Community Highlights: Meet Evan Holladay of Holladay Ventures

Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Holladay.  

Hi Evan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Looking back at my story, I feel incredibly grateful to have known at an early age that I wanted to be a real estate developer. Prior to stumbling into real estate, I was studying pre-med and thought I wanted to be a doctor but quickly realized I hated science and chemistry! Around the same time, I saw this big student housing and mixed-use development announced at my university. I knew I had to be a part of it! 

Coincidentally, one of my mentors knew the developer and managed to introduce me—I knew I had to do something special to impress him so I brought out a bunch of my friends and classmates to the groundbreaking. This landed me a job with them & that’s where my passion for multifamily development was born. After working for the developer, I partnered with four other students to start a modular development company while still in school as a part of my Entrepreneurship minor. We utilized houseboat manufacturing plants but instead of building boats, we built modular components of multifamily housing. We were young and naïve but so passionate about it. 

We wanted to be able to not just build quality housing but also make a real difference in the community by making it attainably priced for its residents. That is where we learned about tax credits and public-private partnerships to provide quality affordable housing. 

Then, I ended up meeting one of the top affordable developers in the country and worked with them for 7 years. I learned so much, namely what it took to finance these projects. It was a true apprenticeship and something I recommend to anyone reading this and wanting to level up their real estate investing game quickly. While I worked with them, we went on to be the No. 1 affordable developer and one of the top 10 overall developers in the country. 

After leading several projects and building over 1400 units, I decided to start my own group, Holladay Ventures, where we focus on providing attainable housing and empowering communities! We utilize public-private partnerships, tax credits, tax abatements, and other creative partnerships and finance structures to provide quality attainable housing to our residents and community members. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
While we’ve been very fortunate in many ways, it has not been smooth sailing. Being a real estate developer is a very complex job; one that requires you to wear many hats and be prepared to solve many challenges. Add CEO to that mix and suddenly there’s a whole new set of skills and challenges to overcome. From hiring the right people to raising capital and everything in between, building a business has added a whole new layer of complexity to the work I do. Suddenly, you have people whose livelihoods are dependent on your success. That’s a lot of pressure and responsibility! But one that I was fully aware of when I decided to build Holladay Ventures. 

However, I think the biggest challenge I’ve had to face is really an industry-wide challenge which is the pushback we get for building Affordable Housing. There are many misconceptions around what affordable housing is and what it means for neighborhoods. Despite having a national housing crisis, and the need for affordably priced housing is clearly there, people are still reluctant about having it in their backyards. One of my priorities is to educate people on the benefit that affordable housing has on our communities and to show them that affordable doesn’t mean low quality. I am passionate about creating not just beautiful buildings, but also ones that integrate the community and empower its residents to realize their full potential! 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Holladay Ventures?
Community Empowerment is at the core of our mission 

Our history 

Evan Holladay – Founder and CEO: Evan is a real estate developer and investor with over $225 million and 1347 units of multifamily real estate developed and invested. 

Evan found his passion for real estate while at the University of Louisville, working for a developer on a $55 million student-housing mixed-use development. From there, he and a group of others started a modular development company that focused on taking houseboat manufacturing plants and refitting them to build modular, energy-efficient, and mixed-income multifamily housing. This is where he found his passion for providing quality attainably priced communities for working-class families. He then went on to work alongside one of the top affordable housing developers in the country & realized his desire to make a bigger impact by including community empowerment, sustainability & impact investing. 

Core Values 

Our mission is rooted in empowering communities to thrive. We believe that by building sustainable, quality housing and providing long-term positive returns for our cities, residents, staff, and investors is the key to community success. 

We’re committed to passionately pursuing our mission 

We lead with integrity 

We create a complete “WOW” experience 

We have fun 

We do whatever it takes in every situation 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Wow! That’s a loaded question. I think for many people success can be a moving target or a destination we never reach. Over the years, my definition of it has certainly changed. Right now, I believe success is happiness and being able to create an impact doing the work I love. Success isn’t about something I have or something I do but it’s who I become and how I impact others in the process of pursuing my dreams. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://holladayventures.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holladayventures/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvanHolladay/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/evanholladay
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9H4idRsBkuD45Wt75LroQ/featured
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/evanholladay
• Other: https://evanholladay.com/