Profile: Tom Johnston

[ by jill doczi ]

Tom Johnston, a founding partner and chief development officer for The Franklin Johnston Group, has spent 27 of his 34-year career in partnership with Wendell Franklin, and later with Taylor Franklin, and Steve Cooper (retired) establishing one of the most active and successful development teams on the East Coast. In addition to his role on the company’s executive leadership team, he has led the development efforts for the company and successfully completed over 40 apartment communities with an aggregate value of $500 million. Johnston hails from Northern Virginia in Loudoun County where his family still lives nearby. His father, a former biologist/writer, and mother, a former school teacher, helped foster the determination and positive outlook he has had throughout his career. “My father was the one to teach me to dream big,” said Johnston. His family activities also played a part in his choice of colleges. They vacationed each year in Virginia Beach and he chose Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk both because of the proximity to the beach and he had friends attending there. While at ODU he changed his major slightly to focus on commercial real estate based on the influence of a great real estate professor and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. “I developed a fondness for commercial real estate in general my sophomore year at ODU and changed my major to tailor around that,” said Johnston. The choice to focus on real estate paved the way for his next few career moves. Prior to his tenure with S.L. Nusbaum Realty Company, he worked for the Virginia Housing Development Authority and GA Partners/ Arthur Anderson. He used every career move he made as an opportunity to learn useful information for his next steps. At GA Partners/Arthur Anderson he learned about the economics and market factors by working with development companies around the United States. He learned about financing while working at the Virginia Housing Development Authority. A few years later he was working on a loan with a development company and they convinced him to come work for a large commercial real estate firm in Norfolk where he focused on learning the development of apartment communities. This led to three of the employees forming a property management company in 2013 to manage the properties they owned. This led to his permanent settlement in the area. “I always wanted to come back but was skeptical that an opportunity as big as I was looking for would be available there rather than in a big city,” said Johnston. “But the opportunity did come and I jumped on it and never looked back.” They determined the number of apartments they managed would not generate the income they needed so they decided to take on the management of other properties for families and companies. Currently they manage over 20,000 apartment locations from Rhode Island to Florida. The management side of the company focuses not only on value and cashflow, but Johnston says much of their success also comes from quality product, employees, maintenance and superior customer service providing a basic cyclical positive formula. “If we hire really good people who take care of our residents then those

residents will be happy and willing to stay in place as well as pay more for the experience. That will, in turn, provide income. I like to reduce things to their simplest truth.” The development side of the company has a different operational feel. “Development is completely different,” said Johnston. “Development is full of risk and variability like interest rates, price of labor, supply chain issues and different policies that you may not have ever seen before.” The combination of the two, managed well with solid policies and excellent employees, creates the opportunity for The Franklin Johnston Group to become the most experienced new multifamily management and development company in America. Starting with a portfolio of 24 properties and 3,551 residential units, they tripled The Franklin Johnston Group within 24 months and now have more than 125 communities and over 20,000 units along the East Coast. Johnston described the business as “a really good management company on the front end and a good building company on the back end” that gives the customer not only the product they want with amenities like worldclass gyms, infinity pools, bowling alleys and entertainment areas, but they provide exceptional customer service as well—“Real customer service. Not just lip service, but really going the extra mile to take care of people’s needs.” “The number one reason people stay happily in a community is because when they have an issue, the maintenance staff treats the problem quickly and the tenant respectfully,” he said. “We work hard to find maintenance people we can

COURTESY: THE FRANKLIN JOHNSTON GROUP On this page and on the opposite are examples of the high caliber properties that The Franklin Johnston Group develops.

trust to do these things.” Following his progression through his early career choices, it seems like he had a calculated plan leading to his current position. He confirms this to be the case. “Absolutely,” he said. “I am a big believer in having a detailed plan with built-in flexibility to overcome things that don’t go as planned. Basically a plan with backup plans. Sports taught me to be resilient in managing the plan.” He quotes Bruce Lee: “Choose the positive. You have a choice, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.” His optimism follows through in his satisfaction with the finished product. When asked about his favorite part of the process in his business he simply said, “Probably the part that doesn’t involve me: Watching people really enjoy living in communities I just created. [It’s] very satisfying.” In general Johnston describes the apartment management/ development industry over the past two years as positive. “The apartment market

fundamentals have never been better,” he said. “The homeownership rate has been declining for years as more socioeconomic classes are choosing apartment living as their desired lifestyle. People are having children later in life (and fewer of them), which is one of the reasons. My dad said buying a home will be your best investment. People don’t necessarily believe that after a few bad cycles. There are a growing number of people who would rather pay rent and invest their earnings in other ways, while enjoying rental living with amenities and no maintenance. We will continue to remove the stigma that apartment residents are not quality members of the large communities that they live in. Apartment residents contribute to both local businesses and charities.” Moving forward, Johnston shared that an upcoming project with the same name as this publication will begin construction shortly. Boulevard 45, a 128-unit, fourstory elevator product with luxury amenities and finishes will break ground this year near Mt. Trashmore. Just as his occupants contribute to their area’s surrounding growth by partaking in both local businesses and charities, so does Johnston. He enjoys the water through the beach, boating, fishing and food. “We have the best seafood and the locally owned restaurants are the best I’ve ever been to.” He also continues to support his alma mater in numerous ways. “They really have grown in a lot of positive ways that make me proud,” said Johnston. “That’s one of the reasons that I have chosen to donate my time, skills and money to them in a big way.” When asked if he always knew he would end up in this industry position or has the evolution surprised him, he responded in a way that reflects his father’s advice: “I made a dream a reality. But, yeah, it did surprise me though. There’s nothing in life better than betting everything on yourself and winning. Nothing.”

Jill Doczi has written and edited in public relations, marketing and journalism for a lifetime, forever trying to earn the respect of her journalism instructors. She resides in Virginia Beach—her home since the end of high school—while a piece of her heart remains in the Virginia mountains of her adolescence. She oversees a postage stamp of property by the Chesapeake Bay including pond fish and yard turtles, while defending her urban farm from squirrels.

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