ViaWest Group announced the expansion of its company through an affiliation with TWR Company, which is operated by Tom Richards. ViaWest has been one of the fastest growing real estate investment companies in the Valley over the last few years with more than $200M of acquisitions. TWR Company is a boutique, commercial real estate, investment company headquartered in Phoenix with 14 years of experience in retail property development and value-add acquisitions. TWR Company specializes in build-to-suits and redevelopment for retail product and has a complementary skill set with ViaWest in ground-up development, in redevelopment/repositioning of existing properties, and with a flexible and adaptable structure that maximizes returns and reduces costs to its clients.
Tom Richards has extensive knowledge in REO’s, short sales, foreclosures, loan pools, and value-add real estate. Most recently Mr. Richards was a broker for two years at Voit Real Estate Services’ Phoenix office, with a focus on investment sales in the retail, office and industrial markets. He received his Bachelors of Science in Real Estate from Arizona State University.
The strategic affiliation of ViaWest Group and TWR comes on the heels of a strategic affiliation between ViaWest Group and Aspire Real Estate Investments earlier this year. Aspire was recently formed by Branden Lombardi and Zach Sakas and focuses on residential land investment and development.
ViaWest has been a leader in the office and industrial sectors and active in the multifamily sector. By adding depth in retail property and residential land investment and development, ViaWest becomes the only company headquartered in Phoenix that is a leader within these various product types.
ViaWest was able to maintain profitability during the recession by forming ancillary businesses including an investment fund focused on the preferred shares of the REITs. By stabilizing its legacy portfolio of office and industrial properties to over 95% occupancy, ViaWest was then able to focus on the purchase of distressed properties with significant vacancy.
“We excel at stabilizing troubled properties by combining our entrepreneurial energy with institutional quality management, and Tom’s multi-dimensional skill-set and combination of institutional real estate and retail development experience is a perfect fit,” added Steven Schwarz, Principal of ViaWest Group.
