Arthur J. Falcone is a co-founder and Managing Principal of Encore Capital Management and sits on the Investment Committees of its three funds. Art is also the founder and Managing Principal of Miami Worldcenter, one of the largest master-planned urban environments in the United States. Spanning more than 30 acres across nine blocks in the heart of downtown Miami, the entitled project allows for more than 15 million square feet of mixed-use multi-billion dollar development, including retail, restaurant and entertainment, hotel, residential, and office.
As Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 2004 to the present of Falcone Group, a vertically- integrated real estate and land development organization specializing in residential, retail and apartment assets. Mr. Falcone began his business more than 35 years ago, investing in fast food restaurants, hotels and health clubs in New York State, and at the age of 22 became the youngest operator of a McDonald's franchise. He quickly became the owner and operator of more than 100 McDonald's, Wendy's and other family-style restaurants throughout New York, Florida and California, and was also a Days Inn Hotel franchisee.In 1988, Mr. Falcone formed the homebuilding and land development company Transeastern Properties, Inc. Transeastern began purchasing residential and mixed-use properties from distressed and bankrupt sellers and capitalizing on foreclosures against distressed housing debt brought on by the national recession in the late 1980's and early 1990's.
As the economy rebounded, this asset base fueled Transeastern's growth, within 15 years Transeastern had become the largest private homebuilder in the State of Florida and one of the top 25 homebuilders in the United States. In 2005, as the homebuilding market peaked, Art sold Transeastern, (including the land company), to Technical Olympic USA ("TOUSA") for a total consideration of $1.6 billion in one of the largest private transactions in the history of homebuilding and land sales. During this period, Mr. Falcone developed or acquired interests in over 20,000 multifamily apartment units, in 2006; Mr. Falcone sold his remaining apartment portfolio for $480 million.