With a focus on scaling its development platform and capitalizing on accelerated demand for attainable housing in the Southeast, developer and operator Middleburg has hired Scott Zimmerly as regional development partner. With two decades of development and investment experience, Zimmerly will oversee development activity across Middleburg’s portfolio and lead its team of development partners on the ground.
“Adding Scott represents the next phase in our organizational maturity,” says founder and CEO Chris Finlay. “With development partners now executing at the local level, we saw an opportunity to create a leadership layer that can drive consistency across our markets, share best practices, and strengthen our relationships with regional capital markets. Scott brings sophistication and market knowledge to elevate our entire platform while preserving the entrepreneurial approach that makes each development partner effective.”
According to Finlay, Middleburg’s pipeline reflects both the quality of opportunities it is sourcing as well as the execution capabilities of its integrated pipeline. Zimmerly’s appointment is expected to help the firm maintain this momentum while building the organizational infrastructure needed to expand.
Under his leadership, the firm is positioned to accelerate project identification and execution in its eight key metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and pursue opportunities in other emerging regions of the nation.
Zimmerly most recently served as executive managing director of the Mid-Atlantic region for Wood Partners, where he was responsible for the development and financing of over 7,000 apartments in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia markets over 19 years. Prior to that, he spent five years in investment banking and worked in the acquisitions department at Washington Real Estate Investment Trust.
Multifamily Executive caught up with Zimmerly to discuss his new role, Middleburg’s growth plans, and how development has changed over the course of his career.
What drew you to Middleburg at this point in your career, and what made this the right leadership opportunity for you?
What really attracted me to Middleburg was the clarity of its focus and the strength of its convictions. The company has been deeply rooted in the Southeast, one of the most compelling growth regions in the country, and it understands both where the demand has been and where it’s headed. That alignment with long-term demographic and economic trends is something I’ve always believed in.
I was also drawn to Middleburg’s evolution. It’s a firm with strong regional DNA that’s now scaling nationally but doing so without losing its Main Street sensibility. There’s an authenticity to the culture—down-to-earth, collaborative, and transparent—paired with institutional-level execution and a reputation for high-quality development. That combination is rare.
Finally, Middleburg is in growth mode. The team recognizes that this moment in the cycle calls for thoughtful offense. The supply imbalance will correct, and those who can deliver new communities on the other side of that curve are going to be well positioned to benefit from rent growth and constrained new supply. Middleburg has built trust with municipalities and capital partners precisely because it does what it says it will do. Stepping into a leadership role at a company with that kind of credibility and vision made the opportunity a perfect fit.
What will be your first priorities in the role?
My immediate priority is to focus on the robust pursuit pipeline already in motion, making sure we’re moving deliberately, staying on schedule, and executing to the standards our internal teams and financing partners expect. Consistency and reliability will be critical as we push projects forward.
In parallel, I’m focused on supporting our capital markets efforts. This is an attractive moment for equity to lean in; the supply-and-demand data makes a compelling case for getting shovels in the ground now. Aligning the right capital with the right opportunities is going to be essential to capturing what this next cycle will offer.
Another priority is expanding our future pipeline. We want to be contracting new sites while others remain cautious. Securing the next tranche of development opportunities early in the cycle positions us to deliver into a window where demand will significantly outpace supply.
And finally, we already have an exceptional team. My role is to reinforce the culture—one that’s high-performing but still enjoyable, grounded, and collaborative. When you preserve that environment, results follow.
Middleburg targets eight MSAs across the Southeast. Which markets stand out as the most compelling opportunities right now—and why?
When I look across our eight target MSAs, a few markets are clearly separating themselves from the pack. Atlanta; Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; and Tampa Bay, Florida, continue to show the strongest combination of job growth, in-migration, and overall economic resilience. What’s most interesting is that these metros aren’t just growing—they’re growing in a way that aligns perfectly with where housing demand is heading, and these jurisdictions understand and are supporting the need for this growth.
