
The ramp up at Dallas-based Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) continues. Two months ago, the once-prolific apartment builder told Multifamily Executive that it had 2,000 units in its pipeline. With this week’s announcement that the company merged with Carlsbad, Calif.-based GLJ Partners, the number is likely to grow.
By merging with GLJ, which is headed by TCR alum Garth Erdossy, Luke Daniels, and Tony Ditteaux, TCR can push growth on the West Coast. In all, 20 employees will come to TCR in the merger and they will focus on leading the company’s expansion in the West. The new entity will keep the TCR name.
“I’ve known Garth Erdossy for 15 or 16 years,” says Ken Valach, TCR’s CEO. “Just by chance we happened to talk and he wanted a bigger platform to work off of. He has a seasoned team there and that made all of the sense in the world. Harlan [Harlan Crow, CEO of Crow Holdings] knows Garth. We spent a lot of time talking philosophy and we figured it would be a good fit for all of us.”
Familiarity helped, but not having to start an office from scratch was a huge motivator for TCR, which had been eyeing the Western markets.
“They had a proven construction organization,” Valach says. “It’s really timing. It would have taken me two or three years to build up to what Garth has today.”
The move helps TCR continue to rebuild its platform after Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential spun off in 2010.
Harlan Crow, CEO of Crow Holdings said in a press release, “I view this as an important step in rebuilding TCR’s national platform. Garth and his partners have a done a great job developing in a very difficult market. Plus, they are all quality individuals.”
TCR owns 16,000 apartment units nationwide with an additional 2,000 new units planned for construction this year. GLJ currently has three projects and almost 1,000 units under construction in Southern California, including a $120 million mixed-use project in Marina del Rey. The two companies will develop their legacy business as planned, though Valach commented that he may get GLJ to develop a site he has in Southern California and he may work with his new partners on a couple of their sites.