Associate Spotlight: Chris Trosper – From “On the Road Again” to “The Road Less Traveled”

Interested in pursuing a career in construction that would bridge design, construction and investment, Chris Trosper earned a degree in structural engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA in finance from the University of Iowa.

He started his career in Atlanta, where he worked with a design-build general contractor, but ultimately he returned to his home state of Iowa, spending 14 years with Principal Real Estate Investors and seven years with a Des Moines-based real estate developer specializing in apartments, industrial buildings and senior housing projects.

Those career stops allowed Chris to gain experience in engineering, development, asset management, construction lending, special servicing, debt underwriting, investor relations and capital structures such as core mortgages, structured finance products and equity structures.

Of the experience, Chris said, “I can dive deep into technical details and just as easily pivot to a financial conversation.”

Now Boarding

For much of his career, Chris traveled extensively, stopping in most major markets across the country to complete a wide range of real estate transactions, including data centers, cold storage warehouses, manufacturing facilities, industrial buildings, apartments, retail, office, senior housing, hotels and condos among others.

While the knowledge was invaluable, the frequent flyer miles lost their luster.
“I was on planes constantly,” he recalls. “On one occasion, I made three different trips in the same week, and when I got back to the airport after the last leg of the trip, I couldn’t remember where my car was parked.”

When the opportunity to join our team and focus his efforts closer to home arose, Chris didn’t hesitate – and not just because his travel would be greatly reduced. “There are only so many first-class development firms out there, and Opus is one of them.”

Chris joined our Des Moines office in the spring of 2023 as Director of Real Estate Development and quickly got to work on River Road Logistics, a 538,624-square-foot, two-building industrial development in Council Bluffs, IA.

“River Road Logistics is a great example of what makes Opus different. With our team’s mix of engineering capabilities, construction expertise and development experience, we turned an ignored land site into a Class A industrial development that was quickly leased and sold,” Chris said.

Grounded at Home

Chris has three children. His oldest is a junior at the University of Iowa, his middle is a freshman at the University of St. Thomas and his youngest is a junior in high school. In their younger years, Chris enjoyed coaching them in baseball, football, basketball and softball. With all three spending most of their time in the pool as competitive swimmers, Chris was also a swim team board member.

“I loved being active in my kids’ activities, but now I really enjoy just being a spectator,” said Chris, who noted that his son competes on the St. Thomas swim team and his youngest competes on both her high school swim team as well as a club swim team.

When he’s not at the pool, Chris enjoys going to the gym, golfing, biking and enjoying other outdoor activities. For those who don’t know him well, he is quick to point out that he speaks fluent sarcasm and has an identical twin brother for whom he is often mistaken.

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Our associates are talented, dedicated and knowledgeable. They streamline complex projects and always deliver value to clients. Read more associate spotlights.