Charlotte, North Carolina–based Red Cedar Construction Services has secured a $75 million strategic investment to fuel its growth in the build-to-rent (BTR) and multifamily space. The investment comes from L.M. Sandler & Sons, a fourth-generation real estate investment and home building firm based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
According to Red Cedar, this investment strengthens its balance sheet and formalizes a long-term partnership to scale its national BTR and multifamily platform, expanding its geographic footprint, increasing production capacity, and enhancing its ability to partner with institutional capital, developers, and land owners.
Red Cedar, which was founded in 2015, has delivered over 50 communities and over 5,000 homes. Its “trees-to-keys” execution model spans acquisition support, horizontal development, vertical construction, and amenity delivery.
“We are building a well-capitalized platform designed to serve as a stable, long-term partner to capital providers and developers,” said Red Cedar CEO Jon Grabowski. “By integrating acquisition services, horizontal development, plan design, and vertical construction under one structure, we reduce friction, improve transparency, and create greater cost certainty for BTR and multifamily ownership groups.”
L.M. Sandler & Sons, which owns top 50 home builder Chesapeake Homes as well as Wakefield Residential, and Wakefield Development Co., brings deep operating expertise to the partnership.
“Sandler is proud to invest in the BTR and multifamily space with Jon Grabowski and Red Cedar,” said company leader Steven Sandler. “After evaluating multiple opportunities in the market, Red Cedar’s operation stood out for its execution discipline, operational rigor, and laser focus on institutional rental housing. Their platform is purpose-built to deliver consistent, high-quality rental communities at scale, and we are confident in its long-term success.”
The partnership also includes the formation of a co-general partner investment vehicle, enabling Red Cedar to co-invest alongside developers and institutional capital.
Red Cedar touts its early-stage site control and acquisition support, detailed horizontal estimating that removes site work pricing uncertainty, and a dedicated development team that streamlines platting and speeds the transition from horizontal to vertical construction. It also maintains a library of value-engineered architectural plans that can be adapted across lot types and product formats in addition to building clients’ custom floor plans.
“As the housing market continues to shift toward affordability, we’re finding value in vertical integration and solutions to create efficiencies to lower both horizontal and vertical construction costs, while working with architects and designers on cost efficiencies,” Grabowski said. “A larger balance sheet and more capital allow us to grow geographically and become a better partner to the development community.”
Red Cedar has an established pipeline of developments—approximately 3,000 doors—primarily in the Southeast with additional projects in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and the Southwest. Under its expanded platform, it expects to scale production to 4,000 homes annually by 2028. At full capacity, it forecasts adding approximately 50 permanent construction roles and supporting over 1,000 trades jobs across its markets.
According to Grabowski, the firm is looking for growth to occur in markets that have been overlooked by institutional investment. It is working in secondary markets like Greenville, South Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Wilmington, North Carolina; non-metro areas in Florida; Indianapolis; and Kansas City, Missouri.
It recently started a 135-unit development in Braselton, Georgia, and completed a single-plat commercial BTR development in Charlotte, North Carolina. It also is breaking ground on a BTR development in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“I would love for Red Cedar to not only be a solution in primary markets but also in secondary markets where we can mobilize and bring our experience and execute with our trade base,” Grabowski added.