Dive Brief:
- Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar, the No. 1 multifamily owner, developer and manager in the country, is now extending its reach into infrastructure development, according to a news release shared with Multifamily Dive.
- It has identified opportunities to enter a number of sectors in which it anticipates long-term growth, including clean power, data centers, transition fuels, social infrastructure, transportation and logistics facilities, according to the Aug. 14 release.
- “Our expansion into infrastructure will leverage the global scale and breadth of our team, while also benefiting from the size and scope of Greystar’s real estate platform,” Wes Fuller, Greystar’s chief investment officer, said in the release.
Dive Insight:
To lead this new business, Greystar has hired industry veteran Michael Hoverman as its inaugural executive director of infrastructure. Hoverman has worked in infrastructure for nearly two decades; his previous roles include more than 10 years at Los Angeles-based real estate owner CIM Group and seven years at New York City-based Macquarie Infrastructure Corp.
Hoverman intends to build an in-house team of experts that will work within the company’s existing platform.
“The infrastructure business will fit in seamlessly within the Greystar platform, leveraging the internal resources and scale of the broader business,” Hoverman told Multifamily Dive.
The expansion will focus on “adjacent thematic opportunities in sectors offering long-term, secular growth, such as energy transition, digitization and transportation infrastructure, to support the communities and residents where Greystar is already active,” Hoverman said.
Global reach
While the new strategy will initially focus on the U.S., Greystar intends to leverage its broader platform and network to expand its infrastructure efforts globally in markets where it has local, on-the-ground execution capabilities, Hoverman said.
“The new efforts will not be limited to Greystar’s existing residential projects or real estate holdings,” Hoverman said.
Infrastructure capital flows have swelled over the last several years, spurred by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in November 2021.
The act is set to distribute $1.2 trillion in grants to infrastructure projects over the course of five years. Out of this total, $454 billion has been announced so far for more than 56,000 projects across the country, according to the White House.
The IIJA and other federal funding has buoyed the infrastructure sector amid slowdowns elsewhere in the building industry in recent years. Infrastructure spending continues to build in 2024 as $1.8 trillion in federal grants, loans, tax credits and other financial incentives seep into the economy, according to analysis from S&P Global, a financial information provider.
Demand for data centers and the energy projects to power them is skyrocketing as well, due to rapid growth in cloud technology and artificial intelligence. Despite headwinds caused by elevated interest rates and lingering inflation, the need for new projects remains strong, according to a recent report from CBRE.
“The continued convergence of real estate and infrastructure offers unique opportunities to create lasting value for Greystar’s partners,” Hoverman said. “Greystar’s global platform [positions] us well to develop infrastructure projects that enhance urban living and support sustainable growth.
