Gables Residential Names Fitch President

BOCA RATON, FL-Gables Residential, a locally based operator of luxury multifamily communities, has named David Fitch president of the company. In addition, Fitch will continue as chief investment officer for Gables Residential–a title he has held for about two years. During that period, he has completed $300 million in non-core asset dispositions and has overseen $600 million in development and acquisition opportunities.Chris Wheeler has relinquished his duties as president of Gables Residential, but remains chairman and CEO of the company.Fitch previously was a divisional president of the St. Joe Co., where he operated St. Joe Commercial and directed development and acquisition of millions of sf in assets and the creation of Advantis Real Estate Services. Fitch has experience in commercial, multifamily and mixed-use development in Florida, Texas and Washington, DC. He was also senior vice president of Insignia Financial Group and Cadillac Fairview Urban Development.”During the past five years, we have successfully executed our strategy of repositioning our portfolio into Established Premium Neighborhoods in our core markets while exiting non-core markets,” Wheeler says in a statement. “The next phase of our strategic plan is aimed at achieving the desired portfolio allocation within our eight markets that will allow us to produce total returns that exceed the Nareit apartment sector index. We expect to grow the company by 50% during the next five years, and David’s proven leadership will be instrumental in achieving those objectives.”