Davis Development Group is more than a real estate development company. It’s the embodiment of the spirit of its founder, Larry Davis. A spirit defined as much by acumen and entrepreneurship as by civility, professionalism and trust.
 |
It was often said that Larry would “build a building on a handshake.” Whether or not true, the phrase said much about the man and continues to say much about the company whose roots were being nurtured in an upholstery shop in the 1950s.
After earning a degree and working as an accountant, Larry opened his first business — fabricating upholstered headboards. Though transforming a business from one that manufactures headboards to one that builds headquarters may appear implausible, it’s exactly how Larry and Davis Development Group, Inc. began.
With a successful and growing headboard business, Larry hired a firm to build his company a larger plant. As it turned out, the headboard business never moved in to the new structure. Instead Larry took advantage of a 20-year lease opportunity and leveraged the deal’s revenue to construct two additional buildings – one for his headboard business and the other for another lease.
It was at that point that Larry “took a different path.” In fact, he sold the headboard company, speculated that suburban Solon (then known for its farmland) would be better known for its industry and development opportunities, and began a full-time career in real estate.
Today it’s obvious Larry’s foresight was impeccable.
Since his first development project in Solon in the early 1960’s, Larry and Davis Development went on to develop and build 65 percent of all buildings in the community. In addition, Solon has evolved from a rural suburb of 6,500 residents to an affluent community with some 23,000 residents and thriving commercial and industrial centers that include: high-end shopping centers, corporate headquarters, offices, warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing centers.
Over the years, Larry’s reputation for honesty and financial responsibility grew as did his success and Davis Development Group’s holdings. Teamed with his son Jeff, Larry’s empire grew to include: Landerhaven, a former 160-acre golf course turned prestigious office park – as well known for its corporate headquarters as for its ponds, paths, and landscaping; the Ohio Design Center, an exclusive grouping of home furnishing designer showrooms – open only to the trade; and the Davis Automotive Group, a collection of automotive sales centers specializing in such luxury brands as BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover and Maserati.
To date, Davis Development Group, Inc. has developed, constructed and managed some 3,500,000-square-feet of industrial, commercial and retail property throughout Cuyahoga County as well as communities in Portage, Summit and Lake Counties.
As it has done for decades, Davis Development continues to envision the needs of tomorrow’s businesses, communities and consumers and to turn those concepts into realities – all the while exemplifying Larry Davis’s spirit and his unwavering commitment to value, honesty and efficiency.