In just over a decade, Plymouth, Minnesota-based Roers Cos. has grown into a leading multifamily and affordable housing developer. In 2012, brothers Kent and Brian Roers stepped away from their careers as a certified financial planner and an accountant, respectively, to take on housing development full time.
“We were successful with our careers and doing housing on the side,” says Kent Roers. “But we wanted to have a bigger impact.”
The Roers started with simple market-rate housing developments to help alleviate the housing shortage for oil workers in North Dakota. When the Bakken region’s oil market went bust in 2016, Roers Cos. pivoted to expand outside of the rural Dakotas to build urban and suburban multifamily communities in growing markets, diversifying to create affordable, student, and seniors housing.
The developer has a footprint of nearly 14,000 units built or in development from the Midwest to the Sun Belt’s smile states. In 2024, it celebrated the closings of 13 new developments, with the number of affordable developments increasing from six to nine. With 1,883 multifamily and affordable housing units started last year, it ranks No. 20 on the National Multifamily Housing Council's 2025 developers list. It also ranks No. 25 on this year's builders list.
“It takes an immense amount of capital to get into affordable. It’s a long-term play, and that’s a big part of it. As our careers go on and the company continues to grow, we do what we can to provide housing, and affordable is a big part of that,” says Kent Roers.
The Roers attribute their growth to the passion they have, the team they have built, and their investment thesis of raising capital through high-net-worth individuals. They also cite that being a vertically integrated company—from construction and development to property and asset management teams—has helped their growth trajectory. The company employs approximately 400 people and has three regional offices in Austin, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and Phoenix, which it opened last year.
2024 was a year of milestones for the developer. It broke ground on new developments in North Carolina and South Carolina, and its first properties in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah welcomed residents. It also is looking to expand its pipeline to include Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.
“We want to keep the growth model there, but the growth we have done is plateauing to a level that we want to remain healthy,” notes Brian Roers. “Now, it’s a matter of growing in each state with maybe a new market here or there.”
Creating goals for the company as a whole as well as each employee is a priority. Since 2017, the company had a goal of hitting 10,000 units developed, $1 billion in real estate developed or acquired, and $20 million in revenue by 2025; however, it hit them all by the start of 2023. It has substantially upped its next major goals for 2030: 40,000 units developed, owned, or managed; $10 billion in real estate built or acquired; and $750 million in revenue.
“It just means work hard and give 100%. It’s about work ethic, teamwork, integrity, passion, and having an ownership mindset,” says Kent Roers.
Brian Roers notes rewarding the team and being celebratory also are important to the company culture. Whenever a deal is closed, the team rings a bell in the office and has a celebration. When a developer brings together their first project from identifying the site to closing, they are rewarded with new cowboy boots. When the construction team finishes a project, they get a new belt buckle. They also have team holiday competitions and an annual conference to bring everyone together.
“We still have big goals and big aspirations,” adds Kent Roers. “We have had such big growth, and we’re having fun while we are doing it.”
