About Trilogy Real Estate Group
Headquartered in Chicago, Trilogy Real Estate Group is a multifamily and mixed-use real estate investment and development firm with operations in 14 cities and a focus on the Midwest and South Florida. Trilogy has grown from executing mid-sized projects to building a pipeline that has peaked above $1 billion. The firm’s mission isn’t just scaling volume, but working on larger, more sophisticated projects with financial rigor and operational discipline.
The Challenge
Launching ground-up development without adding overhead
In 2022, Trilogy made a bold move. The firm launched its ground-up development arm, which meant shouldering complex financial operations-draws, cash flow tracking, and vendor payments — all without increasing staff.
Another challenge was that Trilogy’s existing systems and workflows weren’t built for rapid growth. Trilogy’s old processes relied on Yardi, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, and email threads. Draw packages, essential to keeping projects funded and on schedule, took up to 40 hours to assemble manually. The risk of errors was high, and the team knew their analog approach couldn’t keep pace.
“Our processes were very analog,” said VP of Construction Joshua Peters. “What worked on smaller projects simply wouldn’t survive a nine-figure development.”
As projects grew more complex, so did the risk that manual processes would collapse under the strain of the new business. Trilogy required a system that could centralize data, integrate with Yardi, and give both finance and development teams real-time insight into project health.
How Northspyre Helps Trilogy
Draw management in hours, not weeks
Northspyre met those requirements, centralizing Trilogy’s budgets, invoices, and draws in a unified platform.
“Suddenly, we could achieve so much more, without burning out our employees,” Peters said.
This transformation eliminated their previous reliance on disjointed systems, allowing them to simplify their workflows and save significant time. The manual process of assembling a single draw package, which once consumed up to 40 hours, now takes just a few clicks with Northspyre. The dramatic shift has accelerated reimbursements and saved the firm at least 20 hours per project each month.
“I open Northspyre every day to check the projects I’m working on and keep track of draws,” said Trilogy’s Senior Development Accountant Jennifer Beckett. “Everyone can see the same information in real time, and each person knows what step they’re responsible for. I don’t have to chase people for draw amounts or upcoming costs — it’s all right there.”
Complete visibility into budgets and cash flow
Northspyre has become Trilogy’s single source of truth, delivering complete visibility across development, construction, and finance departments. The platform ensures teams can track project health in real time, eliminating the need for last-minute changes
“At any time, any individual in our company can look at our developments and have a good understanding of both the progress and financial health of those developments,” Peters said.
Having centralized data has empowered the firm to accurately forecast cash flow and address potential budget issues before they become a concern. As a result, Trilogy has maintained financial rigor while scaling.
“A key part of successful developments is delivering on time and on budget, and with Northspyre, we’ve yet to experience a single budget overrun or untracked cost,” Peters said.
Stronger controls and closer collaboration
Northspyre has also strengthened Trilogy’s internal controls and team collaboration. Role-based permissions keep data secure, while shared dashboards ensure everyone stays on the same page. This cross-team visibility keeps everyone aligned while eliminating the need for constant back-and-forth communication and redundant conversations.
“We’re looking at the same information across all our business units,” Peters said. “Our finance team is in lockstep with our lender and dissecting the same information as our development team. It’s allowed us to work more collaboratively.”
This shift has allowed for more asynchronous work, boosting overall efficiency. The outcome is a highly productive environment that paves the way for more sustainable growth.
The Northspyre Difference
Since implementing Northspyre, draw processing times are down by 90%, from 40+ hours to less than one hour. The firm has also eliminated redundant processes, and lender reporting is smoother than ever.
Trilogy’s development unit expanded 400% without hiring extra staff for draw management or financial tracking. By reducing overhead, the firm directed resources towards roles that directly fuel growth. They’ve scaled from $50 million projects to $600+ million currently in development, which Peters said “simply wouldn’t have been possible before.”
“Northspyre has been a great development partner on our journey,” Peters said. “The platform’s capabilities have quadrupled, and the team constantly adapts to what the market needs. It’s been a big part of why we’ve been successful and able to scale.”
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