Milwaukee | Founded: 2024
Timber.partners
Looking to deploy their model of mass timber buildings nationally, the leaders of Milwaukee-based development firm
New Land Enterprises launched a new mass timber development company this year. Called
Timber + Partners, the company will combine cutting-edge technology and experience with urban development to build a new generation of buildings, using New Land’s downtown Milwaukee mass timber tower Ascent as a prototype to iterate on. Since its inception, Timber + Partners has launched its first fund and, in November, won second place in a Shark Tank-style business pitch competition at the Young Presidents’ Organization Global Business Summit in Dubai.
What was the point where you knew you would launch Timber + Partners and what was the biggest hesitancy or concern you needed to overcome to do it?
Tim Gokhman, CEO: “As Ascent was leasing up, our residents confirmed what we had already experienced on the design and construction side – this is an absolutely incredible product. But its development requires a thought process and rigidity that differs from traditional real estate development, so the concept for Timber + Partners was born. The biggest obstacle was figuring out when was the right time to scale – being too early can be a costly mistake.”
What are the next key steps in the development of your company?
“Timber + Partners is raising a GP (general partner) fund to develop a portfolio of six to eight luxury apartment buildings modeled on Ascent across select markets in the U.S. We already have interest from LP (limited partner) investors – the GP fund will take on the predevelopment activities like site acquisition, schematic design, zoning, variances, etc.”
What are your goals for the next three to five years?
“To fully deploy the first fund and continue to pursue additional versions of our product. That could be more multifamily, but we also see potential to create a mass timber hotel line, and office projects. We aim to be the leading mass timber development company in the U.S.”
What’s the number one thing needed to sustain a culture of innovation and/or growth?
“A maniacal rigidity to only hiring the best, and then letting them solve the problems and come up with new ideas while supporting them without handholding. Everyone talks about this balance, but very few succeed.”
What could local, regional or state leaders do to better support innovators and entrepreneurs in the mass timber/real estate industries?
“Bureaucracy, by definition, slows progress.”
What is your mindset when overcoming setbacks?
“(First), be an expert in the known factors so you can focus on solving the unknowns. For example, New Land is a multifamily and development expert, so we can focus on solving the mass timber piece. (Second), there’s always a solution.”
