Developer Mark Cothran on Greenville's growth and where it's going.

"You can either complain about the 330-plus million people crowding the United States, or you can develop it," said Mark Cothran, owner and founder of the Greenville-based real estate company, Cothran Enterprise.

Cothran, who considers himself more of a real estate entrepreneur rather than a developer, generally flies below the radar when it comes to promoting the real estate projects he is involved in around the Upstate, but that doesn't lessen his impact as a successful developer.

He grew up in Greenville and left early in his career to work in large markets for Coldwell Banker Commercial and US Shelter Corporation. When he moved back to Greenville in the 80s, he took part in developing the highly desirable community of Riverwalk with his uncle John Cothran. In 1986, he started Cothran Co. and since then, he has completed more than 40 major commercial and residential projects in retail, industrial, single-family and townhome developments and owns or has under-development properties totaling more than $80 million.

The growth the city of Greenville has seen over the years has attracted a diverse group of people, according to Cothran.

"Everyone knows where Greenville is now, and tons of people are developing here that you didn't see 10 to 15 years ago," he added. "And who can blame them. Who doesn't love Greenville?"

Cothran credits his success to Greenville's vibrant community, his strong and dedicated team and his working knowledge of the many disciplines associated with real estate development, including civil engineering, architecture, construction, real estate law, finance and market analysis. His broad knowledge of these disciplines has allowed him to be involved with many successful projects spanning multiple product types in all phases of the business cycle.

"Greenville has changed a lot, especially when it comes to who we compete against, but the future is an attractive business climate," he said. "South Carolina is also great for business in general, because it's a pro-business state and has a lot of good things going for it. I think South Carolina in general will continue to grow for that reason."

Cothran has always studied the markets. After being back in Greenville for a while to expand into income property, he decided to begin developing and/or acquiring an office portfolio of approximately a half-million square feet. At that time, he was the third largest office building owner in Greenville and then sold that portfolio before...