The FORTIS Companies
FORTIS is a Washington, DC-based real estate development and investment company focused on developing and acquiring multifamily residential and mixed-use assets.
The FORTIS mission is simple: develop extraordinary and vibrant residential and mixed-use spaces that enhance the urban fabric of the local community and expose today’s urban dwellers to a desirable and modern living experience.
Our strength is in identifying underutilized properties in both long-established and developing neighborhoods and transforming them into sought after real estate assets through our thoughtful and creative vision. We believe that quality design and craftsmanship, coupled with careful planning and execution, results in successfully developed real estate with a sense of local permanence.
FORTIS provides investors a disciplined focus, expansive industry relationships, and a successful track record of multifamily development. The FORTIS management team brings over 50 years of combined real estate experience and has developed a combined 4,000 units in the DC market with a value in excess of $1.0 billion.
FORTIS provides investors a disciplined focus, expansive industry relationships, and a successful track record of multifamily development. The FORTIS management team brings over 65 years of combined real estate experience and has developed a combined 4,000 units in the DC market with a value in excess of $1.0 billion.
Key Differentiators
- Native Washingtonians with a local focus on the Washington, DC metro area
- Strong capitalization and significant equity stake in all projects
- Institutional approach to underwriting and acquisitions
- Long-standing relationships with local lenders and equity capital partners
- Active sourcing of off-market opportunities
- Detail oriented project execution
- Focus on creating inspiring projects that reflect the world’s leading architectural and interior design trends
- Built upon the fundamental principles of transparency, honesty and integrity in every aspect of our work
Team
FORTIS’ senior management has worked for some of the DC region’s most renowned developers including Donohoe, Clark Construction, Simpson Housing, and EYA.
George Chopivsky
Joe Magnotta
Brian Eskew
GEORGE CHOPIVSKY, III
George is the managing principal of The FORTIS Companies. Prior to founding FORTIS, Mr. Chopivsky was the VP of the Mid-Atlantic region for Simpson Housing, a national apartment developer and operator with over $3.5 billion in assets. Previous to that, George was a longtime executive of The Donohoe Companies, one of DC’s largest and oldest real estate companies. During his tenure with Donohoe, Mr. Chopivsky was responsible for managing construction and development of projects throughout the DC region: from property acquisition through project completion and stabilization. A native Washingtonian, George graduated from St. Albans School and Yale University. He serves on the Eagle Bank Advisory Board, is a Board Member for Habitat for Humanity of Washington DC, and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and The DC Real Estate Group. He is also a former chairman of the young professionals group of the Trust for the National Mall, the L’Enfant Society, which is charged with overseeing the renovation of America’s front doorstep and raising private funds to help restore and maintain the National Mall as a world-class park. Over the past decade, Mr. Chopivsky led the development of over 2,400 units in the DC area with a value of over $800 million.
MATT BUNCH
Matt is responsible for leading FORTIS’ property acquisition, design, and entitlement efforts in Virginia and Maryland. He has worked over 20 years in key management roles for land acquisition, strategy, and marketing, and provides extensive experience in real estate operations, financial analysis, project management, consumer research, and product development. Prior to joining FORTIS, Mr. Bunch led acquisition efforts for single-family and multi-family product for the Pulte, Del Webb, and Centex brands across the Mid-Atlantic region for national homebuilder PulteGroup, Inc., securing over $200 million in premium land assets in Northern Virginia and Maryland. Mr. Bunch is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University (MBA) and the University of Delaware (BA), resides in Washington DC, and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute.
JOE MAGNOTTA
Joe is responsible for executing the design, permitting, construction, and delivery of mixed-use projects within the DC Metro area. Prior to joining FORTIS, Joe served as director at EYA, LLC overseeing the development and construction of multifamily and mixed-use projects from entitlement through delivery. Before that, Joe managed the construction of various multifamily, commercial, and mixed-use projects as a senior project manager with Clark Construction Group, LLC. Over the years, Joe was responsible for the development and construction of over $750 million and over 1,600 multifamily residences. Joe earned master’s degrees in business administration (MBA) and public policy (MPP) from the University of Maryland and bachelor’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business Finance from Lehigh University. Joe is actively involved in the Urban Land Institute and is currently serving as chair of NEXT Washington Committee and serves on ULI Washington’s Housing Initiative Council. Joe is also an active member of the DC Real Estate Group, is a LEED® Accredited Professional, and is a Designated Design-Build Professional (DBIA™).
BRIAN ESKEW
Brian is responsible for sourcing and underwriting new acquisitions as well as developing and maintaining pro formas, budgets and schedules for existing projects. Mr. Eskew is an experienced financial professional with a strong background in cash flow modelling and asset valuation. Prior to joining FORTIS, Mr. Eskew worked for Houlihan Lokey, a leading middle markets investment bank, advising clients in mergers and acquisitions, private debt financings, and private equity placements. During his time with Houlihan Lokey, he advised in M&A transactions totaling over $400 million, debt placements totaling over $2.1 billion, and equity placements totaling over $500 million. Mr. Eskew completed his Masters of Professional Studies in Real Estate at Georgetown University and received his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and received his ULI Certificate in Commercial Real Estate Pro Forma Fundamentals in 2019.
