Top Houston Researcher Becomes President of Kaplan Acquisitions

HOUSTON-After 7.5 years with O'Connor & Associates, the managing director of market research and consulting has been hired as president of Kaplan Acquisitions LLC.

Richard Zigler will leave O'Connor Feb. 10. He assumes the new post Feb. 20. He will be overseeing information collection and providing recommendations concerning potential land acquisitions and developments to the locally based Kaplan, which builds, manages and invests in multifamily properties nationwide.

Zigler says the in-house data-collection program will help Kaplan target markets for strong development opportunities. The goal is to "get to know the markets backward and forward," he adds. "We really want to immerse ourselves in those local markets."

Zigler, who worked with Kaplan for years while with O'Connor, says he was approached by the company to fill the new position. "They'd hired me to look at a potential deal in Florida. And after I explained why the deal didn't make sense, they said they thought it would be time for me to join them full time, to help find them deals that do make sense," Zigler tells GlobeSt.com.

From Kaplan's perspective, Zigler was a logical choice because of his experience. "Every time we'd bought a site, and even prior to buying a site to develop, we'd hired Richard to give us the information," says Geoff Simpson, Kaplan's CFO. "We'd worked with him for years and he's done a lot of market analysis and site studies for us."

Simpson says Kaplan is targeting opportunities throughout the Sunbelt states, with the goal of finding three to five sites a year to develop. "We think Richard's background, abilities, experience and knowledge about the fundamentals of the apartment market, and what makes a deal good or a deal bad will help enormously in our goals," he adds.

According to Patrick O'Connor, president of O'Connor & Associates, Zigler's legacy includes creating an effective system for data collection and analysis, acquisition of an online platform that boosted O'Connor's data research into major Texas markets and an alliance with Commercial Gateway. "Although his departure is a professional loss to O'Connor, Richard has mentored and leaves behind a highly talented and effective staff that is well-positioned for similar achievement," O'Connor says in a prepared statement. "We are quite confident of Richard's continued success in his new role and wish him well in his personal and professional accomplishments to come."