A trio of current and former NBA players are teaming up with industry professionals for a new commercial real estate venture.
The firm is a collaboration between Andre Drummond of the Philadelphia 76ers and former players Moe Harkless and Michael Carter-Williams, according to Julian Aiken, CEO of Brunswick Sports Management, a business management firm for professional athletes that advises the new company. The trio has also partnered with investor Rick Roth, president at private equity firm Roth Equities.
Known as Special Teams Real Estate, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm has a two-fold mission, Aiken told CoStar News in an interview. First, the team will focus on adaptive reuse projects that convert vacant commercial properties across New England to residential properties.
“What we want to do is not necessarily be a new developer and start ground up construction, but really use the bones that are already (there)…and reconvert those into residential units,” he said. “We want to be able to provide people that look like us in our communities that we come from with housing that we know is quality.”
But more than that, Special Teams will also be a place for professional athletes facing retirement who are interested in getting educated in a new field, according to Aiken.
“We really want to be a place where guys…yeah, they invest, but they can also break down their investment, why they invested, what their end goal is,” he said. “And can leave any investment or any conversation with us with not just an opportunity, but also the education and knowledge that one day they don't need us.”
The firm is “actively evaluating deals within the Northeast,” Aiken said. It’s also already heard from coaches and athletes interested in opportunities with the company.