Young adults are still moving to these places in large numbers; employers are adding jobs faster than national averages, and, critically, these markets still offer a level of affordability that you simply can’t find in coastal cities. That affordability gap is a tailwind for demand, especially for the kind of attainable rental housing we focus on.
Another factor is our own on-the-ground presence. We have active pipelines, regional teams for both development and construction, and strong relationships throughout these markets. That gives us a real execution advantage, which matters more than ever in today’s environment. The combination of strong fundamentals and our ability to deliver makes these metros especially compelling right now.
Attainable housing continues to face a clear supply–demand imbalance. Where do you see the greatest gaps—and how does Middleburg plan to address them?
The biggest gaps show up in exactly the places where most Americans actually want to live: the middle-ring suburbs of high-growth Sun Belt metros. These are households that earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but still struggle with the cost of homeownership, and, in many cases, with the rent levels at newer Class A properties. What’s missing is high-quality, purpose-built rental housing at attainable price points. That’s the gap we’re focused on closing.
We do it by being extremely disciplined in where we acquire land. Our team reviews and scores hundreds of potential sites every year, which allows us to identify locations with strong fundamentals but less competition and better cost structure. Combined with our vertically integrated development, construction, and management platform, we can control more of the process, deliver more efficiently, and keep rents within reach for everyday renters.
We’re also intentionally diversifying our product types: garden-style multifamily, mid-rise where it pencils, and build-to-rent single-family, all of which serve different segments of the attainable market. That flexibility is a big part of how we address the supply–demand imbalance.
What are the biggest challenges to scaling a development platform in today’s environment, and how are you preparing to navigate them?
Scaling a development platform in this environment requires navigating three realities. First, capital is more selective and is chasing yield but also basis due to existing asset trades so we need to be compelling on both fronts with development deals as well. The cost of debt is higher than what the industry was used to, and equity wants to see proven sponsors with real discipline and repeatable processes. Second, construction—both materials and labor—remains unpredictable. And third, land competition and entitlement timelines can vary dramatically by municipality.
The way we’re preparing is by investing ahead of the curve. We’ve expanded our development leadership with seasoned regional partners, which allows us to run more projects without compromising execution. We’ve strengthened our governance structure with an experienced board of advisers that brings capital markets, construction, financial, and human-capital expertise to the table. And we’ve continued to build deep pipelines through proactive land sourcing so we can choose the right opportunities rather than chasing whatever happens to be available.
In short, we’re creating a platform that can scale reliably—one with stronger capital partnerships, more local capabilities, and an increasingly institutional operational backbone.
Over your two decades in multifamily, what’s changed the most about development—and what hasn’t changed at all?
A lot has changed. The biggest shift by far is how data-driven and institutional the business has become. Twenty years ago, development relied much more on intuition and relationships. Those still matter, but now we pair them with analytics, demographic modeling, and systematic site scoring. Capital is also far more sophisticated. Equity partners expect a level of institutional process, reporting, and governance that simply wasn’t part of the industry two decades ago.
The product has evolved, too. The rise of single-family build-to-rent, new amenity programming, and a stronger focus on the “attainable” segment have all reshaped how we think about design and operations.
But despite all that evolution, the fundamentals haven’t changed. Great locations still win. Execution still determines success or failure. And the core mission—solving real housing needs in communities—remains exactly the same. The tools have evolved, but the essence of development hasn’t.
Looking ahead, what do you hope to help Middleburg achieve over the next five years?
Over the next five years, my goal is to help Middleburg scale with clarity and purpose. That means deepening our presence in the markets where we have the strongest conviction, expanding our capital base so we can pursue opportunities with speed and confidence, and continuing to refine the operational systems that make us a best-in-class developer and operator. Ultimately, success would mean a few things: a larger, more resilient portfolio; strong, long-term capital partnerships; a highly repeatable development engine; and a reputation as the firm that builds communities people actually want to live in at prices they can afford. If we do that, the impact will extend well beyond our balance sheet.