Up until a few months ago, it appeared that multifamily had entered a golden age. Rents were rising, deals were closing and forecasters saw little difficulty in the medium term. To be sure, the asset class is still a strong one but with the rise in the cost of debt, the threat of a possible recession and asset pricing that has become muddled, some uncertainty has been injected into the landscape. For that reason, we give our kudos to the men, women, teams and companies that are navigating this environment. Careful judgments must be made about underwriting, forecasting the ability of tenants to pay higher rents and, for developers, the ongoing difficulties with labor and supply chains. We have little doubt that the recipients we selected for our annual multifamily influencers are up for the challenge.

INDIVIDUALS

DWIGHT DUNTON

Dwight Dunton founded Bonaventure in 1999 with the goal of forming a multifamily real estate company focused on its employees, residents, vendors, partners and investors. Today, Bonaventure has grown to become an integrated alternative asset management firm and one of the nation’s largest developers of rental housing properties. The company’s 400 employees continue to operate with the core values that Dunton outlined when he launched the company: growth, attitude, impact, collaboration, accountability and reputation. Dunton employs a unique approach to problem-solving and has a tenacity toward accomplishing goals, no matter how difficult. His approach to building a high-performing, vertically-integrated multifamily development, investment and management platform has resulted in Bonaventure managing more than $1.5 billion in assets. The firm also currently manages more than 6,000 apartment units across 31 communities primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions, and it is poised for continued growth with a strong development and acquisition pipeline. As CEO, Dunton oversees the strategic direction and culture of the enterprise, he helps the team identify problems that others may not be able to foresee and he works alongside everyone to find a solution. In addition, Dunton is CEO of Bonaventure’s private non-traded REIT, which launched in September 2021. Dunton is notably proud of two standout development projects, including the sale of Arbordale, which was built and leased during the pandemic, and breaking ground on Attain at Spotsylvania Towne Centre in partnership with Cafaro in Fredericksburg, VA.

 

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