ELV Associates, Inc. is a privately-held real estate investment and management company focused on direct investments in United States commercial real estate on behalf of a select group of high net-worth families. Since its founding in 1990, the company has completed acquisition and development transactions representing nearly $3.7 billion in market value. Owned by a substantial UK family trust and led by its long-tenured management team, ELV enjoys a strong track record and reputation for delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns.
ELV’s high-quality property portfolio across three US regions – New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast – offers investors geographic and product diversification and exceptional returns through income and asset value appreciation. Fundamental to our investments is property of high intrinsic value where inefficiencies can be exploited and value is enhanced through hands-on management by our teams in Boston, Washington, DC and Atlanta. ELV’s investments are offered on a deal-by-deal basis to co-investing families, many of whom have consistently invested with the Company for decades. Investment is by invitation only.
Over its more than three-decade history, ELV has cemented its reputation for achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns across its portfolio. Owned by a substantial UK family trust and led by its long-tenured management team, ELV’s unique capital platform and direct presence across its three regions has produced consistently attractive real estate investment returns comprising income and long-term capital appreciation. Capital preservation is paramount in all investments, necessitating heightened sensitivity to asset quality and investment basis.
ELV is primarily focused on opportunistic middle-market commercial properties with a typical transaction size of $100 million to $300 million. Our investment strategy emphasizes a balanced portfolio approach with investments in (i) joint-venture development opportunities, (ii) value-added assets (typically through re-tenanting, repositioning and renovation), and (iii) core-plus assets.
as of 12/31/2023
established
US portfolio regionsNew England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast
co-investing families
development partners
yearstypical holding period
acquisition & development valuesince inception
invested equityunder management
typical transaction size
typical equity commitment
square feetacquisition & development transactions
square feetunder development
square feet officeunder management
square feet retailunder management
multi-family units
student beds
ELV is led by an experienced management team that has consistently identified unique and high-performing investment opportunities across multiple cycles, regions and products.
Value is enhanced through our hands-on team local to each asset.
Engineering, financial, and management backgrounds are collectively applied to the underwriting, due diligence and financial management required of each holding.
The management team’s average tenure in the company is close to 15 years.
ELV’s typical transactions are opportunistic and high yielding while recognizing and managing risk and preserving invested capital.
Since 1990, we have acquired or developed nearly 14 million square feet representing $3.7 billion in market value. Properties sold to date have realized an attractive return on equity.
Annualized returns have generally been realized over holding periods of 3-7 years.
ELV’s success is best illustrated through a number of its representative transactions, summarized in the attached case studies, across multiple regions, cycle-stages and product types. Common to these investments is the opportunity to control properties which are difficult to replicate and which uniquely and sustainably serve their marketplaces.
Mr. Jenkins is responsible for the direction of the Company and the performance of its holdings. With the Company since its formation in 1990, Mr. Jenkins has completed transactions in excess of $3 billion since becoming President in 1996. Having established ELV offices and property portfolios across the Company’s three U.S. regions – New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast – Mr. Jenkins has presided over the expansion of the Company’s capital base to include eighteen co-investing U.K. and European families while consistently realizing attractive returns on properties sold to date. Prior to joining ELV, Mr. Jenkins was with a private real estate development firm active in the Washington D.C. area. Mr. Jenkins holds a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University.
As a key member of the senior management team, Mr. Beddard leads all investment activities and oversees development and operating assets across all company regions. His responsibilities include originating and managing equity investments, including the sourcing, underwriting, structuring, financing, closing, and disposition of real estate investments across ELV’s portfolio. Most recently with Perseus Realty, Mr. Beddard was directly involved in the acquisition, financing, and disposition of properties valued at over $2 billion. Mr. Beddard received his B.S. in Business and Management from Skidmore College and holds a Masters in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown University. He is a member of the D.C. Building Industry Association, the Urban Land Institute, and is on the Agawam Council’s board of directors, a non-profit corporation that governs Camp Agawam.
