Southern Land Company

As Chief Investment Officer, Alex leads Southern Land Company’s capital markets activities, as well as developing and managing investor relationships for each of the company’s projects around the country. Alex focuses on integrating exceptional investment partners, key data, strategic analysis and careful execution to create long-term value for each Southern Land Company community.

Prior to joining Southern Land Company in 2014, Alex was a Managing Director for Guggenheim Securities, LLC. With more than 20 years of investment banking and corporate finance experience, Alex has completed more than 60 transactions totaling more than $7 billion during the course of his career, including private placements of debt and equity, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, valuations and fairness opinions.

Alex received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina and a Masters of Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate, from the University of Georgia. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Ben leads Southern Land Company’s mission to create memorable environments. Whether he is designing a brand-new community, planning a mixed-use development or creating sanctuary in a rooftop garden, he ensures no detail is overlooked. By jointly managing the efforts of Southern Land Company’s design and engineering teams, Ben delivers function and form to every project.

Ben brings over 20 years of experience to his position, including work recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Urban Land Institute. Prior to joining Southern Land Company, Ben worked in master planning and resort design for Reece, Hoopes and Fincher in Atlanta; and held positions at Hawkins Partners, Inc. in Nashville; and Post Landscape Group in Atlanta.

Ben is certified by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) and is registered in Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Colorado. He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Contracting, both from Mississippi State University.

Brian joined Southern Land Company in 2002, and was named President in 2008. In this capacity, Brian oversees all investment activity related to the company’s residential, multifamily, commercial and office portfolios. Brian is also responsible for the operating departments, including commercial construction, property management, infrastructure, horticulture, home building and sales. From 2002 until 2008, Brian was responsible for Southern Land Company’s development activity in Tennessee and Texas.

Prior to joining Southern Land Company, Brian spent almost 10 years as Vice President and General Manager of Terrabrook in Tampa, Florida, where he oversaw development of a 2,000-acre master plan community with a high-end golf course, 3,000 homes and 150 acres of mixed-use development.

Brian received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, majoring in Finance and Real Estate. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from Auburn University with a concentration in Operations Management.

Cindy works to ensure that Southern Land Company’s multifamily projects are distinctive and comprehensive communities, offering an inspired, artful lifestyle to each and every resident. Addressing all operational aspects of multifamily and mixed-use development, Cindy leads a diverse set of functions from property management to budgeting, as well as establishing rental rates, managing lease-up absorption, and contributing to the determination of each property’s unit mix and overall design scheme.

Cindy brings extensive industry experience in property operations, acquisitions, repositioning, construction and talent management to Southern Land Company. She previously served as Managing Director at Greystar/Riverstone Residential Group where she led operations for a 15,000-unit, Class A portfolio spanning nine states. She also held the role of Executive Vice President at Continental Realty Corporation in Baltimore, overseeing the acquisition of 15 multifamily projects in just five years.

Cindy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Towson University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore. She is a founding board member and former president of the Maryland Multi-Housing Association (MMHA) and a guest professor at the University of Baltimore Robert Merrick School of Business.

As Vice President of Homebuilding for SLC Homebuilding, LLC, Dan oversees all of aspects of the Homebuilding groups in both Tennessee and Texas. This includes oversight of product development, sales and negotiations, purchasing and estimating, better building practices, and day to day operations.  SLC Homebuilding specializes in building custom homes with the highest architectural details with a focus on customer satisfaction.  Since joining Southern Land Company in 2005, Dan has been a part of the construction of over 700 custom homes in 6 different  SLC communities.

Dan earned his Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Western Kentucky University and his Masters of Education with a focus on Institutional Advancement from Vanderbilt University.

As Senior Vice President of Design, Danny oversees all of the details that add up to Southern Land Company’s signature communities and streetscapes. This includes oversight of conceptual design and maintenance of strict design standards, creating community guidelines, managing the design review process, selecting builders, specifying exterior materials and colors to provide diversity and unique streetscapes, determining the right amenity program for each community and supervising the model home program. Since joining Southern Land Company in 2002, Danny has been instrumental in creating exceptional communities across Tennessee and Texas.

Prior to his current position, Danny gained a broad base of experience in residential design, as well as neighborhood planning with Looney Ricks Kiss Architects in Memphis. In this role, Danny designed, documented and reviewed homes in many high-profile traditional neighborhoods in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Florida and Tennessee.

Dustin started at Southern Land Company in 2005, and today leads Southern Land Company’s Northeast Division of multifamily development, including acquisitions, construction management and mixed-used development. He is responsible for all aspects of the acquisition and development process, making sure his projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Currently Dustin’s team is directing the development and construction of three Southern Land projects in Philadelphia, PA: 3601 Market, 3750 Lancaster and 1911 Walnut. Dustin previously worked on several successful Southern Land projects including Elliston23, a LEED Certified Silver mixed-use project in Nashville. Dustin also directed the development of Devon Four25 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and helped oversee the Arthouse and Lofts at Watters Creek developments in Texas.

Dustin is a graduate of Vanderbilt University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering.

As Vice President of Community Development, Heidi will be managing Southern Land Company’s new development in Erie, CO. near Denver that will include over 1,100 parcels. Heidi has spent the last couple of years with a local home builder in Denver running land acquisition and lending. Prior to that Heidi worked for almost 14 years on the development team with the Forest City Group developing Stapleton in Denver.  Stapleton was one of the largest TND’s built in the country over the last 30 years and encompassed over 4,700 acres.

Kevin Holst joined Southern Land Company in November 2018 as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Kevin heads the company’s in-house legal department and is responsible for supporting SLC’s development activity across the United States.

