Preston Development Company

What Preston Development Company does

Preston Development Company is a privately held, Cary, North Carolina-based real estate developer founded in 1991 by Tim Smith and Julian "Bubba" Rawl. The company specializes in large-scale master-planned residential communities and complementary commercial/retail developments, operating across the Research Triangle area and North Carolina coast. Its portfolio spans 35+ communities and 20,000+ homes delivered over three decades, anchored by flagship project Chatham Park — an 8,500-acre master-planned community near Pittsboro planned for 22,000+ homes, 22 million square feet of retail and office space, and 75,000+ residents. Other notable assets include Beau Coast (Beaufort, NC), Landfall (Wilmington), Carolina Colours (New Bern, a 2013 acquisition), Prestonwood Country Club, and mixed-use developments such as Mosaic.

The company generates revenue primarily through one-time lot sales and home construction within residential master-planned communities, supplemented by development and sale/lease of commercial, retail, marina, and mixed-use spaces. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via on-site sales centers for residential buyers and enterprise field sales for commercial tenants and institutional partners. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but varies by community (e.g., Carolina Colours homes starting in the upper $190s). Preston distributes through a lean in-house team of approximately 10 staff managing operations across 21 LLCs, supplemented by partnerships with regional home builders, CenturyLink (fiber), Southern Energy Management (energy-efficient housing), and anchor institutions including UNC Health, YMCA ($30M facility opened 2025), and Thales Academy.

Preston differentiates on a "live-work-play-learn" community model emphasizing sustainable design features such as solar infrastructure, water reclamation, and pollinator gardens — recognized by the 2022 Henry A Stikes Grand Conceptor Award for the Chatham Park Water Reclamation Center. The company maintains a high regional reputation, evidenced by multiple Developer of the Year awards from MAME/Wake County HBA, NCHBA Community of the Year STARS Awards for Beau Coast and South Lakes, and 2025 Triangle Business Journal Business Persons of the Year for the co-founders. It remains founder-controlled with no disclosed institutional investors or parent company.

Name

Preston Development Company

Legal name

Preston Development Company

Website

https://prestondev.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Development

NAICS

Land Subdivision (23721), New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL)

Keywords

• Master-planned communities
• Residential development
• Commercial real estate
• Community development
• Land development

Headquarters

HQ city

Cary

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Residential Real Estate Development: Development and sale of residential master-planned communities including single-family homes, townhomes, and build-on-your-own-lot opportunities. Revenue generated from lot sales and home construction.
2. Commercial & Retail Development: Development and sale/lease of commercial and retail spaces including mixed-use developments, shopping centers, office buildings, and marina facilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Preston Development Company develops and sells master-planned residential communities (single-family homes, townhomes, and build-on-your-own-lot opportunities) and commercial/retail real estate (shopping centers, office buildings, mixed-use developments, marinas) primarily across North Carolina's Triangle area and coastal region. Revenue is generated through lot sales, home construction, and commercial property sales or leases, supported by sustainable infrastructure including water reclamation and solar power systems.

Product overview

Preston Development Company is a residential and commercial real estate development firm operating across North Carolina's Triangle area to the NC coast. The company offers a portfolio of master-planned communities (Chatham Park, Beau Coast), residential neighborhoods (Knightdale Station, South Lakes, Cameron Pond, Preston Retreat), golf course communities (Carolina Colours, Landfall), and commercial/retail developments (Mosaic, Penguin Place, Preston Corners, Preston Walk, The Arboretum at Weston). Their portfolio spans over 20,000 residential homes developed over three decades, with properties rated as Class A.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Chatham Park: An 8,000+ acre master-planned community in Pittsboro, NC featuring live, work, play, and learn environment with over 22,000 homes planned
• Beau Coast
• Mosaic
• Preston Retreat

