Originally from the Midwest, Robert Christoph Senior grew up boating on the Great Lakes. Prior to starting RCI, he spent about 15 years as a developer of multifamily residences and marinas on lakes and reservoirs in the Midwest and Southeast. His experience with waterfront development led Christoph to consider multifamily communities with both upland and waterside features, creating the optimum waterfront lifestyle.
In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, RCI’s principals overcame adverse market conditions, the first energy crisis and record high interest rates, while carefully acquiring, building, leasing new locations and/or turning around residential properties that had faltered in the suburban Chicago market.
In the early 1980s, again faced with gas rationing and high interest rates, the targeted real estate market was expanded to include both residential and commercial properties in the central Midwest area. Christoph’s attraction to the Art Deco district brought him to Miami Beach, where he bought and renovated numerous historic buildings. In the early 1980s, the site of the Miami Beach Marina was nothing more than a refuse transfer point and was filled with tanks. Christoph realized the area could be a catalyst for development and become a destination instead of an industrial site. Christoph’s life-long love of boating and knowledge of what boaters want and need led him to concentrate his efforts on marinas.