Over 35 years of commercial real estate solutions.
Equity started in Columbus, Ohio in 1987 with one office, but founder and visionary Steve Wathen viewed Equity as a national commercial real estate firm from day one. With that mindset, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an emphasis on customer service, Steve grew the company into 9 offices nationwide, and he continues to expand its footprint to this day.
Equity Concepts Realty is founded.
Steve Wathen started Equity Concepts Realty, a small company with a big vision. Our first office was an old double in Columbus, Ohio’s Victorian Village neighborhood, restored personally by Steve. Steve went through the “change of use” entitlement process, and renovated the property to commercial codes to allow its use as Equity’s office. This was Steve’s first commercial development project.
More solutions.
Equity Concepts Realty was initially a development, brokerage and property management organization with a focus on brokerage. The brokerage, development and property management activity was almost exclusively multi-family residential and small commercial investment work. The brokerage division grew to 14 agents in the first year.
By 1990, construction were added to the service delivery platform. This was the genesis of what we now call The Equity 360° Advantage.
Continued growth.
By 1996—a decade after Equity was founded, the company had outgrown the original office on W. Third Avenue. To accommodate its growth, the organization moved to its second location on Long Street in Downtown Columbus. Originally a car dealership, the 10,000 sq ft building was renovated and converted into loft offices.
Serving more of Ohio.
Two years later in 1998, Equity established an office in Cincinnati after launching development projects in both the Cincinnati and Dayton markets. As a result, the company extended its footprint into two additional locations in Ohio.
Here’s Patrick Wathen at an Equity project in Cincinnati.
Bigger and better.
By 2003, Equity shifted from the traditional corporate structure with a single executive leading all of its business units, to an organizational structure with business units divided into separate profit centers with leaders in charge of each division. As a result of its continued momentum and growth, Equity moved to a third location in Worthington, Ohio.
After several more years, Equity moved to an even larger office space in the Worthington area, located on Hutchinson Ave. This marked the fourth location for the company.
Expanding nationally.
Equity’s growth continued in 2006, when we opened our first office outside of Ohio–in Tampa, Florida, to tap into the Southeast market, which was the fastest-growing sector at the time. The following years saw additional expansion, with new offices in Dayton, Ohio and San Antonio, Texas (2009), Orlando, Florida (2009), Austin, Texas (2014), and Chicago, Illinois and Atlanta, Georgia (2021).
Celebrating 35 years.
On September 1, 2022, we celebrated 35 years in business.
TruePointe
We’re showcasing the Equity 360 Advantage with Hilliard’s first true live-work-play development, right here beside our corporate headquarters. TruePointe is set to open in xxxxx.
