Ellis has 30 years of experience in the multifamily real estate industry. Under his leadership, EYC Companies has developed properties throughout the Southeast representing a total capitalization of over $350 million. His path to real estate development began with an early start in single-family residential construction. At age eighteen, he was a licensed general contractor supervising projects in his family’s custom homebuilding and specialty carpentry business in Richmond, Virginia. From there he spent over a decade heading a design/build single-family construction company. Ellis moved into the multifamily construction space in 1988 when he was early to develop and employ computer-assisted drawing systems to design and produce floor, roof and wall panel packages for large multifamily projects in northern Virginia and Baltimore.
From 1990 to 1996, Ellis—operating as a general contractor—built and renovated over 1,200 multifamily units, as well as mini storage facilities and build-to-suit office buildings in Virginia and the Carolinas.
In 1996, Ellis designed and developed his first apartment project—200 units in Mebane, North Carolina—which led to the foundation of EYC Companies and its affiliated design, construction and property management operations.
Ellis has built a reputation for discovering unique opportunities in established and emerging markets, designing the best products to serve the market, and driving excellent returns for investors.