Francis Jud Laird

In 1998, Mr. Laird co-founded BC Property Investments LC, which was primarily focused on commercial real estate investments and redevelopment of historic properties in South Florida, Tennessee and New York. As he made his residence in Miami, and attended university in Tennessee, the strategy for BC was to make investments by leveraging his local knowledge and therefore capitalize on inefficiencies. As prices reached a peak in the South Florida market, BC disposed of the majority of its real estate holdings in 2006. These proceeds were used in part to fund an acquisition of mining operations in South Florida and residential mountain and lake front properties in Eastern Tennessee.

As a graduate of Vanderbilt University, Mr. Laird is very familiar with the Nashville market and expanded his search with other key Tennessee markets. His knowledge of the market combined with contacts developed over the course of the years facilitated the purchase of acreage in Tennessee for the startup of a timber and farming operation, as well as parceling and subdividing acreage in Morgan and Putnam Counties for sale to individual home buyers.

In 2012, the operations in Tennessee were expanded to the multifamily industry. Mr. Laird received a $250 million allocation to invest in multifamily assets in these markets that provided value-add opportunities in well located areas with strong demographic trends. For example, Mr. Laird engaged in negotiations and purchased Viera Cool Springs, a multifamily property consisting of 468 units in Nashville. Closing on the property took place on March 7, 2013. Since then the multifamily portfolio has increased to a total of 14 properties with a total of 5,822 units. More acquisitions are currently under negotiations.

Mr. Laird has an extensive history of community involvement and outreach having been a board member, member of, or ardent operational or financial supporter of Foster Care Review, Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust, South Florida Work Force, South Florida Dept. of Juvenile Justice, The Children’s Trust, Dade Human Rights Group, Gay and Lesbian Foundation of Florida, ACLU Foundation of Florida, the Audubon Society, the Everglades Foundation, etc. Mr. Laird is also an active participant in local government meetings, especially as it pertains to clean water for Low Income Communities, namely the Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and the Martin County Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Laird has a BA from Vanderbilt University.