"One of our goals of the company over the next few years is to grow geographically and by product type," Barrier tells GlobeSt.com. "We look at Tennessee and the Carolinas as areas of high growth, both in terms of population and employment."

Specific areas that the company plans to target include Nashville, Memphis, the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and Charlotte. The company also plans to expand its holdings in the multifamily, office, industrial, retail and student housing sectors, Barrier says.

As president and CEO, Barrier is responsible for all real estate development, design and construction activities of Opus South's office in Atlanta and Florida offices in Boca Raton, Orlando, Naples, Pensacola and Tampa. Opus South has major projects under development in the Birmingham, AL and Nashville areas.

"We understand that there is some economic volatility and capital market issues, but we see that as an opportunity to increase our market share," Barrier says.

Barrier has 25 years of experience in real estate development, most recently as president of Illinois-based McShane Corp. where he led the company's expansion beyond the Midwest and oversaw the real estate development in regional offices in Austin, TX; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Phoenix and Southern California.

The company also announced that it was relocating its headquarters from Tampa to Atlanta to better position itself in the southern region. With the move, the headquarters is more centrally located in the Opus South region which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

"It's just a strategic move that will allow us to get into the Carolinas," Opus South Tampa office senior vice president of real estate Jerry Shaw tells GlobeSt.com. "I expect us to expand our real estate development program in Florida."