Square’s growing investment portfolio.”

Prior to joining Capital Square, Trott and Platter led the private equity team of The Amherst Group’s build-for-rent division, where they were responsible for capital raising, acquisition sourcing and overall management of the division. Amherst is one of the nation’s largest investors and operators of single-family rental homes, with $16 billion in assets under management in over 30 markets.

Previously, Trott was an investment professional with Spear Street Capital, a San Francisco-based real estate private equity firm. He began his career with JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the globe’s leading financial services firms, where he reported to the chief executive officer of asset management and was involved in the execution of key mergers and acquisitions transactions, as well as strategic initiatives. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Prior to his tenure with The Amherst Group, Platter was the co-founder of Southern Creek Capital, a boutique investment manager in the single-family rental and multifamily spaces. He previously worked at the JBG Companies , where he was responsible for the development of more than $500 million of multifamily and mixed-use properties. His career began in the asset management division of JPMorgan Chase & Co.  Platter received a bachelor’s degree from The University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Capital Square is a national real estate firm specializing in tax-advantaged real estate investments, including Delaware statutory trusts for Section 1031 exchanges, qualified opportunity zone funds for tax deferral and exclusion and a real estate investment trust (REIT). In recent years the company has become an active developer of mixed-use multifamily properties in the southeastern US, with eight current projects totaling approximately 2,000 apartment units with a total development cost in excess of $600 million. Since 2012, Capital Square has completed more than $6 billion in transaction volume. Capital Square’s related entities provide a range of services, including due diligence, acquisition, loan sourcing, property/asset management, and disposition, for a growing number of high-net-worth investors, private equity firms, family offices and institutional investors. Since 2017, Capital Square has been recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing companies in the nation for six consecutive years. In 2017, 2018 and 2020, the company was also ranked on Richmond BizSense’s list of fastest growing companies. Additionally, Capital Square was listed by Virginia Business on their “Best Places to Work in Virginia” report in 2019 and their “Fantastic 50” reports in 2019 and 2020. To learn more, visit www.CapitalSq.com.

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