Drucker

What began as a small family business 65 years ago has evolved into an operation of five regional offices with more than 800 direct and affiliated employees. Drucker & Falk, LLC is one of the oldest and largest property management firms in the country. And while the company has changed in many ways since it was founded, much of its family character remains at the forefront of the business.

Rapid Growth

In 1938, A. Louis Drucker and Emanuel E. Falk formed a partnership in Newport News, Virginia. The men, associates long before the creation of Drucker & Falk, each invested $100 in the new company. They purchased a new typewriter and hired a part-time secretary.

Falk-Tillet

The firm was built on a commitment to people as well as a dedication to honesty and integrity. The founders passed on these qualities to their sons, Erwin B. Drucker and David C. Falk Sr., who became full partners in 1969. David Falk Sr. then opened a second office in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The opening of the Raleigh office launched a major expansion of the company, which has continued to grow rapidly since 1970. Drucker & Falk currently manages more than 23,000 multifamily units and 4.6 million square feet of commercial real estate in the Southeast.

Services & Scope

Thompson

Today, Drucker & Falk is a 100 percent fee management company, which means it does not own the properties it manages. The firm provides a number of real estate management services, including multifamily and commercial management, investment sales, commercial leasing, fee development and senior living. Drucker & Falk has been accredited by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and today is recognized as the 12th oldest Accredited Management Organization.

“Having that accreditation is really beneficial,” says Vice President Kellie Falk-Tillett. “The fact that we’ve had the accreditation for so long and continue to maintain it helps as well.” Companies must renew their accreditation with IREM every year.

In addition to its headquarters in Newport News, Drucker & Falk maintains regional offices in Atlanta; Orlando, Florida; and Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina. The firm also has on-site offices in each of the cities where it operates.

Falk-Tillett, the granddaughter of founder Emanuel Falk, grew up in the business. She is responsible for the firm’s marketing and overall administration of multifamily management services in the Raleigh regional office. Wendy Drucker, granddaughter of A. Louis Drucker, also began her career with Drucker & Falk in the Raleigh office. She now serves as executive vice president in the corporate headquarters office.

“It’s really good that Wendy has her eyes on what’s happening in Virginia and I have my eyes on what’s happening in North Carolina,” notes Falk-Tillett, who adds that the company is run as a hands-on team and partnership. “I think it’s helpful and beneficial to everyone that we’re right there. We drive through the properties and we know the owners. It’s a lot of personal attention.”

Personal Touch

That aspect of personal attention carries over to the firm’s employees. Many members of the Drucker & Falk team have been with the company for more than 20 years. John Munick Jr., president and chief operating officer, has been with Drucker & Falk since 1974. Ronald Melvin, chief financial officer and secretary/treasurer, joined the company in 1973.

“The longevity of our personnel is unbelievable,” notes Wendy Drucker, who has worked for the company for 22 years.

Don Waters, who has been with the firm for 25 years, explains his loyalty: “I have chosen to stay with Drucker & Falk for many reasons. I have always taken pride in being a part of this organization and have always been provided with opportunities for growth and challenges for my abilities.”

For Cecelia Thompson, a regional property manager who has been with the company for 24 years, Drucker & Falk demonstrated its loyalty to her 3 years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “The company gave me a leave of absence. They were with me, and I never had the first concern that something bad was going to happen in that regard. They didn’t have to do what they did, but they chose to do it,” she says.

“So on the personal side of Drucker & Falk, I don’t think there’s any better,” Thompson continues. “And that continues to this day. Each of the generations has taken the same position. And I don’t see that changing under Kellie and Wendy’s direction.”

Wendy Drucker credits the founders with the strong attitudes and values that are still prevalent in the firm today. “The founding partners instilled such strong values in the company — those values have carried on today,” she says. “The values of integrity, family, community and honesty are things that our grandfathers built the company on and that each generation of people — partners and people working with Drucker & Falk — have embodied. And it’s those values that are guiding Kellie and me in the future of the company.”

Success & Goals

Drucker & Falk is the managing agent for Saltmeadow Bay, a community in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Drucker & Falk’s success can be attributed to many factors, not least of which is the attitude of partnership and teamwork exuded by its leaders. The personal attention given to property owners and employees has allowed the company to achieve many of its goals.

“I think the basic goal of Drucker & Falk has remained constant, and that goal is to provide high-quality, professional asset management that produces the most positive results for our clients,” says Waters. “Over the 65-year life of Drucker & Falk, times have changed, technology has advanced and a third generation has taken the helm, and we continue to produce those positive results.”

“Our success goes back to the fact that we’ve always been a fee management company,” says Falk-Tillett. “We’ve always dealt with owners, and all owners have different needs and different goals for their assets. We just always come from that avenue — that whatever the owner wants, the owner gets.”

“Part of our success is due to the fact that we don’t treat a property as if it’s a fee job — we treat it as if we own it,” adds Thompson.

Long-Term Plans

While the company foresees continued expansion, it also plans to remain in the Southeast. “We want to be considered a Southeast company,” says Falk-Tillett. “We don’t really want to grow distance-wise from where we are, which is from Northern Virginia to Florida. We feel like we can better manage what’s in our ‘backyard.’”

Drucker & Falk executives will expand into a new market if they feel the company will be successful. “It depends if we feel comfortable enough that we can manage it. We don’t always take management contracts because they’re put in front of us,” Falk-Tillett explains.

The company recently entered the Greenville, North Carolina, market because of the opportunities the area holds. “We picked that market because we feel like there is a lot of potential there for a professional management company to come in and do a good job, it’s right at our back door and there are a lot of apartments,” notes Falk-Tillett. She adds that Drucker & Falk would like to enter the Charlotte market and expand in Wilmington and Atlanta.

In addition to staying in the Southeast, Drucker & Falk will also remain a fee management business. “There are not many companies out there that are just 100 percent third-party fee managers,” says Falk-Tillett. “But we feel like there’s a niche there, and we do it so well that we really want to focus on that.”

©2003 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.