Products and services

• Chatham Park An 8,500-acre master-planned community in Pittsboro, NC featuring over 22,000 homes, retail, offices, and parks designed for a live-work-play-and-learn lifestyle with projected 75,000+ residents.
• Beau Coast A coastal residential community in Beaufort, NC featuring resort-style amenities and coastal charm with single-family homes, townhomes, and build-on-your-own-lot opportunities.
• Prestonwood Country Club Prestigious country club community in Cary, NC developed by Preston; the firm's first major project.
• Southport Marina Marina facility in Southport, NC, recognized with the 2013 Marina of the Year award.
• Knightdale Station Award-winning residential community in Knightdale, NC recognized with Town of Knightdale Community Appearance Award and Mayor's Award for Commitment to Community.
• South Lakes NCHBA Community of the Year STARS Award-winning residential community in Fuquay Varina, NC.
• Cameron Pond Award-winning residential community in NC twice recognized as North Carolina Community of the Year.
• Landfall Prestigious gated community in Wilmington, NC revitalized under Preston's stewardship following the firm's 2002 acquisition.
• Carolina Colours 1,500-acre master-planned golf course community in New Bern, NC acquired by Preston Development in partnership with Ken Kirkman in 2013, featuring an 18-hole golf course and a 17,000 sf clubhouse; over $35 million in lot sales closed.
• Mosaic at Chatham Park 226-acre gateway mixed-use destination within Chatham Park combining retail, restaurants, offices, and homes for a live-work-play environment.
• Penguin Place Shopping center in Chatham Park, part of Preston's retail portfolio; broke ground in 2014.
• The Arboretum at Weston Retail center in Preston's commercial portfolio.
• Preston Corners Retail center in Preston's commercial portfolio.
• Preston Walk Retail center in Preston's commercial portfolio.
• Preston Retreat Luxury home neighborhood in Cary, NC limited to 25 home sites on one-third to half-acre lots, representing the final 13-acre tract of land in the Preston Community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22,000 homes and 22 million square feet of commercial space planned for Chatham Park build-out
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Southern Energy ManagementminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership announced for newest community of homes at Chatham Park focusing on energy-efficient housing development.
• CenturyLinkcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2018CenturyLink partnership for fiber network infrastructure at Chatham Park. First broadband provider to offer 1 gigabit speeds in Pittsboro, NC. Provides connectivity up to 1 gigabit for homes and up to 10 gigabits for businesses. CenturyLink ON platform enables residents to select internet speeds and manage services.
• Carolina Creek, LLC (Ken Kirkman)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2013Preston Development teamed with Ken Kirkman, owner of Carolina Creek LLC, to complete the Carolina Colours community in New Bern. The partnership combined Preston's financial strength and experience with Kirkman's existing community development expertise.
• SAS Institute / Jim GoodnightcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with SAS and its co-founder Jim Goodnight. Goodnight backed Smith and Rawl in many of their real estate projects including Prestonwood Country Club. Jim Goodnight is a co-founder of SAS and has been a key financial backing partner for Preston Development's ventures.
• YMCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for YMCA facility at Chatham Park - a $30 million facility that opened in 2025, nearly 6,000 members within months of opening. Preston has also constructed outdoor YMCA pools in Cary, Wakefield, and Knightdale through gifts of land.
• Thales AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChatham Park donated 17 acres of land to Thales Academy, making it the first campus in Pittsboro area.
• Rick HendrickminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwnership partners with Rick Hendrick in Toyota of Wilmington and Jeff Gordon Chevrolet auto dealerships in Wilmington.
• Aviana ProductionsminorOthersSan Francisco-based video production company that produced award-winning videos for Chatham Park and Beaufort East Village projects.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Howard Hughes Holdings: Public master-planned community developer (Summerlin, The Woodlands, Bridgeland, Downtown Columbia) operating a long-duration land-banking and integrated live-work-play model analogous to Preston's Chatham Park. Most directly comparable public peer for the mega-master-planned community thesis.
• Shea Homes: Private, family-owned homebuilder and master-planned community developer primarily in the Western U.S. Closely comparable in operating model (private, multi-generational, large-scale master-planned) and product mix (single-family, townhomes, build-on-your-lot).
• Five Point Holdings: Public developer of four large master-planned communities in California and Florida (Great Park, Candlestick, San Joaquin, Homestead). Closest pure-play peer for the long-cycle, entitlement-heavy, mixed-use master-planned community model Preston operates at Chatham Park.
• Newland Communities: Private developer of master-planned communities across the U.S. with a portfolio of ~30 active communities. Operates the same integrated land-banking, infrastructure-build, and homebuilder-partnership model Preston uses for both Chatham Park and Beau Coast.

Regional players

• Century Communities: Top-10 U.S. homebuilder with strong Southeast/Carolinas presence in entry-level and move-up product. Comparable customer segment and active in Carolinas master-planned communities, making it a likely buyer of Preston's developed lots.
• Smith Douglas Homes: Public homebuilder focused on entry-level move-up homes across the Carolinas and broader Southeast. Comparable scale, similar product (first-time and move-up buyers in master-planned settings), and overlapping Triangle-area geography — likely builder-partner candidate for Preston's lots.

Broad incumbents

• Toll Brothers: Luxury-focused national homebuilder active in master-planned communities in the Carolinas (including Triangle-area projects). Comparable product positioning to Preston's Preston Retreat and higher-end Chatham Park phases; competes for similar affluent home-buyer segments.
• D.R. Horton: Largest U.S. homebuilder by unit count and a major buyer of developed lots in the Carolinas. Broadly comparable on product category (for-sale residential in master-planned settings) but operates at vastly larger national scale.
• Lennar Corporation: Largest U.S. homebuilder by volume with deep presence in the Carolinas and active in master-planned communities. Competes for builder relationships on Preston's land but operates at national scale with substantially larger headcount and capital base.
• PulteGroup: National homebuilder with Centex, Del Webb, and John Wieland brands active across the Carolinas. Competitively comparable in the for-sale residential category but operates as a public incumbent across many master-planned communities rather than as a single-project master developer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/116389975087589
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/preston-development-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Preston Development Company