Dive Brief:

• Woodfield Development has hired Neil Hanlon as vice president of development to lead the Charleston, South Carolina-based development expansion into Arizona and Nevada, according to a news release shared with Multifamily Dive.
• Hanlon will be responsible for sourcing new opportunities and overseeing the development process. He previously spent more than seven years with Greystar, most recently as the director of development in Phoenix, where he oversaw multifamily projects in the Southwest. The industry veteran also worked in investment banking and senior housing acquisitions in New York and San Diego. 
• Woodfield, the No. 21 developer in the country, said Phoenix and Las Vegas share many of the same fundamentals as the firm's Southeast and Texas markets, including strong population and job growth, business-friendly environments and an attractive quality of life.

Dive Insight:

In 2005, Greg Bonifield and Mike Underwood founded Woodfield Development. Early on, Woodfield was developing in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. It later expanded to the Northeast, Florida, Tennessee and Texas.

“Texas was our last expansion before things began to change in late 2022 and 2023,” Todd Jacobus, a partner at Woodfield Development, told Multifamily Dive.

However, Woodfield had been eyeing Phoenix for some time. “We zeroed in on Phoenix because it's got a rapidly diversifying economy,” Jacobus said. “It's got some of the things that appeal to us in Southeastern markets.”

As Woodfield began discussions with Hanlon, he convinced the firm’s executives that Vegas could also be an appealing market. 

“He said, ‘Phoenix is good long term, but right now, where we're seeing traction is in Las Vegas, and I would urge you guys to look there as well,’” Jacobus said. “If he brings us a Vegas deal and it makes sense, we'll compare that on equal terms to something in Phoenix. We're open to him convincing us where we need to go.”

Woodfield plans to use those markets as a springboard for future growth in other Southwest and Mountain West markets. However, there are no immediate plans to expand beyond Phoenix and Las Vegas.

“I don't see us making a move to the coasts,” Jacobus said. “But that leaves a lot of tertiary markets or even smaller major metros like Salt Lake or Boise or you've heard a lot about Reno.”

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