NEW YORK CITY—Wood Partners, LLC has opened a new office in Midtown Manhattan and hired Rashid Walker as its director to oversee the company's development effort in the area. Walker will be responsible for sourcing development opportunities in the market, which includes Manhattan and the outer boroughs of New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Fairfield Counties and Northern New Jersey.

“We're very excited about opening the new office and ramping up our development efforts in the market,” Walker said. “Having this location speaks to our strong desire to complete urban deals and remain focused on developing apartment communities in the surrounding high barrier to entry suburban markets.

Strong demographics and a high barrier to entering the New York market make the area attractive to Wood Partners. Averaging $2,331 per month, rents in New York City are the nation's second highest behind San Francisco. 

Walker began his real estate career as a development director with AvalonBay Communities.  He has served as an Acquisitions Officer at JPMorgan Asset Management in global real assets and prior to joining Wood Partners he was a vice president at Jefferson Apartment Group, where he led the company's real estate development effort.

Walker earned a bachelor's degree from Villanova University and has a MBA from Columbia Business School. He is currently on the Board of Trustees at Westbury Friends School and has served as a member of the planning board in the Village of Hempstead, NY. 

“I'm very excited about joining Wood Partners and I am looking forward to expanding our presence in one of the most dynamic and fast paced markets in the country. New York has strong apartment fundamentals and demographics, which makes it very attractive to us and our partners.”

Wood Partners is a national real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages high density and mixed-use communities. It ranks consistently among the top five multifamily developers in the country.