Todd Mansfield (left) and Brian Natwick at the new Crescent Communities office in the Ally Charlotte Center building.
Todd Mansfield (left) and Brian Natwick at the new Crescent Communities office in the Ally Charlotte Center building.

Crescent Communities has promoted Brian Natwick to CEO. The 15-year veteran of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based real estate investor, developer, and operator previously served as president and chief operating officer. He succeeds Todd Mansfield, who served as chairman and CEO since 2011.

Mansfield will continue as chairman through the end of 2021 and then will serve as an adviser to Sumitomo Forestry America; in 2018, he led the recapitalization of Crescent Communities with Sumitomo.

“I am honored to take on this new role during a very exciting time for Crescent Communities,” said Natwick. “In addition to our robust multifamily, commercial, and construction businesses, the organization has strategically entered the single-family build-to-rent market and mid-market multifamily market, and begun an investment management business, and I look forward to working with our extraordinary leadership to grow these new initiatives.”

Natwick joined Crescent Communities in 2006 and served as president of the company’s multifamily business from 2011 to 2020, when he was named president and COO. He championed the creation of the NOVEL multifamily brand and extended the company’s footprint to Western markets including Dallas, Denver, Houston, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. Crescent Communities’ investment portfolio now covers 14 strategic Sun Belt markets with nine offices across the nation.

He is active in the community and the industry, serving on the boards of the McColl School of Business at Queens University and Apartment Life in Charlotte and an active member of Young Presidents’ Organization, Urban Land Institute, National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), and National Association of Home Builders.

“Brian has repeatedly demonstrated the skills and qualities necessary to be successful in this role,” said Mansfield. “His leadership, investment acumen, and commitment to company values make him the ideal person to lead our company into the next phase of growth.”

According to Crescent Communities—ranked No. 15 on the NMHC's 2021 Top Developers list—it continues to experience significant growth with nearly $5.7 billion of multifamily and commercial investments and developments under construction, operations, and planning, including 13,000 units of multifamily, 260,000 square feet of retail, and 8 million square feet of office, industry, and life sciences.

In September, Crescent Communities and Pretium announced a joint venture to invest $1 billion in new single-family build-to-rent communities across 14 key strategic growth markets. The communities will operate under the HARMON brand, and the first community is slated for the Charleston, South Carolina, market with more to follow in other Sun Belt cities. Construction is slated to begin this month on HARMON Foxbank, which will feature 109 townhomes, in Moncks Corner. The first units will be available to rent in early 2022.