(L to R) Amy Malloy and Heather Personne
Evolve Ventures, founded by two women commercial real estate leaders in 2019, is celebrating its third anniversary having successfully evolved to supply the market with their own unique development ventures in Midtown Phoenix and Chandler.
Evolve’s managing principals, Amy Malloy and Heather Personne, combined their almost 50 years of experience to form a firm committed to thinking, acting and transacting differently in an ever-changing market.
After three successful years, the duo is further evolving its business strategy as market conditions shift post-pandemic and is poised to scale its services and hire additional leaders for the firm.
“As true developers at heart, we view our position as women leaders as a unique asset to our firm, providing an often-overlooked perspective in the historically male-dominated industry,” said Personne. “We’ve had great success in evolving mixed-use developments beyond strip complexes into dynamic centers of redevelopment for the community. And we believe that the experience of women, who typically make many of the purchasing decisions in the family, should be top of mind for developers.”
Revenue has grown each year for the firm, including during 2020. The firm has a mix of high-profile clients to complement its own development projects.
“We are marshalling the forces that exist in commercial real estate to move both Evolve and the industry in Greater Phoenix forward,” said Malloy. “We are true champions of supporting other women. We host ‘Frappy’ hours with other women business leaders after we drop our kids off at school. Our group also engages in extensive outdoor activities together from hiking the Grand Canyon to rafting in Asheville, North Carolina. We form friendships through these activities and get deals done.”
Services include real estate strategy, market analysis, site selection and due diligence, entitlements, permitting and design, construction management, financial analysis and deal structuring, leasing and asset management. Evolve works with landowners, brokers, developers, investors, tenants and public agencies across all asset classes.
Evolve is in the process of developing two of its own projects, selected for the sites’ walkability and opportunity to revitalize intersections, with HCJ One, an investment firm in Scottsdale. C3 is a 22-unit, three-story multifamily development in Midtown Phoenix. Shovel-ready, Evolve is planning to bring it to market in 2023.
Evolve also is developing The Marco, a 16-unit, two-story community in Chandler. The Marco is close to new retail, restaurants and hospitality amenities.
Recent client projects include Arrival at Cadence, Papago Plaza, Vistancia Commercial Core, Goodyear Civic Square, Revel Surf at Cannon Beach, an Old Town Scottsdale restaurant and Parkview Place in Surprise, among others.
“Amy and Heather approach all projects with the highest level of integrity, passion, and professionalism. Their expertise in strategically and collaboratively approaching projects has been successful and valuable in progressing our high-profile mixed-use project within the Vistancia Community,” said Mark Hammons, principal at Land Resources.
Prior to co-founding Evolve, Malloy held roles as a vice president-development for Pederson Group, senior development manager for Evergreen Devco, Inc., assistant vice president for Macerich, and business advocate in the economic development department for the City of Apache Junction, AZ.
Personne held roles as principal with Point B Property Development, retail partner with Phoenix-based commercial development and investment firm ViaWest Group, and principal with Evergreen Devco, a regional retail and multi-family developer.
Malloy and Personne met through ULI. Malloy is vice chair of the ULI Adaptive Reuse, Infill and Revitalization Local Product Council and Personne is vice chair of the ULI National Placemaking Product Council and vice chair of ULI’s Arizona District Council.
