The Johnson Development (JDA) team has stayed active this year, continuing its opportunistic growth while exercising discipline through uncertain economic conditions. JDA’s divisions – Industrial, Multifamily, and Self-Storage – have been building flexibility, sourcing new deals, breaking ground on new construction, and investing in talent this year.
“Our goal is to be disciplined in executing deals that will serve us well in the long term, while also strategically preparing to capitalize on opportunities that present themselves in the coming months,” says Geordy Johnson, CEO of JDA.
Part of this preparation involves building cash reserves that will give our teams the flexibility to act. One such example of a big win toward that end was the refinance of the original Storage Debt Offering that included 27 self-storage facilities within JDA’s portfolio. JDA’s Storage, Legal, Accounting, and Finance teams worked diligently with Comerica as Lead Partner and four additional partners to secure financing for 24 stores at an unprecedented total financing level for the company and for some of our banking partners. The team’s ability to close this transaction during a volatile moment in capital markets is an endorsement of JDA’s reputation and the team’s professionalism.
These bank relationships are incredibly important for JDA’s business long-term, as are other types of partnerships. For instance, the Self-Storage team has built a strong partnership with Life Storage over the past four years. Life Storage’s entrepreneurial culture, partnership approach, and proven capabilities align well with JDA’s. As a result, JDA transitioned 23 of its properties to Life Storage’s management this month. Thank you to the Self-Storage, Finance, and Legal teams for their initiative to implement this transition.
Within JDA’s Industrial team, there has been a focused effort on continued deal execution. With 23 projects totaling 5.7M square feet currently under construction and another 4M square feet slated to begin construction, the Industrial team has been very active in sourcing and executing deals across the country. These projects are being developed with a long-term hold strategy in place.
Similarly, the Multifamily team has been investing in its team as it continues construction on a couple of projects, optimizing performance of others, and sourcing new opportunities in Florida and the Carolinas. The Multifamily team was thrilled to welcome Kerry-Ann Wilson to the team as Regional Director of Florida this year. Her leadership and extensive experience developing and managing multifamily projects in Florida markets is an asset to JDA’s focused growth in the region. Additionally, several members of our development team have been promoted, as they have proven themselves skilled leaders on the construction management side of our business.
As the new year commences, the JDA team will continue to move nimbly to capture opportunity while exercising discipline in project selection, making all decisions with a long-term view.