Principal / Co-Founder
Gardner Lee is principal and co-founder of Growth Capital Partners (GCP), the Birmingham-based private real estate investment and management company.
Lee co-founded GCP’s predecessor in 2013. He was instrumental in leading the management team to rapidly grow that firm’s assets by over 400% in five years. He devised the strategy to transform the company from a local to a regional industrial investment firm by implementing a disciplined acquisition strategy focused on acquiring a geographically diversified portfolio of institutional-quality assets in high-growth Southeast markets. In 2020, Lee successfully orchestrated the sale of all assets through a process that delivered an annualized return of over 20% to shareholders.
Founded in 2021, GCP quickly garnered institutional partners and expanded its geographical footprint to include Texas and the Mountain West. In five years, the company’s portfolio has grown to over $1 billion in assets, with a full complement of operating partner services and a deep level of asset management capabilities. As part of GCP’s expansion of capabilities, Lee co-founded Vardaman Construction, which has grown into a leading concrete tilt-up construction company with development experience in 27 states to date.
Gardner’s investment thesis has always been focused on finding intrinsic value for investors and creating paths to unlock that value in the assets.
In 2023, Gardner became an adjunct professor for the University of Alabama, leading the Strategic Real Estate Investment Fund. This unique class operates as a student-led investment club investing in private equity real estate and publicly traded REITs.
- Graham Commercial Properties, Co-Founder and President
- Graham & Co. Managing Partner
- Holder of both CPM and SIOR designations
- Held several positions within NAIOP
- Member, Advisory Board for the University of Alabama Center for Real Estate
- Adjunct Professor, University of Alabama Student Real Estate Investment Fund
- University of Alabama, MBA
- Auburn University, History and Economics
