Our History

Wesley E. Finch is retained to oversee and re-position 929 House, 929 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts and 808 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Today, these two projects continue to provide quality, affordable, and market rate housing between Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

The Finch Group converted a financially distressed 423-unit, HUD-financed, high-rise, rental property into condominiums—the first HUD-financed building to be converted to luxury condominiums in the U.S. Today, The Towers of Chestnut Hill remains the pre-eminent luxury condominium in the Chestnut Hill area.
The Finch Group managed the revitalization of the Somerset Hotel on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston’s historic Back Bay—a project that had overwhelmed three previous developers.

Within 18 months after taking over, the property was renovated and the first phase of the project sold out. Today, units in the building are selling at prices approaching $1,000,000
The Finch Group was invited to respond to an RFP from the City of Cleveland regarding the full rehabilitation and restructuring of Park Lane Villa a historically significant 1922 Grand Hotel.

Today, Park Lane is the preeminent luxury rental property in Cleveland and remains 100% leased. Our vision is credited with turning around University Circle and making it a “24 hour” community.
Following the success with Park Lane Villa, the City of Cleveland asked The Finch Group to tackle the greatly distressed Livingston Park Apartments, an existing 195-unit, affordable, residential rental property.

Construction was completed during the summer of 2011 and the property reached full occupancy in December 2011. Today, it operates at a debt service coverage of over 1.33:1.

After 6 years of study and land assembly, The Finch Group broke ground on the first phase – Innova – a 177 unit, mixed-use building of TFG’s Upper Chester Development Plan. Located in Cleveland’s historic Hough neighborhood, Upper Chester will— in the words of Economist Magazine – bring this area back from:

“Abject poverty, crime, joblessness to become the connector between the main campus of the Cleveland Clinic (immediately across the street); and the largest VA Hospital in the U.S. (0.7 miles), Case Western Reserve University, University Hospital (0.6 miles) and the five most significant cultural institutions in Cleveland (less than 0.5 miles). The immediate area has an employment and student base of over 80,000 people.”


With Innova acting as the catalyst, Upper Chester is on its way to becoming the “connector” that merges the benefits of the Historic Hough Neighborhood and Cleveland’s cultural landmarks to complete the community.

The Finch Group (“TFG”) was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1981 before relocating to Boca Raton, Florida in 1997. Over the past 30+ years, TFG and its principals have established a solid track record of successes and deliverables.

TFG controls a group of associated single-purpose entities, each of which handles an aspect of the development, ownership and/or management of: (1) government assisted, affordable and/or market rate residential properties; (2) hospitality properties; or (3) commercial properties. The experience and expertise gained from a combination of the development and marketing skills associated with the higher-end residential rental and ownership product, and 40+ years of its principals developing and operating subsidized housing, gives TFG the broad knowledge base that is required in understanding the development challenges in today’s mixed-use communities.
From 1981 through 1996, when TFG was located in Boston, it was involved with over 10,000 condominium units ranging from affordable ($40,000) to luxury ($3,000,000, using 1996 valuation). In 1996, when TFG’s condominium division was sold, TFG was the largest operator of condominiums in New England. Today, the cumulative valuation of the properties in which The Finch Group was involved exceeds $2 billion.

TFG has also been involved in the development and operation of over 60 affordable, subsidized properties, containing (i) over 10,000+ units, (ii) One-half Billion dollars in debt and (iii) $200M+ in equity. Those developments have involved the use of many governmental programs designed to assist in the development and operation of affordable housing, including: the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (“HUD”) BMIR, 221(d)(3), 221(d)(4), 223(f), 236, 241, HOME, Rent Supplement, Rental Assistance Payments, Section 8 (in all its permutations), and Upfront Grant programs; the low-income housing tax credit authorized by Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”); IRC Section 103 tax exempt private activity bonds; and the IRC historic tax credit; and various state programs, including the structuring and closing of the first New York State Project Retention Loan in June, 2005.

Since 2007, TFG and/or its principals have developed over $300M of higher end residential product for its own account or in Mr. Finch’s capacity as a President of a not-for-profit.

A significant part of TFG’s success can be traced to its principals who have an in depth knowledge of financing and development structuring, and who have worked together, and relied upon each other, for years.

The particular strength we have as a group is based on our diverse but very complementary experiences and talent.

From day one, TFG positioned itself on a foundation of expertise, experience, integrity and trust. Throughout nearly four decades, these same key principles have been applied to every aspect of the operation, helping shape and solidify TFG’s impressive track record in evaluating, developing, rehabilitating, marketing, and managing everything from affordable multi-family residential to mixed-use properties. This entrepreneurial approach to implement well thought out business plans, on a property specific basis, that realistically reflect the strengths and weaknesses of each individual situation, is one of the fundamental aspects that sets TFG apart.
As of July, 2015 TFG owns and/or operates for its own account and with equity partners:
  • 2,453 multifamily units costing approximately $285M
  • 280,000 square feet of office buildings located in Boston, Massachusetts with a current market value of about $140M.
  • 332 hotel rooms with an appraised value of $30M.

© 2023 The Finch Group. All Rights Reserved

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