Bisnow Q&A: The Fallon Co. CIO Michael Fallon On Expanding To Charlotte
When The Fallon Co., a Boston-based real estate, development and investment company, decided two years ago to expand its operations from the northeast, its leaders chose Charlotte.
The Fallon Co. Chief Investment Officer Michael Fallon knew Charlotte’s infrastructure, stable network and strong financial base would fit well with the business’ brand to create mixed-use developments that sustain 18- to 24-hour use.
Strawn Cottages in South End and 301 South McDowell St. in Uptown are The Fallon Co.’s first projects in Charlotte.
Fallon spoke with Bisnow about the family business, the company’s expansion into Charlotte and how he views the future of the market.
Bisnow: Your dad, Joseph Fallon, founded the company. What is it like working in the family business?
Fallon: I grew up very close to my father. There was a little bit of hesitancy going to work in a family business with my father, especially because he had already established himself with a very strong reputation. They were big shoes to fill, so there’s often comparisons made. I wasn’t sure I wanted that.
When you are very close to your father, you don’t want to ruin it. You don’t want to make it less about the relationship and more about work. Work is just part of our relationship now. It’s a family company; we really enjoy what we do. It’s just another thing we bond over.
Bisnow: What makes Charlotte a natural step for The Fallon Co.?
Fallon: Venturing outside of the Northeast was something we were toying with, but we wanted to find a market that lends itself to what we do. We do larger scale urban mixed-use development best.
In Charlotte, we saw a strong financial base. We were very comfortable with the financial institutions here. It gave us a certain level of comfort. There’s a stable network. The infrastructure of the city is strong. We thought we could do something special. We wanted to bring our knowledge and our relationship to Charlotte to help benefit the community and the development landscape.
Bisnow: How have you approached business in Charlotte?
Fallon: When you go into a new market, you have to listen. We are trying to create and maintain a brand that is my name. In building that brand, the reputation is so critical. We reached out to other developers, investors — the players in the construction and development field and in the community in Charlotte — to let them know our intentions, what we were looking to do and what we were working on. We let them know we recognize them as a leader in the field and completely respect that and we are not here to poach clients, investors or try to bulldoze our way in or uproot anyone. That’s not our style, and that’s not how we are going to be here long term.
Bisnow: Is Charlotte poised to become a top-tier city?
Fallon: I think Charlotte is beginning to be recognized as a top-tier city. The city and Charlotte Center City Partners recognize this. They are not taking what other cities look like and trying to put that into Charlotte. They are looking at Charlotte’s needs and trying to address them in ways that seem to work the best.
Hear more about Charlotte’s economic development from Fallon and the other featured panelists at Bisnow’s Charlotte State of the Market on Feb. 8.
