PHOENIX—Kurt Rosene, senior vice president-national development for The Alter Group, who works out of the Phoenix office, wants the public to know that it's business as usual for Alter Group in Phoenix. This he stressed after fielding a bevy of calls regarding a recently published article in GlobeSt.com.

In the aforementioned article, Michael Alter, president of Illinois-based Alter Group, Ltd., confided that his children—in their early twenties with budding careers in education and music—are not interested in taking the helm. Neither are his five nieces and nephews.

Facing that dilemma, Alter decided a shift in strategy was needed. He told GlobeSt, the Alter Group will move away from being a private developer that funds its projects with family money, and more toward becoming a diversified investment firm that teams up with outside capital.