McKinley Capital Partners

What McKinley Capital Partners does

McKinley Capital Partners (d/b/a McKinley Partners) is a private real estate investment and operating platform founded in 2006 and headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, with additional offices in San Diego and Salt Lake City. The firm bridges private capital — sourced from high-net-worth individuals, institutional investors, and fund LPs — and residential real estate developers, deploying equity (preferred equity and acquisition/entitlement capital) and debt (1st trust deed loans) into for-sale and rental projects across California and Utah. Target transactions range from small infill preferred-equity checks (e.g., $2.46MM for 20th PQR, $2.6MM for Analisa) up to JV-scale master-planned community co-investments with national homebuilders (One Lake, 2,800 units; 3Roots, 1,800 units alongside Lennar and Shea Homes). The firm advertises targeted returns of 15–25% on invested capital and reports $2.8B of cumulative capital deployed across 20+ markets.

The operating model is relationship-driven rather than tech-driven: deal flow is generated and underwritten through a network of repeat developer counterparties — CW Urban (Salt Lake City), California West Communities (San Diego/coastal), Tim Lewis Communities, DeNova Homes, The Address Company (Bay Area), Root Real Estate + Ketter Development, Grupe Homes, Florence Homes, and oWow. There is no proprietary technology platform; investment decisions rest on the team's collective 150+ years of real estate experience and backgrounds at Shea Homes, Lennar, D.R. Horton, Brookfield, Catellus, Citicorp Real Estate, and Armanino. The 2016-launched Development Capital Fund is the firm's primary capital vehicle and is targeted at small-to-mid, well-located residential projects in undersupplied Western US markets — a positioning explicitly framed as filling a capital gap left by institutional lenders.

Name

McKinley Capital Partners

Website

https://mckinleycp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

McKinley Capital Partners is a private real estate investment firm that deploys preferred equity, first trust deed loans, and JV capital into California and Utah residential development projects on behalf of HNW and institutional investors, targeting 15–25% returns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Investment

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Funds — Opportunistic / Development (FSANAEAI)

Keywords

• Real estate investment
• Development capital
• Preferred equity
• Residential development
• Joint venture

Headquarters

HQ city

Walnut Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Development Capital Returns: McKinley generates returns by investing equity and debt capital into real estate development projects — including preferred equity investments, 1st trust deed loans, and acquisition & entitlement investments — and earning returns on those deployments when projects are completed and sold or stabilized. Returns on investment are targeted at 15–25% as stated on the homepage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

McKinley Capital Partners provides equity and debt capital to real estate developers and homebuilders for residential development projects across California and Utah. The firm deploys capital through preferred equity investments, first trust deed loans, and acquisition and entitlement investments, targeting risk-adjusted returns of 15–25% for its investors. It operates as an intermediary that bridges investor capital with small-to-mid-size private developers seeking funding for residential projects in undersupplied markets.

Product overview

McKinley Capital Partners operates as a real estate investment firm that bridges investors with real estate development opportunities. The company primarily offers the Development Capital Fund as its core investment vehicle, launched in 2016 to address capital gaps in the market for small-to-medium development projects. The firm deploys capital across a portfolio of residential development projects including master-planned communities (One Lake with 2,800 units, 3Roots with 1,800 units), single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, live-work rental units, and modular homes. The company generates returns of 15-25% on invested capital and has deployed $2.8B across 20+ markets primarily in California and Utah.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $2.8B in capital deployed across 20+ markets
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

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 major, minor and core.

