Foundry Commercial expands religious, non-profit division to Nashville

The commercial real estate industry conjures visions of high-rise business towers, urban apartment dwellings and large-scale shopping centers. But for Foundry Commercial, the multi-city commercial real estate firm with offices across the Southeast, Southern California and Texas, churches, non-profits and schools are also an area of focus and importance. Because of this, Foundry has expanded into Nashville, Tennessee.

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Foundry Commercial’s Religious, Educational & Not-for-Profit Group has strategic offices in other regions such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth and Southern California. Continuing to solidify the group’s presence in the southeastern United States, this expansion into Nashville was a natural fit.

Nashville – with its continued explosive growth – is a key area of focus for the firm. Last October, Foundry nearly doubled its presence in the greater Nashville area when it acquired the leasing and brokerage business of OakPoint Advisors’ Nashville office. Foundry had first entered the Nashville market in 2014 when the real estate and investment firm acquired the services business of Crescent Communities, which had a presence in many cities throughout the southeastern United States, including Nashville.

Foundry Commercial recently appointed Senior Associate Broker Scott McKinney, who joined the company as part of the OakPoint acquisition last year, as a member of the Religious, Educational & Not-for-Profit Group. Based in Nashville, McKinney will be launching this service line in Tennessee and neighboring markets. His background as a broker in the area – combined with his time working within the Young Life non-profit faith-based organization – made him a natural fit for the role.

 

Prior to operating the faith-based, non-profit, and educational facility service line for Foundry, McKinney served as a generalist working on a broad range of commercial projects, negotiating more than $41 million and 350,000 square feet worth of transactions in his first three years as a commercial real estate advisor in Nashville.

Nearly 50 years ago, this religious division of what is now Foundry Commercial started when Richard Messier, a commercial real estate broker – used to the traditional means of helping clients buy and sell properties – volunteered to help his congregation sell its facility in Michigan. It didn’t take long to realize that commercial real estate in the religious sector was a whole different game. Since that time, Foundry Commercial has helped religious, educational and not-for-profit groups evaluate their long-term needs and resources, identify preferred neighborhoods and facilities, negotiate transactions and, finally, successfully relocate their members.

McKinney is a graduate of Florida State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and was involved in Florida State’s Real Estate Society. After graduation, McKinney spent time working for the Berry Rainsberger Group as well as Sperry Van Ness. Prior to moving to Nashville, he took a brief stint away from commercial real estate to work full-time with the non-profit Young Life, serving on their property staff at Windy Gap in western North Carolina. He is still very involved as a volunteer with Young Life Capernaum, a division of the non-profit specifically focused on serving young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.