GYS Development has rebranded and is now UpLift Development Group! It is hard to believe that it has been almost 7 years since we started GYS Development working to execute a few investment deals along the front range of Colorado. Since then, we have grown as an organization as well as grown our real estate portfolio and geographic footprint. In addition to the below highlights, along the way we have been fortunate to add an additional business partner in Mike Perry and another junior partner in Tony Ollila.
Exciting News! GYS Development is Now UpLift Development Group!
6+ Years Of Company Highlights
Along with the 4 partners, we have grown the organization to include 2 development managers, Royce in Colorado and Chris in Alabama. We added our Director of Accounting Janet, our senior accountant Anita, our Project Coordinator Suzanne as well as additional support staff and key consultants.
Created our self-storage brand, Blue Sky Self Storage
• Successfully completed 20 self-storage developments
• Successfully transacted 56 self storage acquisitions
• Successfully sold 19 storage properties
• Have done $403MM in total deal $ volume
• Successfully completed a joint venture with a publicly traded Self Storage REIT, Stock symbol NSA
• Have raised and deployed $236MM in equity
Currently, Uplift Development Group owns and operates 57 properties in 34 cities in 15 states.
We have developed and acquired 41,133 units which equals 6,945,550 SF of storage.
Created our flex warehouse brand, PremierFlex
Since June of 2021, we have successfully transacted on 4 'small bay warehouse / flex industrial assets
• Starting our first development to break ground in Q4 22
Company Thoughts Going Forward
With our rebrand to Uplift Development Group, we continue to evolve as a company and expand our real estate holdings in both our current asset classes as well as get into additional asset classes that we believe will be great investments. Our team of experts underwrites deals and looks at over 350+ a year. This volume allows us to have a very good pulse on the markets, as we are very selective and on average will do 15 +/- transactions every 12 months. This level of scrutiny and dedication is what allows us to continuously execute on fundamentally strong investments. We continue to cultivate relationships in the industries we are pursuing which is another strategic advantage we have, as routinely our contacts are bringing us deals to look at that are not on the market. We are only as good as our reputation, and we are thankful that our reputation as being honest, straightforward, and being able to close deals is what will continue to drive our success going forward.
Speaking Of Going Forward:
• In 2022 (year to date) to we have executed on 14 acquisitions and developments which total over 6,397 units and 950,000 SF.
• Our current active pipeline remains robust and includes:
• 7 self-storage developments in 5 states
• 4 self-storage acquisitions in 3 states
• 1 PremierFlex development in CO
• 1 Industrial warehouse development in CO
• Multiple pieces of land for smaller multifamily, MOB (Medical Office building), and commercial developments
The market conditions are very fluid at the moment, and we believe that by staying true to our rigid underwriting and taking a conservative approach to our modeling we will be able to continue to find and execute on strong investments going forward. We may even find ourselves in a position where we are able to capture better investments as Warren Buffet's famous quote of 'be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful' may be a wise word of advice going forward.
Gratitude:
All of our past success would not have been possible without our key working relationships as we greatly value our working partners. Thank you to everyone listed below and we look forward to an exciting future ahead.
Investors:
• All Pro Capital
• All our investor relationships
GYS General Contracting
Lenders:
• Eastern Colorado Bank
• Sunflower Bank
• First Bank
• Bank of Colorado
• Academy
Property Managers:
• Argus
• TIG
• Waypoint
Legal:
• Johnson Muffly & Dauster, PC
• MDH Law Group LLC
• Coats Rose
CPA:
• Soukup Bush & Associates
• Plante Moran
Last but certainly not least, thank you to our spouses and family! We are very blessed to have families that believe and support us in the work we do. They are a good reminder as to why we work so hard day in and day out, and as the wise saying goes 'no career success is ever worth a failed family relationship.'
If anyone would like to learn more about our investment deals, our businesses, our processes in which we operate, or the industries we are pursuing please contact us below.
Brandon Grebe- brandon@upliftdg.com
Lee Fredrick- lee@upliftdg.com
Mike Perry - mike@upliftdg.com
Tony Ollila - tony@upliftdg.com
