We are Blue Ridge

Creating a positive impact for all we touch so that we leave each community better than we found it.

BRC History

Our Home is your Home

The Blue Ridge Parkway provides the inspiration for Blue Ridge Companies, formed in 1997 in the heart of North Carolina. Founders David Couch and Chris Dunbar drew their inspiration from the determination and perseverance of the engineers who built the viaduct along the mountain. Those engineers creatively solved the challenge of navigating the mountain while maintaining the natural beauty and integrity of the mountains. For the Blue Ridge Parkway, the philosophy of creative compromise resulted in a beautiful piece of engineering, and an award-winning bridge. For Blue Ridge Companies, this same philosophy has resulted in strong relationships and success within our industry, and an award-winning company. David Couch and Chris Dunbar envisioned a company that could integrate all phases of real estate - development, construction and management in order to operate more efficiently on behalf of its clients. They believed this synergy was the key to optimizing a real estate investment and they made it the primary focus of their company. Blue Ridge has been able to utilize creative solutions in order to solve the challenges that face our partners and clients in the industry for more than two decades.

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COMMUNITY

Blue Ridge Companies works hard to make a Positive Impact in the communities we serve. Whether supporting our local food drives, Toys for Tots, Veterans’ Affairs, or Special Olympics, Blue Ridge has an active commitment to making a difference in our communities.

Volunteer with Us
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Our Leadership

Chris Dunbar
President and COO

As the President and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Ridge Companies, Chris is responsible for the day to day activities of the company’s development and management divisions. By employing strategic development and asset management strategies, Chris has procured construction financing for projects in excess of $600 million and achieved permanent, non-recourse financing of approximately $325 million.

Prior to co-founding Blue Ridge, Chris worked in Corporate Banking with Wachovia Bank and in Commercial Real Estate Development at Easter and Eisenman, Inc. A VP of Real Estate Financial Services at Wachovia, Chris managed a $275 million mortgage loan portfolio and was responsible for development efforts and new loan placement in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina.

Chris is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University, holding his B.S in Financial Management and his MBA with a concentration in Finance. Additionally, Chris holds his CCIM designation and is actively involved in the Apartment Association of North Carolina, where he has sat on the Board of Trustees since 2010.