The Empire Group Of Companies

What The Empire Group Of Companies does

The Empire Group of Companies, LLC is a privately held real estate development firm headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded by Richard J. Felker in Milwaukee in the 1970s and relocated to Phoenix roughly 40 years ago. The firm develops, owns, and operates residential and commercial real estate across four product lines: build-for-rent single-family communities (the gated "Village" branded portfolio including Harvard Crossing, Pioneer Park, Olive Marketplace, Paseo de Luces, Camelback Park, Schnepf Farms, and The BLVD), Class A+ urban high-rise apartments (The Stewart, a 312-unit 19-story tower completed in 2019 as the first high-rise multifamily in Phoenix history, and Aspire Fillmore, a 254-unit 17-story tower completed Q4 2021), luxury for-sale semi-custom homes (Villas at Baker Park, Manors at Butler North), and adaptive-reuse commercial projects including self-storage (202 Self Storage) and warehouse-to-office conversions (402 Warehouse, 1st and Buchanan). The build-for-rent model targets millennials priced out of homeownership and baby-boomer empty nesters seeking low-maintenance housing, with roughly 5,000 units across approximately 20 communities in the development pipeline.

Name

The Empire Group Of Companies

Legal name

The Empire Group of Companies, LLC

Website

https://builtbyempire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Empire Group of Companies is a Scottsdale-based private real estate developer founded in 1970 that builds, owns, and operates build-for-rent single-family communities, Class A+ urban high-rise apartments, luxury for-sale homes, and adaptive-reuse commercial properties in the Phoenix metro, with expansion into Texas, Colorado, and Indiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Development

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices (551114)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799), Real Estate (6500)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Office Investment Platforms & Direct Investing (PE/VC/Co-Invest) (FSAAADAH)

Keywords

• Residential real estate development
• Build-for-rent communities
• Multifamily housing development
• Commercial real estate development
• Private real estate investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Build-For-Rent Communities: Single-family build-for-rent communities where the company develops, owns, and operates rental properties. Revenue generated from monthly rental payments. Target demographic includes millennials forming households and baby boomers seeking low-maintenance housing without homeownership obligations.
2. High-Rise Multifamily: Development and operation of Class A+ urban high-rise apartment communities. Revenue from residential leasing at premium downtown Phoenix locations.
3. For-Sale Residential: Development of semi-custom luxury homes sold to individual buyers. Examples include Villas at Baker Park and Manors at Butler North communities.
4. Commercial/Retail: Adaptive reuse commercial projects including office conversions (402 Warehouse, 1st and Buchanan) and self-storage facilities (202 Self Storage).
5. Investor Capital Raises: Private equity capital formation through Reg D investment programs. Empire has raised over $900MM of equity across 40+ programs, with Empire Capital Advisors managing these offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Empire Group is a real estate development firm that develops, owns, and operates residential and commercial properties in the Phoenix metropolitan area and select Sun Belt markets. Its portfolio spans single-family build-for-rent communities under the "Village" brand, Class A+ urban high-rise multifamily apartments, luxury semi-custom for-sale homes, and commercial assets including self-storage and adaptive-reuse office conversions. The company also raises equity capital through 506(b) Reg D private placement offerings distributed to accredited investors.

Product overview

The Empire Group Of Companies is a real estate development firm specializing in residential and commercial properties in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The company operates across multiple product lines: (1) Build-For-Rent Communities under the 'Village' brand offering single-family rental homes (Village at Harvard Crossing, Village at Pioneer Park, Village Olive Marketplace, Village Paseo de Luces, Village Camelback Park, Village Schnepf Farms, Village The BLVD); (2) Urban High-Rise Living through projects like The Stewart and Aspire Fillmore; (3) Luxury Single-Family Residential including Villas at Baker Park and Manors at Butler North; (4) Commercial Properties including self-storage facilities (202 Self Storage), adaptive reuse office projects (402 Warehouse, 1st and Buchanan). The portfolio spans build-for-rent communities, Class A+ high-rise apartments, semi-custom homes, and opportunistic ventures in adaptive reuse and commercial development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aspirant Development: Luxury high-rise residential and core mixed-use development projects. Affiliated company managed by Geoffrey Jacobs.

