He Got Laid Off. Four Years Later, He Was Managing 500+ Units In-House.

From Layoff to Vertical Operator: How Justin Elliott Scaled BLVD Ventures from a Triplex to Full-Stack Syndication

Justin Elliott was on track to be a lifer in corporate America. Then one phone call changed everything.

His company was getting sold. His division was being shut down. And suddenly, the “stable” job wasn’t so stable anymore.

That was the push he needed. Within a year, Justin had invested in a triplex using his own savings. Over the next few years, he managed every unit himself, reinvested proceeds, and eventually raised capital to expand.

Now he runs BLVD Ventures, a vertically integrated multifamily firm focused on Midwest markets like Minneapolis and select Southeast regions like Augusta, Georgia.

The Play: Go Local, Go In-House, and Stay Disciplined

Justin’s early deals were small: 3 to 5 units, managed personally, financed creatively. He only started raising capital after four years of operating experience. And even then, growth was slow by design.

Today, his firm focuses on:

1. 20 to 100 unit properties in stable, working-class markets

2. Infill suburban deals in the Twin Cities metro

3. Assets they can directly manage through BLVD’s in-house PM arm

Their biggest differentiator? Local control. Justin believes being able to “drive to your deal” gives you an edge on operations, relationships, and execution.

Why This Works

1. Vertical integration = lower risk
BLVD Ventures launched its own property management company after working with five third-party managers. Today, they control the tenant experience, oversee CapEx, and respond faster to problems.

2. Local knowledge is leverage
Justin focuses on Minneapolis suburbs where he knows the submarkets, zoning, and broker network inside and out. That gives him an edge in both sourcing and managing deals.

3. Underwriting with discipline
No bridge debt. No floating-rate loans. BLVD took out fixed-rate notes with five-plus year terms and low leverage. When rates spiked and peers struggled, their deals held firm.

The Risks (and How He Managed Them)

• Insurance costs: BLVD’s insurance premiums jumped from $250 per door to over $1,000 per door on 1960s assets. That’s why they’re now targeting newer construction only.

• PM failures: After working with five different third-party managers, Justin realized the only way to guarantee performance was to bring it in-house.

• Supply competition: Even C-class units in the Midwest are being affected by new builds. But Justin sees that slowing fast — and expects supply to taper as rates curb new development.

What You Can Learn (and Steal)

1. Build your ops muscle early
Third-party PMs sound easier, but they’ll cost you control. If you want long-term margin and stability, bring it in-house when you can.

2. Leverage JVs as your first capital stack
BLVD didn’t forecast rates rising 400 basis points. But because they avoided floating debt and underwrote with margin, they avoided the pain many sponsors are now facing.

3. Build the ops engine early
Justin sees a lagging wave of opportunity, deals that struggled in 2023 and will hit the market in 2025. He’s sharpening the knife now and looking for high-quality assets at lower bases.

Listen to the full episode

🎙 Groundbreakers with Justin Elliott

In it, we cover:

• How Justin went from a corporate layoff to full-time syndicator

• What led him to vertically integrate property management

• The insurance cost spike most investors didn’t see coming

• How he’s navigating a tougher underwriting environment

• Why Midwest suburbs might outperform the Sunbelt over the next five years