Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Today we look at the busy career of John Martin, chairman and senior advisor of SVN|The Martin Group in Evansville, Indiana.
During a career beginning in 1976, John Martin has always been a visionary who saw opportunity where others saw problems. That philosophy has served the chairman and senior advisor of SVN|The Martin Group well, as he has repeatedly been at the forefront of new development opportunities.
Along with his two sons, Martin has been selected by Ernst and Young as an Entrepreneur of the Year “Finalist” twice in the Real Estate category, having created about 35 Limited Partnerships to purchase, develop and own real estate, partnerships that have been involved in developing more than 10,000 apartment units.
“I have always enjoyed the challenges in putting together and selling investors on being a partner in a new complicated program to provide affordable housing for low income seniors and low-income families,” Martin said. “The real joy came in knowing that we were providing thousands of units of safe and sanitary housing for low-income seniors and families who could not otherwise afford this safe and quality of housing.”
The Martin Group was credited by the chief financial officer of a large pharmaceutical firm with being the decisive factor when the company raised its investment from $5 million to $24.5 million in the first fund the bank raised, indicating after visiting in Evansville that, “The Martin Group doesn’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk, and we feel much better because they are overseeing the fund.”
“I have always worked very hard to understand complicated transactions that many brokers will not pursue and being able to present them in a manner that’s easy to understand,” Martin said. “I have always been a part of as many commercial real estate organizations as possible, both state and national, to be aware of what’s going on in the industry and establish as many professional contacts as possible.”
When not at work, Martin enjoys traveling with his wife of 69 years and their children, playing golf, fishing for bass and traveling and spending time with children and grandchildren.