Cothran Properties, a Greenville-based commercial, industrial, and residential developer, named Ellis Forest III as Director of Development and General Counsel to handle legal matters associated with land development, land acquisitions, and leasing for Cothran’s diverse product portfolio. Prior to joining Cothran Properties, Forest was a builder services attorney for Galbreath Costner, LLC in Greenville where he specialized in land and lot transactions for national, regional, and local home builders.
In Forest’s Director of Development capacity, he will help identify and acquire property to build Class-A industrial and spec buildings for single and multi-tenant occupants and secure land for the company’s robust residential division, which designs, builds, and develops new residential communities in the Upstate of South Carolina.
According to Forest, “I have had the privilege of watching Mark Cothran grow and expand his real estate portfolio for many years, and I have always admired his business model and vision for the future. The volume and scale Mark has developed in commercial and residential projects in and around Greenville since 1986 is incredible, and it’s exciting to work with Mark and the Cothran team to identify new opportunities to shape future developments in the Upstate.”
“It’s the right time to bring in a skilled real estate lawyer in-house to help our team achieve our aggressive vision to bring to market move-in ready commercial and residential developments,” said Mark Cothran, founder and chief executive officer of Cothran Properties and Cothran Homes. “Ellis’ depth of knowledge in real estate law, land and property transactions, and his entrenched understanding of development and due diligence will be instrumental in helping us achieve our long-range business goals.”
Forest earned his juris doctor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.