It was Summer 1984, when a 22-year-old Ed Walters, Jr. started working with his brother Greg, framing single-family homes on Long Beach Island. Through the decades, their small startup steadily expanded from a seasonal business into an award-winning development firm, known as Walters. Today, the company has 135 employees and three offices in New Jersey–Barnegat, Haddonfield and Ship Bottom.
This year marks Walters’ 40th anniversary, a fitting time to reflect on past achievements while setting the stage for future success. For the past four decades, Walters has built, managed and designed high-caliber projects throughout New Jersey. With a focus on improving residents’ lives, the firm builds sustainable communities for families and seniors. As of today, 22 affordable housing communities are complete and a dozen more are in the works.
President and Founder Ed Walters, Jr. attributes his company’s success to his talented team guided by a corporate culture focused on working hard, being honest and doing the right thing. His vision for sustainable construction and community-focused development has earned him recognition as a key player in New Jersey’s housing market. In the following Q&A, Walters talks about the growth of the company and the legacy he and his team have built.
What’s been the key to the company’s success?
Walters: We’ve taken a slow and steady approach to growing the company. We never took on a lot of debt or brought in financial partners, we have grown organically by reinvesting the profits.
Another key is hiring an excellent team of like-minded individuals who work hard to exceed customers’ expectations. We have a core group of about 15 employees who have been with the company for over 20 years. In particular, Joeseph Del Duca joined Walters as a partner and general counsel in 2003, and he has been instrumental in expanding the firm’s core businesses. Today, Joeseph leads the company’s development of sustainable affordable housing. It is with this partnership between me and Joeseph that has taken the company to where we are today.
What growth strategies have you employed to deal with today’s challenges?
Walters: We believe in diversification, and we’ve done this by creating three divisions—custom homes, affordable housing communities and architectural services. Diversification has helped us ride out some challenging market conditions. For example, our company – just like most others in the homebuilding business – felt the impact of the 1990-1992 recession and the 2008 financial meltdown. More recent the challenges during the early days of the pandemic with the cost of materials skyrocketing along with a multitude of supply-chain issues.
After Hurricane Sandy, we prioritized rebuilding single-family homes in the coastal areas of Ocean County with the primary focus on Long Beach Island. As you can understand, people in the community were devastated. We wanted to help them rebuild their homes – and their lives – during this difficult time. We kept our pricing very low, just trying to cover our overhead. Since Sandy, we’ve built at least 600 single-family homes.
How has Walters’ company culture contributed to its success?
Walters: We emphasize our company’s values – integrity, honesty and doing the right thing – each and every day. These serve as the foundation on which we’ve grown our company and have helped us maintain an exceptional work environment. For us, that includes treating everybody – fellow team members, customers, tenants, business partners and everyone else – with respect. Also, “doing the right thing” reflects our belief in the importance of giving back to the community.
What community involvement is Walters passionate about?
Walters: Our company philosophy emphasizes a commitment to preserving our environment and giving back to our community. As a whole, and as individuals, we’ve donated our time and money to several local and national charities including annual college scholarships to high school students, and local and national charitable organizations.
Two community outreach efforts are particularly near to our hearts. We were involved in local construction projects – “Access for Joey” and “Room for Luke” – to modify living spaces for teens with disabilities
Why is building green affordable housing important to you?
Walters: Providing vital housing and services to people who need it the most is important to us, the communities where we build and the economy. Walters started building affordable housing 20 years ago, and, from the start, we prioritized green building practices. By seeking LEED and Energy Star certification, we can reduce the environmental impact of developments and lower operating costs. We were among the first in the state to build LEED-certified and Energy Star housing; everybody should make an effort to protect the environment.
We plan to expand our reach outside of New Jersey and are looking forward to starting to develop affordable housing communities in Pennsylvania.
What advice do you have for start-ups that aspire to this type of longevity?
Walters: I believe that to be successful, you must put in two to three times more effort than you imagined, at least in the early stages. Above all, you have to make it personal and go the extra mile because your employees depend on you. This means you’re not going home at 4 p.m. The other key aspect is to hire smart people and put your trust in them.
Looking ahead, what does the future hold for Walters?
Walters: We employ a great group of talented people who are positioned to keep the company moving forward. Some have been with us for 10,15 on up to 30 years now, and they’ll be here to guide the next generation into the future. We are fortunate to have a second generation of family now involved in the business, including my son and two of Joeseph Del Duca’s children.
