About Us
Founded in 2015, Daniels Development Group is a real estate development consulting and strategy advisory firm committed to transforming neighborhoods through sustainable community economic development across the United States.
As evident by our client base, Daniels Development Group understands that every project begins with the needs of each client as predetermined by specific goals that are supported by the execution of a strategic service plan.
Our firm has an unfailing work ethic and a commitment to excellence in providing clients with confidence and clarity for every business and organizational decision.
Daniels Development Group helps brings our clients vision to a reality through development consulting and advisory services that help to achieve efficiencies and greater value towards the project and its investors and partners.
As a firm, we pride ourselves on aligning with private and public organizations that are mission oriented and have a track record of creating sustainable and thriving communities through creative and innovative community development projects and initiatives.
Meet Our Founder
Marcus N. Daniels
Marcus N. Daniels is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Daniels Development Group LLC, a privately held real estate development firm focused on mission-driven projects that create generational wealth through affordable housing, mixed-use, and commercial development. Mr. Daniels brings over 15 years of experience in business, real estate, finance, public policy, and consulting advising clients and partners on how to achieve their strategic goals through transformative real estate solutions.
Mr. Daniels also serves as Vice President at NAI Michael, a leading commercial real estate brokerage and development firm based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. At NAI Michael, he represents a broad range of clients including institutional investors, publicly traded companies, family offices, nonprofit organizations, churches, health care systems, and professional services firms in the acquisition, leasing, development, and disposition of retail, office, industrial, multifamily, and land assets across the United States.
Mr. Daniels is an Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson University, where he teaches in the Master of Science in Real Estate Development Program at the College of Architecture and the Built Environment. His teaching focuses on real estate finance, development, and impact investment, mentoring the next generation of developers, brokers, consultants and urban innovators.
Mr. Daniels is also a member of the Board of Directors for FSC First, a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and the official economic development finance agency for Prince George’s County, Maryland. FSC First administers a portfolio of over $50 million in flexible loan capital, including SBA 504 loans, revolving loan funds, and equity-equivalent investments that support small businesses, minority-owned enterprises, and catalytic real estate projects across the county.
In the broader financial services sector, Mr. Daniels previously was an Assistant Vice President of Community Development Banking at Harbor Bank of Maryland and served on the Community Advisory Board of Truist Bank for the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore Region. Truist is one of the nation’s ten largest banks and a major source of capital for commercial real estate, small business, and community development lending nationwide.
Mr. Daniels was the Chair of the NAI Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, representing a network of over 350 commercial real estate firms across the globe. He is also a member of the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC) and the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the nation’s leading organization of diverse-owned private equity and hedge fund firms. He maintains active involvement with several professional associations, including the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers (NABHOOD), the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA), the Maryland Building Industry Association (MBIA), NAIOP, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Earlier in his career, Mr. Daniels served as a legislative intern in the Office of Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, as a Chief of Staff in the Maryland General Assembly and as a legislative fellow at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund during the Obama Administration deepening his expertise in community investment policy and economic development finance. Mr. Daniels also worked as a Community Engagement Manager at Bon Secours Baltimore Health System and helped lead the Maryland Health Enterprise Zone health, wellness, housing and community development plan improving health and quality of life outcomes for West Baltimore.
He has served on the Board of Directors of the University of Maryland Laurel Regional Hospital, United Way of Prince George’s County, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington - Prince Georges County, Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School and was the Chairman of the Board for Community Youth Advance, a nonprofit youth development organization that empowers hundreds of young people in the Washington, D.C., and Prince George’s County region.
Mr. Daniels was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 by the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal and has been featured in The Commercial Observer, Washington Business Journal, BisNow and The Washington Post for his leadership in commercial real estate and community impact.
Born in Washington DC, he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Morehouse College and was a Horace Rackham Fellow at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He also completed a fellowship with the National Equity Research Center at UCLA and is a proud member of the Alpha Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.
Meet The Team
James R. Williams II
Chief Operating Officer
James Williams is the Chief Operating Officer of Daniels Development Group LLC, where he leads business operations and project execution. He brings more than 10 years of expertise in real estate development, finance, and consulting.
As COO, Mr. Williams builds the firm's operational capacity and efficiency. He leads and develops the team and refines the core business processes that align people and systems with the company's strategic objectives, advancing the firm's growth and driving execution of its project delivery strategy.
Mr. Williams also provides grant and development consulting and technical assistance. He advises faith-based organizations on leveraging their land to produce affordable housing, guiding them through site feasibility, partnership negotiations, and predevelopment planning. He advises municipalities on grant financial management, sub-recipient monitoring, and regulatory compliance in the distribution of HUD funds.
In prior operational roles, he implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, authored SOPs and policies, built dashboards to consolidate reporting, led change management initiatives, and directed cross-functional teams.
Mr. Williams also served as a Senior Financial Analyst for the City of Atlanta's Office of Grants and Community Development, where he managed the grant life cycle for more than 100 projects, underwrote multifamily development proposals, conducted grant and loan sizing, and distributed more than $20 million in gap financing for affordable housing.
Mr. Williams is active in the real estate and civic community. He serves on the Capital Campaign Committee for the Morehouse Real Estate Institute and is Vice President and Co-Founder of the Morehouse Alumni Real Estate Association. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (Atlanta Chapter), the Project Management Institute (Atlanta Chapter), and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated (Alpha Rho Chapter).
Mr. Williams earned his MBA in Finance from the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University and his BA in Business Administration from Morehouse College. He is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a licensed real estate broker in the State of Georgia.
Bryin Thomas
Vice President of Development
Bryin Thomas is a real estate development professional focused on creating transformative mixed-income, mixed-use, and community-driven developments that generate long-term economic and social impact. Since 2021, he has worked at the intersection of real estate development and community revitalization, partnering with public agencies, housing authorities, and private development teams to advance complex development initiatives from vision to reality.
His experience spans the full development lifecycle, including master planning, site acquisition, financial underwriting, capital structuring, public-private partnerships, construction oversight, and stabilization and conversion. Mr. Thomas has successfully managed development projects, most notably the One Westside CNI development in Chattanooga, TN, while navigating the complexities of affordable housing finance, government funding, and stakeholder engagement to deliver catalytic developments that strengthen communities.
Beyond project execution, Mr. Thomas is passionate about shaping places that reflect the identity and aspirations of the communities they serve. His work includes leading community engagement initiatives, integrating public art into redevelopment projects, and advancing equitable economic development strategies that create opportunities for residents, local businesses, and historically underserved communities. As Vice President of Development, he leads development projects that deliver both lasting community impact and sustainable investment value.