who we are
We’re a 30-year-old startup. That is, a company with deep roots and an evergreen outlook.
We’re in the business of community development. To us, that means creating places that strengthen the bonds of community.
At Southstar, our focus is to create the greatest value for the widest range of stakeholders. Sometimes that means acquiring new land. Other times it means breathing new life into an existing development. What it always means is a commitment to elevating lives, which naturally amplifies value.
We gravitate toward difficult projects, because those are often the ones with the most potential for value creation. So we’ve structured Southstar to be agile. With expertise in every facet of mixed-use community development. Able to dial into the local opportunity and execute at the highest level. Everything from our philosophy to our financing is tuned to let us operate as a true partner, supporting the long-term interests of all involved.
The team
Get to know our own community
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that you can’t build a great place if you don’t have great people. It takes more than experience. We look for innovative thinkers who are passionate about community. And that’s exactly who we found.
In Memoriam 1946-2023
In Memoriam 1946-2023
Our History
It all started in 1999
Southstar began as the brainchild of Larry Rutherford, a true innovator who built his company on a foundation of integrity and meticulous quality. In Florida and across the South, Southstar became known for creating thoughtfully designed residential, master-planned, mixed-use and multifamily projects in beautiful settings.
Today, Thad Rutherford and the Southstar team are bringing a renewed sense of insight, creativity and market leadership. This is more than the second generation of the company. This is next-gen Southstar. Most of our projects, as well as our headquarters, are now in Texas. And our focus and capabilities have expanded to take on projects with a higher degree of complexity and greater potential for good — for outcomes that benefit the widest possible range of interests.
Giving back.
For us, giving back isn’t an option. It’s a fundamental ingredient of community. And the capacity to give back is something we build into the plan for every Southstar project. Each of our planned communities includes a charitable foundation dedicated to a specific set of causes within the larger community.
As with most everything else we do, the effort to give back is guided by listening. It’s not about what we think the community needs but what the community thinks the community needs. It’s a hyperlocal approach to giving. And it has taken the form of everything from organizing food drives to hosting warming shelters for first responders during the big freeze of 2021 to providing internet stations for kids who couldn’t attend school due to the pandemic.
