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18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 25 2024 Randy Salvatore, founder and CEO of Stamford-based developer RMS Cos., is flanked by his sons — Kyle (left), 26, and Brandon, 28 — at a downtown Norwalk site where he is building a 204-unit apartment complex. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER Family Affair Randy Salvatore recruits sons to modernize, streamline his growing multifamily development empire project. What they brought is a fresh set of eyes, fresh skill sets and fresh education of a modern way of doing things that either I don't have, or I have overlooked to continue doing other projects." Salvatore's oldest son, 28-year-old Brandon Salvatore, is a 2020 grad- uate of the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administra- tion at Cornell University. He joined RMS in February 2023 as director of hospitality, managing RMS' hotels. Twenty-six-year-old Kyle Salvatore, a 2021 Harvard University grad, joined in August 2023 as director of multifamily development and asset management, putting him near the helm of the company's fast-growing apartment empire. Snowballing development Randy Salvatore wanted to go into business for as long as he can remember and had a natural attrac- tion to real estate development. It was something tangible, an invest- ment he could literally see and touch. "As opposed to a lot of things in business and finance that you just can't," Salvatore said. "It's just numbers. I'm fortunate knowing what I wanted to do and being able to do it later." Like his sons, Salvatore is no academic slouch. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's pres- tigious Wharton School of Business in 1991. With the real estate market in turmoil, Salvatore took a job with accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand. A year later, he joined brokerage firm William Pitt Real Estate in Stam- ford. He thought it was the best way Randy Salvatore's developments are loaded with amenities, including a rooftop pool in 'The Asher' apartments in Stamford. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com R andy Salvatore was a high school senior in 1986 when he bought his first rental property. Salvatore, then 17, put down $7,000 earned through a paper route and mowing lawns to purchase the condo. He borrowed another $28,000 from Stam- ford-based First County Bank, where his youth basketball coach was treasurer. His father had to co-sign the loan. From that early entrepreneurial spark, Salvatore has become one of Connecticut's most prolific real estate developers. Over the past 28 years, his firm, Stamford-based RMS Cos., has built about 600 houses and condos, as well as 2,500 apartment units, with about 2,000 more either under construc- tion or in active planning. RMS lists 34 properties in its portfolio, including five boutique hotels — in Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury, New Haven and Hartford — as well as one upscale dormitory for UConn students in Stamford. The company employs about 300 people. After several years of fast-paced growth, Salvatore, 54, is looking to his two adult sons, who joined the company within the past two years, to innovate and modernize operations and help manage the business. This new blood, Salvatore said, will secure the company's gains and solidify its foundations. "The company has grown quickly," Salvatore said. "I'm entrepreneurial and kind of always on to the next