Unpacking Success and Growth

Financial, Regulatory, and Developmental Landscape Insights

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  Dustin Davidson

  Dustin Davidson was the Managing Director on the Hines Land Development platform for over 7 years since starting with Hines in 2012. Dustin was overseeing the Lot and Single-Family Rental ("SFR") Development Business in Dallas-Fort Worth ("DFW") and Central Texas. Under his leadership starting in 2018, Hines' DFW land platform, from new acquisitions and existing assets, grew from ~900 lots to over 20,000 in under five years. Dustin successfully oversaw one of the largest master planned community transactions when Hines sold 11 communities to Starwood land in April 2025.

  Axim Partners

  Founding Partner

  Dustin Davidson

  Founding Partner

  Axim Partners

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  Cory Older

  As President, Cory oversees company operations with an emphasis on the financial aspects of RCCP’s projects. River City Capital Partners is a developer of innovative residential and commercial infill projects across Central Texas. Our firm’s portfolio includes multifamily (over 1,500 units), suburban residential communities (over 1,700 lots), and various mixed-use and light industrial sites. Beyond his corporate achievements, Cory is actively engaged in community service. He currently contributes his insights as a board member of the Austin Monitor (501c3) and as an advisory member of Explore Austin (501c3). Prior to this, he dedicated six years to Explore Austin as a volunteer mentor, exemplifying his commitment to shaping young minds.

  River City Capital Partners

  Co-Founder & President

  Cory Older

  Co-Founder & President

  River City Capital Partners

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  Carter Froelich

  Carter is the Managing Principal of Launch Development Finance Advisors. Prior to the founding of Launch, Carter was the co-founder and Managing Principal of a national real estate consulting firm for 27 years. Preceding this, Carter was a Manager in the real estate consulting department of the national accounting firm of Kenneth Leventhal & Company in both the Phoenix, Arizona, and Newport Beach, California offices. Carter is a Certified Public Accountant in Arizona, California, and Texas, as well as a former State Certified Real Estate Appraiser in Arizona. Carter holds a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Carter has over forty years of experience in the real estate consulting industry. Carter’s area of specialty is in the formulation and implementation of land-secured financings for large-scale developments and the formulation of development strategies for large-scale master-planned communities. Carter served as a City of Phoenix’s Camelback Village Planning Committee member. Carter is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, Valley Partnership, and is a member of numerous Building Industry Associations in Arizona, California, Idaho, and Texas. Carter was the author of the 2008 and 2016 National Association of Home Builders’ Impact Fee Handbook.

  Launch Development Finance Advisors

  Managing Principal

  Carter Froelich

  Managing Principal

  Launch Development Finance Advisors

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  Wes Whitney

  Wes Whitney is the Vice President of Commercial for Maverick Water Group, a revolutionary water infrastructure development and asset management company that delivers tailored, sustainable, and economic water solutions to the real estate, industrial, and energy markets. Maverick has invested millions of dollars into the Texas real estate market via alternative water systems, abating over 472 million gallons of potable water per year. Maverick solely financed and operaties assets that distribute fit-for-purpose, non-potable water to customers. The system provides guaranteed financial savings to HOAs and value to Developers in the form of infrastructure cost avoidance, reduced water expense and increased LUE Capacity. After a 10+ year career in Oil & Gas with a Fortune 100 midstream energy company, Wes joined the Maverick team to lead the commercial and business development efforts with a focus on growth, strategy, and execution. A proud and native Texan born and raised in San Antonio, Wes graduated from Texas A&M before settling in Houston with his family in 2010.

  Maverick Water Group

  Vice President, Commercial

  Wes Whitney

  Vice President, Commercial

  Maverick Water Group

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  Ryan Harper

  Ryan’s practice is focused on the provision of public infrastructure for land development in Texas. He is particularly active in the representation of landowners and developers, municipal utility districts, and other special districts. Ryan serves as general counsel to numerous political subdivisions and acts as bond counsel for local government tax-exempt financings. He also negotiates with various local governments and developers regarding land development and public infrastructure projects. Representative Matters: Ryan represents private developers in negotiations with local government entities for public participation in various public infrastructure land entitlement and economic development matters. Ryan serves as general counsel, bond and continuing disclosure counsel to special purpose local governments that provide water, sewer, drainage, road, and park facilities to developments of all types across Central Texas. Education: Baylor University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2011); Baylor University (B.B.A, Business Management, magna cum laude, 2008): State Bar of Texas; National Association of Bond Lawyers. Assistant Contact info: Eliza Martinez, emartinez@abhr.com Office Location Address & Contact Info: Central Texas Office, 919 Congress, Suite 1500, Austin, Texas 78701.

