Our Team

Experienced professionals is the reason for Elevation Development’s success.

Owais Khanani

Founder & CEO

Owais Khanani is an Orlando-based entrepreneur with more than 35 years of experience founding, building, and leading companies in finance, renewable energy, media, and real estate development.

Mr. Khanani specializes in shaping business models from the ground up. He builds strong foundations by hand-selecting key leadership, then identifies and executes the strategic opportunities that drive long-term growth.

As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Elevation Development, LLC (“Elevation Development”), Mr. Khanani leads a vertically focused real estate platform with a diversified portfolio across Florida. The firm’s work includes residential land development, multifamily, mixed-use master-planned communities, commercial retail, and medical wellness communities, including senior living and medical office campuses. Elevation Development also acquires net-leased and retail assets, and partners on select joint-venture opportunities.

Under his leadership, Elevation Development combines disciplined underwriting with hands-on execution, taking projects from site selection and entitlement through development and stabilization.

Jawaad Khanani

Vice President

Jawaad Khanani is Vice President of Elevation Development, where he leads projects from land acquisition and entitlement through financing and development. Since 2020, his work across Florida has spanned master-planned communities, multifamily housing, and retail, together encompassing approximately 4,000 planned residential units and 500,000 square feet of planned commercial space.

Jawaad approaches capital structure as a design decision. From the earliest planning stages, he considers how financing will shape a project’s mix of uses, phasing, and timeline, then tailors each structure to the site’s density, infrastructure demands, and market.

Jawaad is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he concentrated in International Business, Finance, and Writing.

Joe Beirne

President of Development – Senior Medical Wellness Division

Joe Beirne brings over 45 years of experience in business and real estate development, with extensive expertise in residential communities, retail complexes, senior living, and medical wellness development. His experience encompasses the full development process, including land identification and acquisition, entitlement, municipal approvals, project planning, financing, construction, and strategic partnerships. Throughout his career, Joe has been involved in the development of more than 6,000 residential lots across Ohio and Florida, in addition to numerous commercial and senior living projects. In 2000, he brought the first single-room skilled nursing home concept to Ohio, further establishing his commitment to innovative senior care and development.

Joe is the Founder and Co-Owner of Encore at Tradition in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a 415-unit active adult residential community designed around wellness, connection, and an active, maintenance-free lifestyle. Located within the master-planned community of Tradition, Encore combines resort-style living with a strong emphasis on health and wellness, offering fitness and wellness facilities, yoga and meditation spaces, pickleball, walking and biking trails, dining, social programming, and access to medical and physical therapy services. The project’s design was recognized with a Silver Aurora Award for Best Architectural Design by the Southeast Building Conference.

As President of the Senior Medical Wellness Development Division, Joe leads the identification and advancement of opportunities that integrate senior living, healthcare, wellness, residential, and complementary commercial uses. His current initiatives include developing relationships and opportunities with colleges and universities, hospitals and healthcare organizations, and city and municipal governments to create integrated communities that connect senior living and wellness with healthcare, education, and broader community resources.

Mark Smith

Managing Director – Multifamily

Mark Smith brings more than 40 years of business experience, including an accounting and financial background, and more than 34 years in multifamily real estate. His experience includes acquisitions, underwriting, capital structuring, operations, repositioning, refinancing, and portfolio strategy. He was part of a multifamily platform that grew from approximately 1,100 units to more than 10,000 units across multiple markets.

At Elevation Development, Mark leads the multifamily platform, focusing on the acquisition and repositioning of value-add workforce housing. He oversees investment strategy, business planning, capital structure, lender and investor relationships, and execution from acquisition through stabilization and refinancing or disposition.

Manuel Barrio

Project Manager

Manuel Barrio is a Project Manager at Elevation Development, LLC, where he leads commercial and residential projects from planning through construction. He manages procurement from RFPs through vendor selection, controls costs through review and approval of payment applications, and coordinates consultants and contractors to keep projects on schedule and within budget.

Before joining Elevation, Manuel held project management and leadership roles with engineering, construction, and real estate firms in Florida and Puerto Rico, with experience spanning site work, land development, and vertical construction.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Science in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University and is a Florida Certified Building Contractor.

James Steven Elchlinger

Acquisitions & Development – Senior Medical Wellness Division

James Steven Elchlinger serves as a Specialist in Acquisitions and Senior Medical Wellness Development, with a focus on identifying, evaluating, and advancing strategic real estate opportunities for senior-focused and medical wellness developments.

James has been actively involved in the acquisition and evaluation of land opportunities throughout Florida, with experience spanning site identification, market research, property evaluation, negotiations, due diligence, and transaction structuring. He focuses on identifying strategically located properties with the potential to support senior living, medical, wellness, residential, and mixed-use developments.

James works closely with property owners, brokers, development partners, healthcare and senior living operators, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities aligned with Elevation’s vision for innovative, integrated senior medical wellness communities. His approach emphasizes thoughtful site selection, creative acquisition strategies, strong relationships, and the long-term development potential of each opportunity.

Paul W. Roth

Corporate Controller, CPA

Paul W. Roth, CPA, is the Corporate Controller for Elevation Development, LLC and its subsidiaries, bringing over 25 years of experience in the accounting industry, including more than 15 years in public accounting.

He has worked with a wide range of companies, including Big 4 public accounting firms, publicly traded corporations, and privately held businesses. His expertise includes initial public offerings, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, US GAAP and IFRS accounting, and supporting small to large-sized organizations.

Throughout his career, Paul has built and led high-performing teams, offering clear, timely financial guidance and fostering a collaborative work environment. His combined experience in both public and private accounting gives him a well-rounded perspective on financial operations and business strategy.

MJ Sanchez

Development Coordinator

MJ Sanchez is a dedicated Development Coordinator with a strong background in driving organizational growth and efficiency. She graduated from Baruch College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management. With over 10 years of customer service experience, MJ excels in fostering strong client relationships and ensuring seamless project execution.

Her expertise in coordinating development initiatives, coupled with her strategic vision and problem-solving skills, makes her an invaluable asset to our team. MJ is committed to facilitating impactful development projects and nurturing an environment of continuous improvement.

Tamy Small

Accounting

With over 45 years of experience in bookkeeping and financial operations, Tamy Small is a cornerstone of Elevation Development’s accounting team. Her expertise in accounts payable, paired with her precision and dependability, ensures financial accuracy across every project.

A proud Miami native who has called Orlando home for over three decades, Tamy brings a wealth of knowledge from diverse industries, including site development construction, telecommunications, and small business operations. Her background spans both corporate and field settings, giving her a well-rounded perspective on financial systems and workflows.

Before joining Elevation, Tamy served in a senior leadership role at one of Central Florida’s premier site development firms, overseeing financial systems and supporting day-to-day operations.

Outside of work, Tamy enjoys spending time at Disney with her granddaughter, crafting beautiful crochet pieces, and diving into mystery novels.