About

Essex Development is a family-based real estate investment, acquisitions, and development firm specializing in logistics, distribution, and industrial assets. The Williams family has been active in real estate related pursuits for decades.

Stephen A. Williams

Stephen A. Williams recently retired as CEO of Norton Healthcare, the leading regional healthcare system and one of the top 100 in the nation, which now employs nearly 13,000 people in the Louisville area, making it the region’s third largest private employer. Mr. Williams was with Norton for 39 years, 21 as CEO, and has been a recognized leader in healthcare at the local, state and national levels, as well as for his civic work, for over four decades. Mr. Williams holds distinguished leader awards from both his alma maters, Murray State University and University of Minnesota, and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Regents at Murray State. Under his leadership, Norton Healthcare accomplished over $180 M of development in Louisville over the last 5 years, and over $1 billion of development over his tenure.

Matthew E. Williams

Matthew is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and New York University’s Master’s in Real Estate program. He has been involved in real estate development and finance in Manhattan and Chicago for over 15 years, creating hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth for family offices in New York. He serves as managing partner of Essex, LLC.

David A. Williams

David Williams is currently a member of TRIO Commercial Property Group in Louisville as well as a principal of Essex Development. David will assume a leading role within the firm’s brokerage platform, focusing on office, healthcare, industrial, and hospitality assets. Williams is an industry veteran with over twenty years’ experience helping analyze markets to align real estate requirements with strategic, financial, and business objectives. Before joining TRIO, David was Senior Vice President at CBRE Louisville, representing tenants and buyers in the office and healthcare sectors. David Williams has been involved in more than 1,100 transactions valued at more than $2.1 billion. Business First’s Commercial Real Estate Awards has recognized David as an industry leader for nine consecutive years, an award-winner and finalist in the Most Significant Office Transaction category.

Jai B. Patel

Jai B. Patel leads all hospitality-related investment activities for Essex Development and is responsible for evaluating potential new property acquisitions, development projects, and recapitalizations. Jai develops the investment thesis for each project by conducting thorough market research, benchmarking historical performance, and efficiently planning the site and associated programming. Moreover, he assists Matt in negotiating and structuring all operating, management, and joint-venture agreements.

Prior to joining Essex Development in early 2022, Jai enjoyed over seven years at HVS, a world-renown hospitality consulting and valuation firm. He co-founded the Nashville office of the firm in 2014 and oversaw operations in the surrounding region. Over the course of his career, Jai has consulted on over 250+ existing and proposed hotel and mixed-use projects, worth in excess of $10 billion, highlighted by the Proposed Four Seasons Nashville, Proposed The Joseph Nashville, Proposed Virgin Hotel Nashville, Proposed Bobby Nashville, Proposed InterContinental Indianapolis, and the Turnberry Isles Resort expansion. Earlier in his career, he worked as an award-winning general manager with a Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, in which he was recognized as one of the “Business Leaders of the Year for 2012” in Nashville by Business Leader Magazine.