Whitewood Construction Team
THOMAS L. WHITE, III
Principal, President
With over 15 years of experience in the real estate and construction industry, Mr. White serves as President and Operating Manager of Whitewood Construction. Under his leadership, Whitewood has constructed thousands of high quality apartment units throughout the Southeast. Whitewood’s primary objective is to efficiently and cost effectively build superior projects that provide strong returns to Ardmore investors, while creating a unique and enjoyable living experience for the Ardmore customer. Mr. White also serves as Ardmore Residential’s Executive Vice President and Broker-In-Charge. Mr. White is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). He is a licensed General Contractor in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Whitewood also holds GC licenses in North Carolina and Virginia. He is a licensed Real Estate Broker in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
RICK L. HOPKINS
Principal
Mr. Hopkins currently serves as operating manager for Whitewood Construction. Previously, he was responsible for the management of over 10,000 units over the course of the past 30 years. Mr. Hopkins’s expansive breadth of construction, development and management knowledge contributes to major investment opportunities evaluated by the firm. A graduate of the State University of New York, Mr. Hopkins is a Certified Property Manager, a Certified Apartment Property Supervisor, certified in Federal Housing Administration multi-family housing requirements, and an NC and SC licensed Real Estate Broker.
ALEX S. BUFFINGTON
Vice President of Construction Operations
Alex Buffington currently serves as Vice President of Construction Operations for Whitewood Construction where he is focused on preconstruction activities and general operations. Previously, he served as project manager for several multifamily projects throughout North and South Carolina where he oversaw both vertical and horizontal construction. As a qualifier for Whitewood, Alex holds a general contractors license in North Carolina and Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics.
ANDREW S. BELFORD
Senior Project Manager
A Washington, D.C. native who transformed his passion for the built environment into a construction management degree. Andrew Belford has over 20 years’ experience in various sectors of the industry that include multi-family, commercial, federal, and oversea assignments in Brazil and New Zealand. As Project Manager he is responsible for the overall management and delivery of new development communities. His responsibilities include preconstruction collaboration and plan review, budgeting, business development, purchasing, contract negotiations, scheduling, and leadership to the field team.
RICHARD O. MORA
Project Manager
An Illinois native who transferred from the Architectural environment to Construction Management, Richard Mora has over 25 years’ experience in various sectors of the industry that include Land development, Residential, multi-family, federal - Military segment. As Project Manager he is responsible for the overall management and delivery of new development communities. His responsibilities include preconstruction collaboration and plan review, budgeting, business development, purchasing, contract negotiations, scheduling, and leadership to the field team.
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KRISTEN L. AARHUS
Operations Manager
Kristen Aarhus currently serves as the Operations Manager for Whitewood Construction. Her responsibilities include contract administration, development and plan management, requisition of building permits, and working in close liaison with architects, engineers, and other consultants during project plan review to obtain local state and municipality approvals. Mrs. Aarhus joined Ardmore in January of 2019. She enjoys serving as a support for all sites, subcontractor, and supplier needs. Kristen holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
ERICA R. O’NEAL
Project Coordinator
Erica joined the Whitewood Team in May of 2023, where she currently serves as a Project Coordinator. In her role she works closely in assisting project managers and site team members as well as communicating with all project contractors and vendors. She has recent work history in restoration and reconstruction of residential and commercial properties. Erica has experience in finance and earned her degree from University of Phoenix.