As a key member of the senior management team, Mr. Vlak is responsible for finance and accounting, lender relations, human resources, performance analysis, risk management, treasury and cash management, and capital planning and investor relations. Prior to joining ELV, Mr. Vlak was the CFO of a multifamily investment and development company. He previously spent over a decade as a real estate investment banker and over five years as an investment professional with Rothschild Realty and Icahn Associates. He began his career in the real estate investment banking department at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Vlak received a BA from Princeton University and both an MBA and an MA from Stanford University.
As Head of Investor Relations and Chief of Staff, Ms. Coon facilitates reporting and communication between the management team and our valued capital partners and their advisors while managing and coordinating the day-to-day functions of the Company across its three regions and offices. In addition, she has played a key role on special assets within the portfolio. Prior to joining ELV, Ms. Coon spent twelve years as Chief of Staff for Cafco Construction Management, a boutique construction management firm specializing in restaurants and high-end residential projects. Amy holds a B.A. from Syracuse University in International Relations.
Consisting of 147 rental apartments and street level restaurant space in a 24-story tower, Lilli Midtown was developed through a joint venture of ELV and a valued development partner with expertise in the industry. Completed in 2018, Lilli Midtown is located in one of Atlanta’s most dynamic urban neighborhoods and was designed to appeal to broad range of affluent urban professionals. Upon full lease up and after a brief holding period, the multiple award-winning asset was sold in February 2020 to a large Canadian pension fund. Net proceeds supported attractive results on ELV’s LP equity position of $14 million over a four-year period of development, leasing, and exit.
With 160 rental apartments and 13,000 square feet of ground-level retail, Alto Fairfield Metro was developed through a joint venture with a locally based partner in the Fairfield, CT market. Completed in 2021, Alto offered institutional quality housing in a supply-constrained market catering to transit-oriented professionals working in the New York City area. The project stabilized several months after delivery and, after a brief holding period, was sold to a family office in March 2022. The sale proceeds and cash flow on ELV’s $12 million LP equity position yielded attractive results over a three-year development, leasing, and exit period.
Located within the Georgia State University urban campus, this 685-bed student housing tower was developed through a joint-venture of ELV and a valued development partner with expertise in the industry. Completed ahead of schedule and on budget in June 2019, and with two market-leading full lease-ups for the 2020 and 2021 academic years, the asset was sold to a private equity investment firm specializing in student housing. ELV’s LP equity investment of $22.3 million yielded attractive results over a four-year period of development, leasing and exit.
Located adjacent to a programmed municipal park and steps away from town retail and restaurant amenities, the project was developed through a joint venture of ELV and a valued development partner with expertise in the industry. Completed in November 2020 on time and on budget, the 430 garden-style apartments and street level retail space reached 90% occupancy the following Spring at rates considerably above pro forma. A pre-emptive purchase offer by a large syndication trust led to a sale in April 2021, supporting attractive results on ELV’s LP equity position of $25 million.
The Foundry, located in the Carlyle submarket of Alexandria, VA, is an urbanized mixed-use project that converted a 600,00 square foot office building into a modern Class-A apartment building consisting of 520 apartment units and 25,000 square feet of retail space. The building’s façade was updated and three residential floors and rooftop amenity spaces were added. The Foundry’s innovative design earned a 2021 ENR Mid-Atlantic Best Projects Award of Merit and the 2020 NAIOP North Virginia Award for Best Building, Adaptive Re-Use. Completed in March 2020, the project was sold in December 2020. ELV’s LP equity investment of $55 million yielded attractive results over a four-year holding period.
Conceived as an integral part of the Alpharetta City Center master development and designed to appeal to affluent renters desiring the nearby amenities and conveniences, Amorance was developed through a joint venture of ELV and a valued development partner with expertise in the industry. Comprised of 168 apartments and 42,000 square feet of boutique retail space in two buildings, the project was completed in the spring of 2019 and sold to a domestic pension fund in September 2019. Sale proceeds and cash flow on ELV’s $20 million LP equity position yielded attractive results over a four-year period of development, leasing, and exit.