Anthony Kolich
Anthony Kolich is founder of Kolich Holdings, LLC, a property management firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, and managing principal of Empire Residential, LLC, a full-service, privately held commercial and residential real estate investment and development company. He owns and manages over 1,000 apartments, commercial tenants, self storage facilities and retail spaces and an array of residential and commercial projects throughout the state of Ct and NY. He is a third-generation real estate developer and property owner whose skill and knowledge led him to succeed in the midst of the 2008 financial collapse and to now drive two thriving companies.
You have some exciting new projects right now. Will you tell us about some of these?
We do. We bought a 154-room hotel in Ct on a 5 acre site we converted the hotel into 69 luxury apartments, amenities include an indoor pool, gym, dog walking park and more. On the same lot, we’re rebuilding a 120,000-square-foot self-storage facility and two retail pad sites which are ideal for quick service restaurants.
In Stamford, we’re building an 88,000-square-foot self storage facility and a 110-unit apartment building, in White Plains, New York, we are converting an office building to 60 residential units with ground floor medical. We’re very busy right now.
Tell us about Empire Residential and your role as managing partner.
We focus a mostly in Ct and the NYC metro area, and we’re growing rapidly with both commercial and residential projects and purchasing stabilized assets. We have an amazing staff. My partner, James Heffernan, and I are in charge of acquisitions and deal management. We’re supported by fantastic employees— our chief property manager Obdulia Lopez runs operations for all properties in our portfolio, Sharon Gonzalez is head leasing agent, coordinator. We have a field crew of 20, who handle the maintenance and management of the properties, all amazing workers. I own and manage medical, office, apartment buildings, and other properties, as does Jamie. We have our own separate
portfolios, and then come together as Empire Residential.
Empire Residential is growing at a lightning-fast pace. What is driving this growth?
We’re focusing a lot on new deal flow, and we attribute our growth to hard work and dedication. James and I are always hands-on and fully immersed in each and every project. We hired a construction company to build the two storage facilities I mentioned, but we consistently on site to assure everything is running smoothly and being done properly. I’m a “touch and feel” investor. I like to walk through our properties and make sure everything is being done right. We just started outsourcing the construction to support this growth.
You hail from a long line of real estate entrepreneurs. One could say it’s in your blood. Tell us a bit about your background and how it led to your founding your own company.
My grandfather started buying real estate assets in 1958, we still own and manage some real estate he purchased. Buildings and tenants and rates were always dinner table talk, so it was embedded in me as a child. I grew up helping my grandfather and my father with these buildings, and when I was 26, I began building single-family spec construction homes. I built about 30 single family high end homes and a town home complex all locally in Greenwich, New Canaan and Stamford, Ct. When the 2008 housing crisis hit I was fortunate enough to have sold most of my inventory. The housing market and my construction business came to a screeching halt. I took advantage of the depressed market and started buying distressed assets.
Your company is unique in that you don’t focus on a single niche, and you’re personally involved in every deal. Tell us about this.
We definitely think outside the box, and that makes us unique in the real estate universe. We make decisions on the fly—and we make strong decisions. James and I have a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge in every aspect of property investing, development, and management, so we know a good deal when we see it and we can envision its potential.
As for me, I suppose I am unique in the way that I lead and approach my investments. I love the real estate industry and construction. It’s all I’ve ever done. I’m involved in every deal. I own small buildings to large buildings, and at least once a month, I try to get to every property to do walk-throughs to make sure everything is well kept, clean, and running up to par.
Anthony Kolich
Owner — Kolich Properties, LLC
Stamford, CT
LinkedIn: Anthony Kolich
Facebook: Kyros Securities Law
Download the magazine and see Anthony's feature on page 50.