Most entrepreneurs will tell you flexing to market changes is crucial to business success, and strong relationships are just as important in growing a business. Heritage Companies President Michael Kiley knew this when he established a banking relationship with Eastern Bank in 2003. The Quincy, MA-based real estate development, management and investment company has properties across Massachusetts, including along the South Shore in N. Attleboro, Rockland, Weymouth and Whitman, and Eastern Bank has consistently provided the organization with the assistance and reliability it needs to expand its operations and offer the best service possible to customers.

Getting Started And Building A New Business Model

Kiley has been adapting to change ever since he was a young kid. He likes to say he was born into Heritage Companies, the business his father founded, and raised on construction sites. He wanted to be an architect growing up, but realized that his calling leaned more toward construction management. After learning about other areas of real estate, in 2003, Kiley took over his father's business, broadening its scope. Gradually, he started to build a new model for the business, transitioning it from a construction-focused company to a real estate development and management firm.

Kiley shifted the company’s focus from condominium projects to acquiring, designing and managing apartment buildings. It was a vastly different approach, moving to purchasing and then holding properties for the long-term and one that opened up new business opportunities. Since then, Heritage Companies has expanded to mixed-use properties, such as multifamily apartment buildings with retail shops on the first floor, and transit-oriented developments including in Quincy where it developed an apartment complex by the highway.

Kiley has also focused on repurposed development and converting older, dilapidated buildings, including a dozen mills across the state. Heritage Companies has expanded into real estate brokerage as well, providing more options to its residents and customers.

Says Kiley, “In this business, you have to be flexible. We had to build our company in a different direction, to be more of a one-stop real estate firm that could serve a range of needs. You have to withstand the waves and get back to the shore. I think understanding that is the most important support a relationship with a bank can provide.”

Approaching New Ideas Together With Business Relationships

Kiley credits the company's success and ability to pivot partly to its business relationships and connections, including its relationship with Eastern Bank. When his father had a debilitating stroke, Kiley needed support more than ever.

"Eastern Bank stepped up above and beyond," says Kiley. "They felt me walking in his shoes was second to none. They got behind me and backed me during a very difficult time. We formed a relationship that I take to heart and the level of responsiveness – where people jump in and help – is never taken for granted. I didn't need to look to any other banks after that."

Heritage Companies President Michael Kiley.

Over the last 20 years, Eastern Bank has continued to facilitate Heritage's success. Kiley has worked with Eastern Insurance Group to insure several Heritage properties, and he has gotten to know many people at Eastern Bank working in finance, lending, review and even insurance, from his long-term Relationship Manager and the Commercial Real Estate Head to the CEO. He says, “I think it’s very special getting to know different leaders at the bank, and the well-rounded relationships are very helpful. When a banker goes to a committee for a loan application review, it helps when others know the client too.”

Looking To The Future And Preparing To Adapt

According to Kiley, fast and reliable communication is a big part of what makes the relationship with Eastern Bank ideal. "I don't think I've gone an hour without a response," he says. “And even if an answer isn’t available within an hour, I’m receiving a response right away that my question is being reviewed. Not many businesses operate that way today.”

Kiley also notes that Eastern's flexibility has helped his business address and adapt to changing conditions from a position of strength.

"In the past, we’ve started a deal as a condominium project and the market began to change. We then switched gears and reworked it as an apartment project. You have to have your finger on the pulse so that when the market changes, you have the flexibility to change along with it," explains Kiley. "That's one of the most important things that a relationship with a bank can provide. Eastern has done that with us."

As shifts in real estate happen, Kiley has prepared his organization to adjust. And Eastern Bank will be there to help provide the kind of support that makes his goals and dreams possible.

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Heritage Companies and Eastern Bank have a 20-year banking relationship, and it's still going strong. Learn how Eastern Bank can support your business.

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