Sifen

What Sifen does

Sifen Inc. is a private, founder-controlled real estate developer and general contractor headquartered at 2929 Sabre St., Suite 500, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded approximately in 1987 and operating for over 30 years, the company runs an integrated developer-plus-GC model, acquiring land, conducting demographic and economic feasibility analysis, managing zoning changes, and executing construction in-house. Its portfolio spans four product lines: retail (over 300,000 square feet in the Hampton Roads area), Class A office, residential (notably the Radius luxury apartment complex in Newport News completed in 2012), and multi-level, climate-controlled self-storage facilities (including the 150,000-square-foot, 1,000-unit Mini Price Storage facility on Virginia Beach Blvd.).

The company monetizes across four streams: one-time real estate development sales (built-to-sell retail and mixed-use projects), professional construction services when acting as general contractor, recurring managed-services revenue from property management of its owned retail, office, and self-storage assets, and subscription-like rental income from commercial leasing of retail and Class A office space. Leasing is executed through dedicated broker partnerships — Parker Burnell (Troy Parker) for retail and CBRE Norfolk (Don Crigger) for office — and direct tenant relationships. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

Sifen serves retail tenants, office tenants (national and local), self-storage operators, and residential developers, with primary go-to-market concentrated in Hampton Roads and stated reach into Maryland and North Carolina. Notable active projects include the 13.5-acre Haygood Square Marketplace at 717-745 Independence Boulevard and the 93,351-square-foot Hickman House shopping center. The firm has no external institutional capital, no app or platform, no patents, and no technology stack, operating as a bootstrapped, relationship-driven regional real estate business led by President Michael Sifen with a small (1-10 employee) team.

Name

Sifen

Legal name

Sifen Inc.

Website

https://sifeninc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sifen Inc. is a private Virginia Beach-based real estate developer and general contractor operating as both developer and GC across retail, Class A office, luxury residential, and multi-level self-storage assets. It owns and manages over 300,000 square feet in Hampton Roads and serves retail, office, self-storage, and residential tenants across Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Norfolk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Development: The company acquires land, conducts demographic and economic feasibility studies, handles zoning changes, and develops properties from conception through completion.
2. General Contracting/Construction Services: Full-service construction services where Sifen acts as the general contractor, managing all aspects of building projects from inception to completion.
3. Property Management: Ongoing property management services for retail, office, and self-storage facilities they develop and own, generating recurring management fees.
4. Commercial Leasing: Leasing of retail and Class A office spaces throughout Hampton Roads, generating rental income from commercial tenants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sifen Inc. is a regional real estate developer and general contractor that acquires land, secures zoning approvals, constructs, and manages commercial properties across the Hampton Roads market and surrounding Mid-Atlantic region. The firm builds and owns retail shopping centers, Class A office buildings, luxury residential apartments, and multi-level climate-controlled self-storage facilities, while also serving third-party clients as a general contractor. It complements these offerings with ongoing property management and commercial leasing services for its portfolio.

Product overview

Sifen Inc. is a real estate development and general contracting company operating as both developer and GC, offering an integrated portfolio of services spanning the entire property lifecycle. The core offerings include retail space construction (300,000+ sf in Hampton Roads), Class A office/commercial buildings, luxury residential apartments, and multi-level self-storage facilities with climate control and security features. Projects span Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. The company also provides property management and commercial leasing services as support functions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Contracting Full-service general contracting delivered by Sifen Inc. as both developer and GC, taking projects from conception through completion with over 30 years of commercial experience across retail, office, residential, and self-storage asset classes.
• Real Estate Development In-house development services that begin with land acquisition based on demographics and economic feasibility, handle zoning changes, and convert the firm's vision into viable projects ready for construction.
• Retail Construction and Development Construction and development of retail shopping centers and tenant spaces, with over 300,000 square feet of retail space delivered in the Hampton Roads market.
• Office and Commercial Construction Construction and development of Class A office buildings serving national and local tenants throughout the Hampton Roads area.
• Residential Development Luxury apartment construction and development in the Hampton Roads area, exemplified by the Radius complex delivered in Newport News in 2012.
• Self-Storage Facilities Multi-level, fully climate-controlled self-storage facilities with state-of-the-art security features, developed across the Mid-Atlantic from North Carolina to Maryland.
• Property Management Property management services for owned retail, office, and self-storage facilities, including maintenance request handling and tenant support coordinated by property manager Kaelyn Spera.
• Commercial Leasing Commercial space leasing for retail and Class A office properties throughout Hampton Roads, with dedicated contacts for retail and office leasing inquiries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300,000 sf of retail space managed in Hampton Roads area
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Parker BurnellcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2015Commercial real estate brokerage partnership where Parker Burnell markets Sifen Inc. developments to retail tenants. Partner Troy Parker is a partner at Parker Burnell representing the Haygood Square Marketplace development.
• CBRE NorfolkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2015Major commercial real estate firm representing Sifen Inc. for office space leasing in the Hampton Roads market. Contact Don Crigger handles office leasing inquiries for Sifen properties.
• Mini Price StoragemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelf-storage operator tenant in Sifen-developed facility. Sifen purchased 5.1 acre property and constructed 150,000 sq ft, 1000-unit facility for Mini Price Storage operation.
• Architectural firms (unnamed)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitectural renderings referenced for Haygood Square Marketplace development, indicating partnership with architectural consultants for project design.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cushman & Wakefield: Global commercial real estate services firm with brokerage, valuation, and property management across the Mid-Atlantic. Comparable as a scaled services provider and indirect competitor for institutional mandates in the same markets Sifen serves.
• CBRE Group: Global commercial real estate services firm with a Norfolk office that already partners with Sifen for office leasing. Relevant as both a distribution channel and a scaled competitor for institutional leasing mandates.
• Highwoods Properties: Publicly traded REIT/office developer with a meaningful Mid-Atlantic presence including Virginia, focused on Class A office product. Comparable office-development capability and regional operating geography, though at materially larger scale.
• Edens: Large national retail real estate owner/developer focused on grocery-anchored shopping centers—a direct overlap with Sifen's Haygood Square Marketplace and Hickman House product type, though at substantially greater scale and capital.

Direct peers

• The Breeden Company: Virginia Beach-based vertically integrated commercial and multifamily developer/GC with a similar Hampton Roads footprint, multi-decade operating history, and overlapping product mix (retail, office, residential). Most directly comparable peer on geography and integrated developer+GC model.
• Armada Hoffler Properties: Virginia Beach-headquartered commercial real estate developer/REIT focused on office, retail, and multifamily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, including Hampton Roads. Closest publicly observable comparable on geography, product type, and integration of development with ongoing ownership.
• Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate: Long-standing Hampton Roads commercial real estate firm covering brokerage, property management, and development services. Comparable on regional market and overlapping commercial product categories.
• S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. Norfolk-based, ~100-year-old vertically integrated real estate firm offering development, brokerage, property management, and construction services across Hampton Roads and the Mid-Atlantic. Comparable on integrated services model and regional focus.
• Hourigan Development: Mid-Atlantic-focused commercial real estate developer active in Virginia with retail, office, healthcare, and industrial product. Comparable on integrated developer/builder model and geographic reach into Virginia.

Regional players

• Divaris Real Estate: Mid-Atlantic commercial real estate brokerage and property management firm with offices across Virginia including Hampton Roads. Comparable on commercial leasing and property management service lines in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/michael-d-sifen-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Sifen