Products and services

• The Stewart 312-unit, 19-story Class A+ luxury high-rise apartment building located on Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix on Roosevelt Row; the tallest residential building on Roosevelt Row. Targeted at urban professionals and graduate students seeking luxury downtown living.
• Aspire Fillmore 254-unit, 17-story Class A+ high-rise apartment project in downtown Phoenix offering fitness gym, communal workspace, and a pool with mezzanine clubhouse on the 16th floor; targeted at urban professionals.
• Village at Harvard Crossing 184-unit gated single-family build-for-rent community located at the southwest corner of N Pebble Creek Parkway and W Virginia Ave in Goodyear, Arizona; Empire's first completed build-for-rent project in the Phoenix market, completed in 2020.
• Village at Pioneer Park 332-unit gated single-family build-for-rent community located in Peoria, Arizona on 30 acres, completed in 2022.
• Village Olive Marketplace

Quantifiable outcome

• $3 billion+ in assets developed and/or managed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Aspirant DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeoffrey Jacobs is managing partner of Aspirant Development and principal of The Empire Group. Aspirant handles luxury high-rise residential and core mixed-use projects while Empire oversees single-family build-for-rent projects. Aspirant developed The Stewart (first high-rise in Phoenix history) and Aspire Fillmore.
• Extra Space StorageminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExtra Space Storage operates the 202 Self Storage facility developed by Empire Group, located near ASU main campus in Phoenix. Empire developed the facility, Extra Space Storage operates it under their brand.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Progress Residential: One of the largest institutional single-family rental operators/builders in the U.S., focused on BFR communities. Geoffrey Jacobs, now Partner at Empire, was previously a principal at Progress Residential, making it a directly comparable BFR operator with overlapping investor-channel and asset-class exposure.
• Invitation Homes: Largest publicly traded single-family rental REIT with a national portfolio of SFR/BFR homes. Competes with Empire for BFR tenants and institutional capital, and serves as a public-market benchmark for Empire's BFR business model and unit economics.
• Alliance Residential Company: Large private U.S. multifamily developer with significant Phoenix-area presence and Class A apartment communities. Direct comparable to Empire's Aspirant high-rise operations in the downtown Phoenix submarket.
• American Homes 4 Rent: Publicly traded single-family rental REIT that develops and operates BFR communities, including new construction through AMH Development. Competes head-to-head with Empire in Phoenix-area BFR submarkets and represents a scaled institutional peer.
• Mill Creek Residential: Vertically integrated multifamily developer and operator focused on Class A rental housing across the U.S. Sun Belt. Closely comparable to Empire's BFR and Aspirant high-rise product lines in target tenant, build quality, and amenitized community model.
• Tricon Residential: Publicly traded SFR operator with a vertically integrated BFR development platform (Tricon Vantage) that builds single-family rental communities. Direct BFR peer to Empire with overlapping investor base and similar new-construction strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Largest multifamily developer, operator, and investment manager globally. While not Phoenix-focused or BFR-pure, Greystar overlaps with Empire's high-rise multifamily strategy (Aspirant) and institutional capital deployment model.
• Taylor Morrison Home Corporation: Large publicly traded homebuilder with significant Phoenix operations and growing BFR exposure through Yardly. Comparable to Empire in Phoenix for-sale residential and increasingly in BFR new-construction supply.
• Lincoln Property Company: National multifamily developer, manager, and investment firm with extensive Class A apartment development pipeline. Comparable to Empire's high-rise/mid-rise strategy through Aspirant and broader Phoenix-area multifamily ambitions.

Regional players

• Sunbelt Holdings: Phoenix-based diversified real estate developer with significant residential and mixed-use projects. Regional peer operating in the same Phoenix metropolitan market with overlapping multifamily and master-planned community exposure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empiregroupofcompanies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 The Empire Group Of Companies