Tom Tomaszewski is president of The Annex Group, a major multifamily housing development firm headquartered in Indianapolis.
He has been involved in the creation of over 5,000 apartment units and $1 billion in real estate and construction during his tenure at the company. Tomaszewski along with founder Kyle Bach are principals of The Annex Group.
What was your first job?
What skills have helped you the most in your career?
I can say that the relationships I have been fortunate enough to maintain throughout my life have been the most important. I rely on my relationships every day. Almost all my successes in life have been due to a relationship I have with someone. The more people you can befriend and help, the more you will get back in return. I have also sought out mentors in my career, and those have been some of the most rewarding relationships I have to this day. I also really look to do the same and be a mentor for anyone who seeks out my advice.
What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
What is your company’s “secret sauce?”
What’s a smart move that The Annex Group has made in the past year?
We have really leaned into our partnerships more and have found creative ways to get a project to the finish line. In today’s environment, it is extremely difficult to get deals done, so we need to assemble the right stakeholders and all be in lockstep as we develop the deal. We are also very good at seeking out soft funding and various economic incentive or tax abatements to get a project to pencil. In my 20 years of doing this I have never seen deals with so much financial support while at the same time being so razor thin when it comes time to close. We are very fortunate that a lot of affordable housing champions have gone to bat for us as an industry and obtained more funding to get affordable housing across the finish line. Our 2023 projects are mostly set and on a path to close, but as we go into 2024 and beyond, I worry that some of these funds will start to disappear or run out. We do rely heavily on our advocates at the National Association of Home Builders, the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, and the National Council of State Housing Agencies. I am confident that we as an industry will continue to figure out how to build and develop affordable housing.
Tell us about a project that you recently opened or are working on.
What will be the next trend or evolution in affordable housing?
What’s next for The Annex Group?
Favorite fictional character and why?
If you could take a crash course on any subject, what would it be and why?
If you unexpectedly had the day off, where would we find you?