John K. Little
Founder and President of The Plinth Group

PROFILE

John Little has over 35 years of experience in design, construction and real estate development, a solid foundation for his current duties as president of The Plinth Group.

John started in the industry working in Florida on large commercial, industrial, and multi-family residential projects, first working for an established general contractor before starting his own company with the same industry focus. Later his company added a new division developing mid to high-end, single-family residential projects.

More recently, John worked for several large developers based in Atlanta in various executive capacities charged with creating new divisions and implementing corporate procedures. Now, as president of The Plinth Group, he focuses on redevelopment of in-town areas, building medium-size, mixed-use and residential projects.

General contracting, Florida - 1974-1996
John entered the building construction and development industry in the early 1970s working as a project manager for a Miami-based general contractor specializing in government-related construction.

Then in 1978 John established his own full-service, general contracting firm in south Florida. His company provided services for all types of building construction and development projects, including residential, commercial, industrial and even military construction. The company built everything from multi-family, mid-rise residential buildings to commercial office buildings, warehouses, and factory buildings.

In response to the growing home construction market in south Florida, John's company formed a separate entity in 1989 focused on residential development, offering end-to-end services for the design, development and construction of custom, single-family homes in the mid and high-end markets. At their peak the two divisions together employed approximately 120 people directly, plus the numerous subcontractors that worked on the various projects.

Corporate Construction Operations, Atlanta - 1996-2004
Responding to new opportunities, in 1996 John decided to close the business in south Florida and move to Atlanta to launch a new construction division for a large general contractor seeking to bring more of its subcontracted work in-house.

With the new division up and running, John moved on to other firms, setting up pre-construction divisions and establishing corporate operating policies and procedures - things that are invisible to the public and building occupants, but which are critical to producing well designed, high quality development projects.

In 2000, John returned to the development side of the industry, taking the post of Executive Vice President of Development and Construction with student housing developer Place Properties. There he was responsible for oversight and management of all development, design and construction nationwide. Under John's leadership Place established itself as one of the premier student housing developers in the country.

The Plinth Group, Atlanta - 2005-Present
In January 2005, John founded The Plinth Group - a real estate development and consulting company based in Atlanta - and today serves as president of the company overseeing development and long range strategy.

The company focuses primarily on development of high-value, medium-size, in-town projects in Atlanta and other cities in the Southeast region. Additionally, the company provides consulting services to other firms needing assistance in development management and construction management.

The Plinth Group includes three divisions: Plinth Development, Plinth Construction and Plinth Sales. John's vision has been to differentiate The Plinth Group from other developers by offering buyers the opportunity to personalize living and working spaces to complement their lifestyles and needs. For this reason John decided to create a construction division, Plinth Construction. In order to offer customization to the buyer at a reasonable cost, it was critical that The Plinth Group control the construction directly, rather than relying on third-party builders. Plinth Development and Plinth Construction always share the same vision and goals, and communication is always clear.

The Plinth Group's projects include both residential and mixed-use developments in neighborhoods that have experienced long-term decline, but which show promise for returning to prosperity. The company has recently finished construction of Kirkwood Station, a mixed-use development in the heart of the Kirkwood neighborhood in Atlanta, featuring 23 townhouses and 12,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The company is also at work on an 18-unit townhome project called Southerland Corner on DeKalb Avenue at the corner of Southerland Terrace in the Lake Claire neighborhood of Atlanta.

The Plinth Group continues to scout redevelopment sites in the southeast region where it can design and build attractive, well-constructed living and working spaces.

Participation in Community and Professional Organizations
John Little has been an active participant in community and professional organizations, including:
• Member, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association
• Member and past President, Builders Association of South Florida
• Member and past Vice-chairman, Dade County Licensing Board
• Member, Executive Committee of the Zoological Society of Florida
• Chairman, Capital Development Committee, Zoological Society of Florida