Opportunity Real Estate Equities
Opportunity Real Estate Equities, LLC (“OREE”) has a proven track record of performance and maintains high standards of professionalism, quality, and integrity, with an emphasis on specialization of the trusted parties in real estate across Connecticut. OREE is now headquartered at 500 Four Rod Rd., Suite 200, Berlin. CT 06037.
The mission of the OREE management professionals is to service business owners through its portfolio of commercial property spread across the state. OREE is small enough to be agile and adaptable but large enough to offer clients the full spectrum of services that they need to succeed in the sometimes-volatile world of real estate. Our core service, as property managers and owners, is to deal with that world, so tenants can focus on what they do best: running a successful business. OREE prizes your work building value for the local community. Our clients are central to our brand.
Our Mission
Utilize our investment portfolio to continue improving financially stressed areas as well as fill a need for expanding commercial properties among growing areas
Our Vision
OREE is a Connecticut family owned and operated company. All properties are either built by them or rehabbed, and all of its properties are within a 1.5 hour radius of the financially struggling capital city of Hartford.
Our Values
OREE employs 100’s of people as part of our family. We do right by them while improving neighborhoods in our home state.
OREENews
OREE praised in The New Britain Herald
Sigourney plans featured in the Courant
HBJ Features OREE Contract on CT State Building
OurMembers
William H. Coons, III
Founder & Managing Members Manager
Mr. Coons is the manager of our Managing Member and the founder of OREE. Mr. Coons received a B.A. in economics and finance from New York University Stern School of Business. He has been a registered representative since 1989 and served as Senior Vice President at Ladenberg Thalmann & Co. Inc. from 1990 to 1994. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Coons served as Senior Vice President at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and then as a Partner at Hampshire Securities until the firm was sold to Gruntal & Co. in 1998. At this juncture, Mr. Coons joined Stuart, Coleman and Co., Inc., a broker dealer that through a series of acquisitions later became Investec Ernst & Company and then Maxim Group. While at Stuart Coleman and its successors, Mr. Coons served as an assistant branch manager and sales manager and was part of the management team that grew the broker dealer from 40 employees to 400 employees. Mr. Coons was named a partner and senior VP of Maxim Group, where he served as director of structured equity. In 2009, he left to work with Westrock Advisors, the only Native American tribe owned broker dealer at that time. Mr. Coons presently heads the Capital Market Department at Spartan Capital Securities, LLC. He holds Series 7, 9, 10 and 63 registrations.Opportunity Management, LLC (“Opportunity Management”) is the Managing Member. The manager of the Managing Member is William H. Coons, III. He owned CAS Construction, Inc. (“CAS”) from 1991 through 1999. CAS has engaged in road building, general commercial construction with special construction contracts with Taco Bell and Applebee’s, municipal construction for the towns of Hartford, Bethel, New Haven, Bridgeport, New Britain and others, doing brick work, stone work, park and country club construction, and contract work for the State of Connecticut. Mr. Coons has also developed and sold in several other construction and development entities such as: Monnes Farm, LLC; Pasco Hill Development, LLC; Highland Hill Farm, LLC; Fernwood Estates, LLC; 100 Harding Street, LLC and Knoll Ridge Development, LLC. These entities have developed residential subdivisions, active adult housing communities, condominiums, rehabilitated commercial structures and brown fields properties. Mr. Coons organized Quantum Real Estate, LLP (“Quantum”) for the acquisition and development of residential and commercial real estate. Quantum organized several subsidiaries and developed a variety of residential and commercial properties in various communities in Connecticut.
William H. Coons, Jr.
Chief Operating Officer
William Coons, Jr. is the father of OREE’s Managing Member’s manager, Mr. William Coons, III. He has been the COO of OREE for 40+ years. Mr. Coons Jr. has over 35 years of hand-on experience in the construction, development, and buildings industries. He has designed, rehabilitated, and constructed hundreds of homes in a broad range of communities, including: residential, condominium, estate mansion, commercial, industrial, and retail buildings. Mr. Coons Jr. is the founder of CAS, which has historically been the primary master builder for the commercial and retail Properties and which is expected to be the primary master builder with respect to the Properties on behalf of the OREE in the future. In addition, Mr. Coons Jr. is also the founder of Senator Drive, LLC (“Senator Drive”): a registered home builder that has done much of the work with respect to the Properties that are residential home developments and which is expected to be the registered home builder for any such residential homes to be built by the OREE. Finally, to assist in the marketing of any properties developed by the OREE, the Managing Member expects to hire a local RE/MAX realtor as to which Mr. Coons Jr. is a 50% owner. Mr. Coons Jr., CAS and/or Senator Drive may also guarantee or advance certain construction costs related to OREE properties under development to assist the OREE in obtaining bank debt associated with OREE projects under construction.
Brian Wilcox
Chief Financial Officer
Brian Wilcox is the Chief Financial Officer of OREE. In this position, Mr. Wilcox is responsible for all financial accounting and administration functions at OREE. Prior to joining OREE, Mr. Wilcox owned and operated several small businesses and was a business consultant for clients ranging from privately-held startup companies to publicly traded corporations. Mr. Wilcox was formerly the Chief Financial Officer and Controller for a mid-sized manufacturing company in Thomaston, Connecticut for 10 years, and an auditor for an international accounting firm in Hartford, Connecticut for 5 years. Mr. Wilcox has been a Certified Public Accountant for 30+ years, and holds a Masters of Business Administration Degree and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration Degree in Accounting.
Wade Schmelter
Property Manager
Wade Schmelter is the Manager of Commercial Operations of Opportunity Real Estate Equities, LLC (“OREE”). Mr. Schmelter is responsible for the operational aspects of all investment properties of OREE. Mr. Schmelter has over 25 years of experience in commercial and residential construction. He has owned his own construction company for over 20 years, specializing in large commercial build outs ranging from 1 to 7 million. He provided the overall management of these jobs while completing them on-time and within budget. He has also owned his own real estate investment company for over 15 years. Mr. Schmelter has a Bachelors of Science degree in Industrial Technology from Central Connecticut State University.
Jay Zaleski
Commercial Real Estate Agent
A successful in-house Real Estate agent, also associated with First Residential Real Estate, as well as property management, maintenance, and construction specialist for over 15 years. Jay works with all of our properties and has a strong network of commercial Real Estate contacts and resources to place tenants in best suited locations.