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2026 The ApartmentBuildings.com 100
Investors/Owners of the Year
- Adam Neumann Brings Flow Concept to Multifamily
- Dan Kaplan Oversees $10 Billion in Transactions During FPA Tenure
- Daniel Lippman Oversees JRK’s National Investment Platform
- David Schwartz Leads Waterton in Value-Add Investment Strategy
- Doug Faron Launches Westlight With 1,432-Unit Multifamily Deal
- Inland Builds $5.3B Multifamily and BTR Portfolio Nationwide
- Jerome Fink Oversees Bascom’s Transactions and Financing
- Jonathan Epstein Positions BGO for the Next Cycle
- Jonathan F.P. Rose Focuses on Housing Investments and Resilient Cities
- Jordan Slone Builds HGI into $21-Billion Company
- Justin Pattner Helps Expand KKR’s Real Estate Platform
- Matt Rosenthal and Eric Silverman’s Eastham Capital Transacts a Deal Total of $5 Billion
- Mitchell Morgan Grows Company into a Multifamily Giant
- Monday Properties’ Jennifer Burns Oversees the Operating Engine Behind Multifamily Growth
- Nick Gonzalves Builds Bridge’s Opportunity Zone Platform
- Scott Rechler Expands RXR’s Residential Investment Playbook
- Steve Wylder with Safehold Relies on Ground Leases to Expand Affordable Housing Capital
- Steven DeFrancis Builds Cortland’s Multifamily Platform from the Ground Up
- Subtext’s Brandt Stiles and Tim VanMatre Oversee Growing Multifamily Pipeline
- Thomas Toomey Oversees UDR’s Holdings of Over 60,000 Apartments
Steven DeFrancis Builds Cortland’s Multifamily Platform from the Ground Up
As founder and CEO of Cortland, Steven DeFrancis built the company into one of the country’s largest apartment owners and operators.
Cortland owns and manages more than 80,000 apartment homes across nearly 250 communities throughout the Southeast, Midwest and Texas. The company also provides development, investment and property management services in the United Kingdom’s growing build-to-rent market.
The platform employs more than 2,600 people in the U.S. and U.K. and has earned recognition for both its resident reputation and workplace culture.
DeFrancis earned a real estate degree from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and remains active in the industry through organizations including the Urban Land Institute, National Multifamily Housing Council and The Real Estate Roundtable. He also serves on the board of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership.
These are some of the reasons why Steven DeFrancis was selected to receive ApartmentBuildings.com’s AB 100 Investor/Owner of the Year Award, which recognizes those who demonstrate creativity, skill and success in the multifamily industry.