Kevin previously served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at McWhinney, a Colorado-based real estate firm, where he handled all legal matters relating to multifamily development, commercial leasing, construction, acquisition and an 1,100-acre master planned community. He has over 15 years of experience in commercial real estate operations, and he served for several years as Assistant General Counsel at Vail Resorts with legal responsibility over lodging, real estate development, land use, employee housing, and all real estate aspects of ski resort acquisition.

Kevin holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Political Science from the Saint Olaf College in Minnesota, and he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

As Chief Accounting Officer since 2015, Larissa is responsible for all facets of accounting for Southern Land Company, and the Southern Land Homebuilding and Southern Land Commercial Construction Divisions. She oversees all audits, tax returns, financials and reporting for every project that SLC develops and manages.

Previously Larissa spent 15 years with a developer in Pennsylvania, with a focus on single-family homebuilding, multifamily apartments, and commercial construction activities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey.

Larissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Black Hills State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Global Management Accountant.

Marty leads Southern Land Company’s Commercial Construction Division, overseeing a team of project engineers, estimators and accounting personnel specializing in high-rise and mixed-use development. He brings more than 30 years of experience to the position, including management of significant projects in the commercial and residential sectors.

Before joining Southern Land Company, Marty was a Senior Vice President of Construction focused on mixed-use residential developments, completing numerous projects valued at over $400 million. He also previously served as President and CEO of Tauer, LLC and TCR SE construction.

Marty graduated with honors from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction Technology.

Michael oversees all aspects of development for Southern Land Company’s Tennessee, Denver and Boulder Colorado multifamily and mixed-use projects. Specifically, he has seen great success with the company’s Dwell at McEwen, Elliston 23 and Junction 15 multifamily communities, as well as the Southside at McEwen retail project.

With more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, Michael has focused on multifamily development and investments. Prior to joining Southern Land Company in 2007, Michael served as Vice President of Covenant Capital Group, a real estate private equity investment firm.

Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Industrial Relations from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Shane White is Vice President of Planning & Urban Design for Southern Land Company. He spearheads all master planning for both single-family and mixed-use development projects, and performs yield and program studies for all Southern Land acquisitions across the nation. His design and creativity helps to frame a vision for each environment and ensure the ultimate success of each development.  Throughout each design phase, Shane provides insight and analysis to architecture and engineering consultants to ensure Southern Land Company’s vision is maintained.  He also manages Project Entitlement negotiations including zoning research, coordination with City and Neighborhood groups, and presentations for project approvals.

Shane joined Southern Land Company in 2005 and has over 20 years of experience in master planning, urban design and landscape architecture. His work has been recognized by The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and Urban Land Institute (ULI). Prior to joining Southern Land Company, Shane was Landscape Architect and Planner for the Urban Design Studio at Gresham Smith in Nashville, TN.

Shane is certified by the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Board (CLARB) and is registered in South Carolina.  He is a member of the Nashville chapter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).  Shane earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Clemson University in 1999.

Tim Downey is the founder and CEO of Southern Land Company. He serves as the visionary and driving force behind the concepts and designs that distinguish Southern Land Company’s communities.

Tim’s entrepreneurship began in college when he created a property maintenance business. This experience inspired Tim’s three-decade career in developing neighborhoods and vibrant commercial districts that adhere to traditional design principles and generate community interaction. Modeled after Walt Disney Imagineering’s desire to inspire creativity, innovation and interaction in the company and across projects, Tim’s vertically integrated business model enables direct communication between architecture, horticulture, construction and planning professionals. The result has been a growing portfolio of communities that are redefining their markets.

Becca joined Southern Land Company in 2002 and leads all HR initiatives including workforce planning, career development, talent acquisition, rewards and recognition, performance management, employee relations, compliance, benefits, compensation administration and training and development.

Becca is charged with overseeing Southern Land Company’s greatest asset – our people. She and her Human Resources team strategically partner with key business leaders to provide an environment that supports professional development to maximize opportunity for success.
Becca holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the HR Certification Institute.

Joe is the Northeast Director of Acquisitions specializing in the identification of premium sites for the company to construct large-scale multifamily mixed use projects. His responsibilities extend from involvement in the initial land purchase through the re-zoning process, appropriate permits and collaboration with the Master Developer and Construction Manager on each building.

Previously, Joe spent four years as a Senior Associate of Investment Sales with Sabre Real Estate, where he closed 100’s of millions of dollars in transactions, negotiated commercial retail leases with national tenants, and secured $1.5 billion in off-market sellable listings. His prior career included entrepreneurial experience as a Partner of an exotic automotive dealership and General Manager of Formula One Motor Sports dealership. During his early career, he supervised construction crews on projects for Con Edison and the NYC DOE and DOT for Pim Corporation.

Matthew D. Magallanes, Vice President of Business Development, supports investor relations and communications.  Matt first joined Southern Land Company as the Senior Vice President of Marketing in 2005, overseeing the national marketing and public relations functions for the firm and its developments. In 2008, Matt transitioned to business development, focusing specifically on community relations, leasing and activation of mixed-use developments. As Vice President of the Westhaven Golf Club in 2010, Matt was responsible for significant growth in membership, the creation of the Westhaven Golf Academy, and the delivery of the clubhouse and other amenities. His extensive experience in various roles within the firm gives him a unique understanding of the company’s goals, values and capabilities.

Matt attended the Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and studied business entrepreneurship. He is actively engaged in community activities and associations, including the Education Foundation for Williamson County where he serves as a board member.