Ditto Residential Hires New Head Of Construction From Kettler As It Looks To Continue Growth
Ditto Residential has just added another D.C. development veteran to its leadership team as it continues to take on larger multifamily projects and looks to expand outside the region.
The company hired Brian Andrews as senior vice president of construction from Kettler. Andrews, who starts Wednesday, will lead a team of engineers, architects, contractors and consultants in constructing Ditto's multifamily projects.
Andrews worked with Kettler for nearly 20 years, most recently as senior vice president of construction. While leading Kettler's multifamily construction efforts, Andrews oversaw the development of over 3,800 units totaling nearly $1.2B in the D.C. area.
"It was a great opportunity for me to take my experience I had with Kettler, which was great, but to move it onto a different level with a different culture, a different vibe and passion for the development process to more of a smaller boutique company that is trying to grow," Andrews said.
In May 2017, Ditto hired Toby Millman from Vornado to serve as its president and help the company take on larger projects. The company has also added multiple other employees in the last year to grow its team to 12 people, and it is looking to hire a project manager as its 13th.
"You're going to see us bringing on a major player every six to 12 months," Ditto Residential CEO Martin Ditto said. "We're going to be growing like this but filling in the lower-level people with some experience in development and some real veterans."
Bringing on industry veterans like Andrews not only helps Ditto manage his growing pipeline of projects, but he said it also gives the company more prestige when looking to enter JV partnerships and reach deals with architecture, construction and equity partners.
"Ditto is a real powerhouse and we're going to bring to bear some of the most powerful people in the development world, and Brian is part of that group," Ditto said.
The developer has shifted from doing smaller $5M to $10M projects to taking on larger developments in the $30M to $50M range.
Ditto is building a 56-unit project near Union Market, which broke ground early this year after an appeal delayed it by 16 months. On Capitol Hill, it recently completed the conversion of the historic Buchanan School into condos, and is currently building 44 units on Watkins Alley. In Shaw, Ditto is planning a 126-unit development at Rhode Island Avenue and Seventh Street NW, and it is building a seven-unit project at Ninth and U Street NE. On Florida Avenue NE near the H Street corridor, it recently delivered the eight-unit OSLOatlas, the second iteration of its co-living concept, and the 45-unit Hendrix project.
As the developer looks for new projects in the D.C. area, Ditto said it is looking for sites where it could build 100K SF-plus developments. He is also working with Bethesdsa-based real estate consulting firm RCLCO to look for new projects outside of the D.C. region.
"We've studied a lot of markets on the East Coast," Ditto said. "Mostly secondary cities, not New York or Boston, but we're looking at what markets can Ditto be really successful in."
