“We get asked to go public all the time, but we want to remain a family company.”
Kip Sowden
Chairman and CEO
RREAF Holdings
.…on his “legacy approach” to keeping his Dallas-based commercial real estate development firm private, via the Dallas Morning News.
Instead of going public with a splashy IPO, Sowden prefers to keep it all in the family.
Founded in 2001, Sowden’s privately held, vertically integrated CRE firm has an even longer history in the industry, with roots going back some 37 years. RREAF operates across multiple platforms, targeting different segments of the real estate market, including multifamily and hospitality. With nearly 500 employees and assets of $4.5 billion, it’s not surprising that an IPO would seem to be in the picture.
Instead, writes Anna Butler in the Dallas Morning News, Sowden aims to one day turn leadership of RREAF over to his son Graham Sowden, 29, the company’s chief investment officer.
“This is my last go around, and I’m going to really set up more of a legacy company that all of our kids can build out and grow with,” Sowden, 61, told the DMN. “Nothing is more exciting than having your son follow in your business and know that he’ll be the CEO at one point.”
In the meantime, RREAF keeps innovating. RREAF Communities, its masterplanned community group, was established in 2020.
“With RREAF Communities, we’re actually building cities,” Sowden told the DMN, adding that “from Dallas to San Antonio, everything is just exploding.”
And since 2023, RREAFs newest platform, RREAF Outdoor Living, has focused on the acquisition and enhancement of RV Parks. It aims to revitalize the industry by providing upgraded parks with top-tier amenities such as pickleball courts, dog parks, resort swimming pools, cabanas, and restaurants.
You can read more about RREAF in the DMN story here.
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R E A D N E X T
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RREAF's founder and CEO, Kip Sowden, says the RV sector "has astonishing growth opportunities stimulated by the economy and the evolution of remote work and school options." To feed that need, the newly acquired parks feature everythig from pickleball courts to "lazy rivers," "glamping tiny homes," and more.
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