  Allen Boone Humphries Robinson (ABHR)

  Partner

  Moderator

  Ryan Harper

  Partner

  Allen Boone Humphries Robinson (ABHR)

Master Planned Communities

Where Are We Now and What Lies Ahead

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  Douglas Gilliland

  Douglas Gilliland is President of Taurus of Texas Holdings which is a partnership between Triwest Group and Taurus Investment Holdings. the Managing Director of land development activities for Taurus of Texas Holdings with regional offices in Austin, Texas. Over his 40-year career, Douglas has developed almost 4,000 SF and MF units in 31 master-planned, mixed-use, and niche developments in Central Texas, North Texas, Colorado, and Kansas City MO. As part of Taurus Investment Holdings, an international investor, operator, and developer of mixed-use, residential and commercial properties across the globe, Douglas brings vast experience, resources, and a global perspective on real estate development. Headquartered in Boston MA, Taurus is currently active in regional markets in North America, South America, Europe, and India and is committed to developing sustainable commercial and residential communities.

  Taurus Investment Holdings

  President

  Douglas Gilliland

  President

  Taurus Investment Holdings

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  Jim Henry

  EVP of Community Development

  Southern Land Company

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  Rama Krishna

  After working in IT and Software Development for 2 decades, Rama found his passion in passive income through real estate and started investing in Apartments and Land Development. Apartments are not run as Real Estate but as a business. With the experience as consultant, lead, solution architect and business owner, Rama can bring his experience in processes, building teams, executing complex IT projects into Apartment Investments and improve the communities, increase revenue by adding value, reduce expenses by optimizing the costs, network with brokers, property managers and investors to bring end-to-end spectrum of finding, funding and operating Apartments under his umbrella of expertise. His Land Development experience spanning multiple states across East, Central and West coast in both entitlements and development of Build2Rent/ Build2Sell communities.

  Zovest Capital

  CEO & Founder

  Rama Krishna

  CEO & Founder

  Zovest Capital

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  Bryan Cady

  Co-Founder

  DEN Property Group

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  Mark Grobmyer

  Mark Grobmyer is a Shareholder in Winstead's Real Estate Development & Investments Practice Group. Mark’s practice is focused on real estate development, with an emphasis on structuring and administering residential, mixed-use and office condominiums, and residential and mixed-use communities. Mark also has experience in a wide variety of commercial real estate transactions including drafting acquisition and disposition contracts, easements and license agreements. In addition to representation of homebuilders, Mark specializes in representing build-for-rent and single-family rental owners and operators on a variety of matters, including acquisition, disposition, land-banking, governance, exit-strategy planning, and regulatory requirement compliance. Mark also represents master planned community developers on the challenges in planning for accommodating build-for-rent and single-family rental projects within and adjacent to new and mature master planned communities, and serves as the Chair of Winstead’s Build-for-Rent and Single Family Rentals Practice Group. Prior to joining Winstead, Mark worked in Washington, D.C. as a legislative aide for United States Senator Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas. While attending the University of Arkansas School of Law, Mark worked as a summer clerk in the Office of the Attorney General for the Republic of Palau.

  Winstead

  Shareholder

  Moderator

  Mark Grobmyer

  Shareholder

  Winstead

Build-to-Rent

Unpacking Communities, Strategies And Trends in this Thriving Sector

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  Ryan Becker

  Ryan Becker is Vice President, Austin & San Antonio for NexMetro Communities, a national developer of luxury leased home neighborhoods that has more than 9,000 homes completed and under construction, representing more than 50 projects in major metro areas across the nation. With over a decade of industry expertise, Mr. Becker provides leadership, oversight, and delivers value in high-quality assets on time for the company’s Avilla Homes build-to-rent (BTR) professionally managed communities. A NexMetro team member since 2023, Ryan is responsible for acquisitions, development, and construction management oversight within the Austin and San Antonio markets. Prior positions include Director of Development and Development Manager at Ryan Companies US, Inc, Underwriter and Asset Manager at STORE Capital, and land investment broker at City to City Commercial in Scottsdale, AZ. Originally from Gilbert, AZ, Ryan was raised in the Phoenix area where he graduated from Arizona State University. Ryan spent his first 8 years in the commercial real estate business in Arizona, before moving to Austin, TX three years ago.

