Ellis Forest III named Director of Development and General Counsel for Cothran Properties
February 28, 2025
Cothran Properties, a Greenville-based commercial, industrial, and residential developer, named Ellis Forest III as Director of Development and General Counsel to handle legal matters associated with land development, land acquisitions, and leasing for Cothran’s diverse product portfolio. Prior to joining Cothran Properties, Forest was a builder services attorney for Galbreath Costner, LLC in Greenville where he specialized in land and lot transactions for national, regional, and local home builders.
In Forest’s Director of Development capacity, he will help identify and acquire property to build Class-A industrial and spec buildings for single and multi-tenant occupants and secure land for the company’s robust residential division, Cothran Homes, which designs, builds, and develops new residential communities in the Upstate of South Carolina.
According to Forest, “I have had the privilege of watching Mark Cothran grow and expand his real estate portfolio for many years, and I have always admired his business model and vision for the future. The volume and scale Mark has developed in commercial and residential projects in and around Greenville since 1986 is incredible, and it’s exciting to work with Mark and the Cothran team to identify new opportunities to shape future developments in the Upstate.”
“It’s the right time to bring in a skilled real estate lawyer in-house to help our team achieve our aggressive vision to bring to market move-in ready commercial and residential developments,” said Mark Cothran, founder and chief executive officer of Cothran Properties and Cothran Homes. “Ellis’ depth of knowledge in real estate law, land and property transactions, and his entrenched understanding of development and due diligence will be instrumental in helping us achieve our long-range business goals.”
Forest earned his juris doctor (JD) at the University of South Carolina School of Law and has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He also holds real estate licenses in NC and SC. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, Forest was named ‘Attorney of the Year’ by the Home Builders Association of Greenville, and he previously served on the Greenville County Planning Commission from 2019-2022.
About Cothran
Cothran Homes is a privately owned full-service homebuilder specializing in single-family homes and multi-family developments in Mauldin, Simpsonville, Greer, Travelers Rest, and Greenville, South Carolina. Cothran Homes has an in-house team of craftsmen, designers, sales professionals, and construction experts dedicated to offering professionally built homes focused on customer service and high-end design. Cothran Homes is affiliated with Cothran Properties, which has developed retail, industrial, commercial, residential subdivisions, and townhome developments in and around the Southeast since 1986. Learn more at www.cothranhomes.com, and follow the company on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn at @CothranHomes.