• Tim Lewis CommunitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Tim Lewis Communities is the sponsor/developer of Sutter Park, an 88 single-family home development in East Sacramento. McKinley invested in this Tim Lewis Communities development which brings three unique home styles to the local market, ranging from 1,500–3,100SF. The project is designed to reflect Sacramento's heritage and is within walking and biking distance to shops, cafes, and schools.
• DeNova HomesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020DeNova Homes is the sponsor for Petaluma 199 (Brody Ranch) in Petaluma, CA — a development of 199 stacked flats and single-family homes across two communities: Daybreak (61 detached single-family homes, ~2,400SF each) and Mill Creek (138 detached condos, 600–1,100SF). The project is located adjacent to the future SMART rail station. McKinley invested with DeNova Homes on this construction. The project exceeded sales rate expectations.
• Root Real Estate and Ketter DevelopmentmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Root Real Estate and Ketter Development are joint venture partners with McKinley on two San Pedro projects: 1331 Pacific (92 rental apartments) and 2111 Pacific (102 build-to-rent units). Both projects are part of the broader San Pedro waterfront redevelopment. Root Real Estate and Ketter Development acquired the properties and McKinley invested in the developments to supply new housing in the port city.
• oWow CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020oWow Company is the developer/sponsor of 1919 Market in Oakland — a 102 live-work rental unit project converting the old Greyhound bus station into 800SF units with full kitchens, living rooms, and two bathrooms. McKinley invested in the project which addresses the housing shortage with adaptable, affordable residential units using MagicWalls Macro Units for flexible floorplans.
• The Address CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019The Address Company is McKinley's Bay Area partner for urban townhome developments. McKinley's second project with The Address Company is San Luis Six (6 detached homes in Walnut Creek, under construction). Their first collaboration was Analisa (11 urban townhomes in downtown Walnut Creek), where McKinley committed $2.6MM in preferred equity and the project sold out in March 2020.
• Grupe HomesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Grupe Homes is the developer/builder of 20th PQR, a 32 attached home development in Midtown Sacramento. McKinley invested $2.46MM of preferred equity. Units range from 1,770–1,880SF with 2–3 bedrooms. The project sold out in April 2019 with pricing starting in the lower $900k's and had stronger-than-projected returns.
• CW UrbancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CW Urban is McKinley's primary development partner for Salt Lake City, Utah projects. The partnership has produced multiple successful developments including The Olive (120 condominiums in downtown Salt Lake City, with McKinley committing $5MM for land and construction), The Winnie (53 townhomes in North Salt Lake City, with pricing starting in the mid-$300,000s), and The Charli (91 total units — 26 adaptive reuse and 65 new condos — in Salt Lake City's Central Ninth neighborhood). CW Urban has been described as a leading developer making significant headway in addressing the affordable housing crisis in the greater Salt Lake area.
• California West CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014California West Communities is McKinley's key partner for multiple San Diego and California coastal projects. The joint venture includes the 3Roots master-planned community (1,800 units in San Diego, a joint venture also including Lennar and Shea Homes), as well as Blue Crest (13 luxury beach homes in Encinitas), Oak Creek (24 single-family homes in Vista), and Oceanside (21 townhomes in coastal Oceanside). McKinley partnered as investor and executive committee member in the 3Roots acquisition and development. California West serves as general contractor for Oceanside.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Fundrise: Real estate investment platform that pools capital from individual investors for residential and commercial real estate projects. Comparable in providing non-institutional investors access to private real estate deals, though operating at much larger scale and with different deal mix.
• CrowdStreet: Online real estate investment marketplace connecting individual investors with private real estate sponsors and developers. Comparable capital-raising mechanism (investor-to-developer) though broader in deal types and geographies.

Direct peers

• Roc Capital: Private real estate lender offering short-term financing for residential fix-and-flip and new construction developers. Directly comparable as a non-bank capital provider for small-to-mid residential operators in similar deal sizes to McKinley.
• Anchor Loans: Private real estate lender specializing in residential fix-and-flip and ground-up construction loans to developers. Overlapping customer base of small/mid residential operators and similar preferred equity/debt capital deployment model.
• Lima One Capital: Private real estate lender focused on financing residential investors and developers with short-term, value-add capital. Directly comparable to McKinley's 1st trust deed lending arm and similar sponsor/developer target market.
• CoreVest Finance: Private real estate lender (formerly B2R Finance) providing bridge loans and long-term financing to residential developers and investors. Comparable in product offering (debt capital to small/mid residential developers) and customer profile.
• Belveron Partners: Real estate private equity firm focused on affordable housing and middle-market multifamily investments. Comparable as a smaller real estate PE platform deploying equity into operating real estate projects with social impact angles.

Broad incumbents

• Brookfield Real Estate: Major alternative asset manager with a large real estate business investing across residential, multifamily, and development. Directly overlaps with McKinley's residential development exposure but at a much larger scale, with several former McKinley team alumni having worked at Brookfield/Brookfield Homes.
• Bluerock Real Estate: Real estate investment manager offering institutional and individual access to commercial and residential real estate funds. Comparable as a diversified real estate investment platform, though larger and broader in mandate than McKinley's residential development focus.
• Lennar (LMC Ventures): One of the largest US homebuilders with an investment arm that co-invests in master-planned communities like 3Roots (alongside McKinley). Comparable in residential development focus and Western US geographic exposure, but vastly larger scale and broader operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/huberthultgren

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments3 records

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

Frequently asked questions about McKinley Capital Partners