  NexMetro Communities

  Vice President, Development – Austin/San Antonio

  Ryan Becker

  Vice President, Development – Austin/San Antonio

  NexMetro Communities

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  Elizabeth Good

  Elizabeth Good has handled the acquisition, development, and asset management of more than $2 billion of multifamily real estate in her 20 years in the industry. Since launching a development platform with David West in 2016, Good + West has completed development of over 1,100 multifamily and build-to-rent units in DFW and Austin. Elizabeth previously served as a Vice President with Cypress Real Estate Advisors, managing a portfolio of 10,000 units throughout the Sunbelt. Before moving to Austin in 2006, Elizabeth was in New York City, where she worked for Related Capital on their Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund investments. She began her career at Credit Suisse First Boston in the Private Client Group. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Southern California and a Master of Science degree in real estate development from Columbia University. She has served on the board of the Hill Country Conservancy and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute.

  Good + West Residential

  Partner

  Elizabeth Good

  Partner

  Good + West Residential

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  Emily Halbert

  Asset Manager - BTR

  Taylor Morrison

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  Bernida Chapman

  Bernida Chapman, Vice President at Catamount Constructors, has over 20 years of experience in construction and development. A driving force behind the launch and growth of the company's Build to Rent division, leveraging her strategic insight to identify market trends and expand the division's portfolio. Known for her collaborative approach, Bernida builds strong relationships with team members, clients, and industry partners. Her leadership ensures decisions align with business objectives, fostering project success. Committed to excellence, Bernida consistently delivers exceptional results and drives continuous improvement initiatives.

  Catamount Constructors

  VP

  Bernida Chapman

  VP

  Catamount Constructors

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  Michael Medick

  Michael Medick is a registered architect and urban planner with extensive experience in the design, development, visioning and revitalization of cities, communities, and neighborhoods. Michael oversees complex design and planning projects across the country and focuses on projects that require strong leadership in design. As a thought leader, Michael is a nationally recognized housing expert. His work involves planning activities at a variety of scales in all segments of the real estate industry, including Build-to-Rent, Single Family (production and custom homes), Multi-family, Mixed-use development, Campus Planning, Military Base Housing, Retail, Commercial, Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Community and Neighborhood Design Guidelines. Michael’s work has been featured in numerous industry publications such as New American Urbanism: Reforming the Suburban Metropolis (2000), Visions of Seaside (2013), BUILDER Magazine, Professional Builder, Inform Magazine, and numerous other publications. He has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, Orlando Sentinel, and National Public Radio. Some notable works include the planning and architecture for Uptown Memphis, The Gulch, a LEED Certified community in the heart of downtown Nashville, The Memory Palace – the design competition winner to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the development of Seaside, FL, Liberty Park Town Center and master plan in Vestavia Hills, AL, and the Silver District Master Plan in Loudoun County, VA.

  Lessard Design

  Principal of Residential Design

  Michael Medick

  Principal of Residential Design

  Lessard Design

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  Scott Lamontagne

  Scott joined Northmarq in May 2020 to expand the company’s Investment Sales platform across Texas. He focuses on establishing and maintaining client relationships, and providing advisory, transactional, debt structures and equity sourcing services to multifamily owners and developers. He is part of the company’s Built-to-Rent and Institutional Advisory practice groups. Prior to joining Northmarq, Scott was a Managing Director and Team Lead at Jones Lang LaSalle for six years, and a Senior Director and senior executive over central Texas for Institutional Property Advisors, a Marcus and Millichap company, for 12 years. During the last 18 years, Scott’s direct transactional and oversight experience exceeds $7 billion. With more than 50,000 apartment units sold, Scott is recognized as a market expert and is frequently called upon to speak or provide commentary at real estate conferences and in media outlets. In addition, Scott serves as an advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Beige Book publication. In addition to his multifamily brokerage experience, Scott served as the regional manager for two of Marcus & Millichap’s flagship offices in Los Angeles and Encino California, and was the Western United States Director for Special Asset Services where he was charged with supporting more than 300 senior agents and creating direct client relationships with many of the nation’s largest financial institutions and servicers.

  Northmarq

  National Director, National Development Services

  Moderator

  Scott Lamontagne

  National Director, National Development Services

  Northmarq