Our History
Capstone Development Corp. was founded in 1990 by Mike Mouron, an accountant / CPA by education and job experience.
Early in Mike’s career, he served as the one-man development arm of a construction company in Montgomery, Alabama. At that time, a division of the company was serving as a general contractor of what was then referred to as, “kiddie condos.” Condos offering one and two bedrooms, developed to be bought by parents of students, or investors. Mike discovered that many students were paying double rent simply to have a private room. His idea was, “why not build smaller bedrooms and offer them as private?” This became the foundation for his concept of developing apartment rental communities near large university campuses, uniquely designed for, and targeted to, student residents.
Shortly after developing this concept, Mike left to become head of development at Polar-BEK, where he executed his first student apartment community of this type – “College Station” – near the campus of Mississippi State University. While at Polar-BEK, he developed a total of six student apartment communities in the southeastern university market.
In 1990, Mike started Capstone Development with three associates. Over the course of the next 21 years, Capstone Development grew profoundly, and as a result other companies were added. Yet Capstone Companies, as it became to be known, never changed its focus – student housing. In 2011, Capstone Companies achieved the following milestones:
- $3.0+ billion in on and off campus properties developed, encompassing 62,000 beds.
- $1.5 billion in assets / 22,035 beds currently managed for non-profit owners.
- $456 million in assets / 7,726 beds currently managed in off-campus properties (developed and/or owned by Capstone).
On January 1st, 2012, Mike passed leadership responsibilities to key personnel who had helped him build the Capstone Companies, through the establishment of four separate, yet closely-aligned business entities:
- Capstone Development Partners: Development of on-campus and near-campus urban student housing communities.
- Capstone On-Campus: Consulting and third-party management services for student housing communities owned by non-profits.
- Capstone Collegiate Communities: Development, construction, and management of off-campus student housing communities.
- Capstone Real Estate Investments: Acquisition and repositioning of strategically located, off-campus apartment properties.
These companies are closely aligned to offer enhanced, specialized services to our clients and customers, remaining true to the Capstone hallmark.
