For more than seven decades, Belgravia Group built exclusively within its hometown Chicago market.
However, after home values in the area began to stagnate and building costs increased, the firm needed to pivot.
"We were finding that the writing was on the wall and that we were going to have a hard time doing the level of business we were used to doing in Chicago," Alan Lev, the co-founder and chairman of Belgravia Group, said in an interview with Homes.com. "Do we close the company down? We love what we do. We don't really want to do that."
They landed on a diversified push into Arizona, a decision that involved the Chicago Cubs and Cactus League spring training baseball.
Lev had developed an affinity for the Phoenix market after years of traveling to Mesa with his family to watch their beloved Cubs play spring training baseball. They'd visit for a week, and sometimes even longer.
Over the years, his kids went off to college, and Lev and his wife decided they no longer needed to be in Chicago on a full-time basis. Lev rented a condo and eventually bought a house in Scottsdale during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I've been spending all this time down in Arizona and I said, 'I see nothing but growth down here and that we should open up a second market and develop in the Phoenix area,'" Lev said.
Belgravia finds the right home in north Scottsdale
Buzz Ruttenberg, Belgravia's other co-founder and chairman emeritus, signed off and Lev quickly got to work. He made connections and scouted locations for where Belgravia could plant its flag.
The search started in Phoenix's Biltmore area, but ultimately, Belgravia found the right parcel at One Scottsdale that was already zoned. In 2022, Belgravia announced plans for Portico, a 112-unit luxury condominium, to debut in the mixed-use development.
Belgravia is following up with Atavia — an 88-unit project — at One Scottsdale, a more than 100-acre site that will also include offices, retail and hotels.
Both saw heavy pre-sale activity, Lev said. Portico nearly sold out during its buildout, while more than half of Atavia's residences were sold shortly after construction started earlier this year.
Executive sees more opportunity for expansion
Belgravia is putting the finishing touches on the last units at Portico. A search on Homes.com shows just a handful of Portico units available for sale, with prices over $1 million.
Atavia's 88 residences are spread across a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units, priced from the $800,000s to $1.7 million.
Lev said his firm is in talks to acquire an additional parcel within One Scottsdale for another project, but other markets are in the works, too — if the price is right.
"There's only a handful of areas in the Valley where you can actually afford to build the high-end product and make it make sense," Lev said. "There's maybe 10 areas where it would be financially feasible."