Our Mission
To develop housing opportunities that uplift residents’ lives and provide positive community impact.
“We believe in the transformative power of affordable housing to change lives, strengthen neighborhoods, and ensure a brighter future for everyone.”
To develop housing opportunities that uplift residents’ lives and provide positive community impact.
We develop projects that provide superior living environments to enhance the lives of residents and improve communities.
Our team leads with integrity and strength, pursuing quality in all that we develop, promoting diversity and sustainability both internally and with our partners, and providing a high level of service to the residents and communities we serve.
Kevin Buchek and Mike Duffy have known each other for nearly 30 years since they first met as freshmen at a Jesuit high school located on Oakland Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the past 20+ years, Kevin and Mike have worked together as contractor and developer, and through those experiences built a strong level of trust and recognition of shared values. In 2020, they determined it was the right time to capitalize on these experiences and create a new development company. And so the creation of The Oakland Group builds on that relationship and the exceptional track record Roanoke Construction has created since its founding in 2012. The Oakland Group will focus both locally and regionally on bringing affordable and mixed-income housing opportunities to neighborhoods that need it most. Also, combining our extensive general contracting and complex real estate transaction expertise, The Oakland Group will provide consulting services to development companies nationally helping bring their development vision to fruition.
Kevin has dedicated his career to leading impactful construction and real estate development projects around the St. Louis region and the Midwest, and civic engagements to promote stronger communities. Starting as a laborer, Kevin returned to construction after law school as in-house counsel for a mid-size construction firm. He quickly moved upward, serving as a site superintendent and project manager before being promoted to Executive Vice President and managing the entire construction department. In his role as President & CEO Kevin became responsible for the day to day operations of the company while also focusing on business development and public relations. During the Great Recession, Kevin tripled the company’s revenues.
Kevin served as Bel-Nor's Mayor for six consecutive terms. He has also been involved in several community development initiatives, including Bel-Nor’s comprehensive land use plan, the Great Streets Initiative for the Natural Bridge Corridor, and the 24:1 Initiative, a collaborative effort among the twenty-four municipalities in the Normandy School District focused on strengthening the community, engaging families, and providing children with opportunities for success.
Kevin founded Roanoke Construction in 2012. Day-to- day, Kevin is responsible for business development and maintaining relationships with clients, investors, and architects. He also is instrumental in structuring financing applications and complex real estate transactions, partnership agreements, purchase and sale agreements, and commercial and residential leases.
Kevin and Mike Duffy founded Oakland Group together in 2020.
Influenced heavily by his upbringing as the nephew of a Jesuit priest, Mike is committed in work and in life to providing service to those in need, standing with the poor and marginalized, and pursuing justice in all he does.
Mike was first introduced to neighborhood redevelopment work in graduate school, and this experience set him on a career path focusing on low income community investment. He started his career in community development finance at Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing – first as an intern and then a full-time financial analyst – raising capital for and underwriting low income housing tax credit equity developments. After 2 years there, Mike returned home to St. Louis and worked for three years at St. Louis Equity Fund moving quickly from financial analyst to Director of Development.
In 2005, Mike accepted a finance manager position with McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc. Mike became Chief Operating Officer of the company in 2016. Mike left his position as Chief Investment Officer of MBS in 2019 after a rewarding 14-year career there closing over $2.4 Billion in real estate development to join Twain Financial Partners as Director of State Credits.
At Twain, Mike was responsible for managing a $100 million State Tax Credit investment portfolio, running a state LIHTC investment platform and raising capital for community-oriented investments in federal and state historic and low-income housing tax credits.
Mike joined Kevin Buchek at Roanoke Construction in 2020, and together they founded Oakland Group the same year.
Paul Norman joined Oakland Group in early 2023 with extensive experience as an owner’s representative and construction manager. His prior experience taught him how to effectively and efficiently manage teams of architects, engineers, general contractors, and subcontractors on a variety of construction types. Additionally, he is adept at managing relationships with local, state, and federal officials, including HUD and state housing finance agencies.
Paul previously worked for Alco Management as Project Manager of Development and Construction. In this role, he managed 11 multifamily rehab construction projects, totaling $75 million in value, from conception to completion. In this capacity, Paul managed the zoning and permit processes, negotiated and finalized the construction scopes of work and budgets, and managed contracts, submittals, change orders, and requests for information throughout the construction phase.
Since joining Oakland Group, Paul has worked on structuring and sourcing funding from a variety of federal, state, and local financing agencies.
Cate Trende joined Oakland Group in summer 2024 with extensive experience in affordable housing asset management.
Cate previously worked for St. Louis Equity Fund (SLEFI) for twelve years. As a Junior Asset Manager, she assisted in the collection, compilation, and financial performance review of a portfolio of over 2,000 affordable rental housing units. As an Asset Manager, she oversaw multiple deals from construction to lease up to the operational stage, monitored the financial performance of SLEFI’s portfolio, and prepared asset management reports for investors.
She quickly worked her way up to Director of Asset Management, taking on the supervision of SLEFI’s asset management department. In this role, Cate coordinated with tax credit monitoring agencies to ensure proper program execution, monitored the physical condition of properties, supervised third-party compliance reviews, and presented asset management reports to SLEFI’s Board of Directors.
Since joining Oakland Group, Cate has led transitioning three affordable housing properties totaling 142 units to a new property management company, monitored the financial and operational performances of a portfolio of 5 properties totaling more than 400 units, and assisted in sourcing funding for development projects from state and local agencies.
We partner with trusted industry organizations, public agencies, and community-focused groups to enhance our impact and support the development of sustainable, high-quality housing solutions.
We collaborate with community-focused nonprofits, national affordable housing developers, and regional partners to leverage our state expertise, delivering impactful housing solutions that strengthen neighborhoods and support sustainable growth.
We’d love to explore how we can collaborate to create meaningful housing solutions. Reach out and let’s start the conversation.
© 2024-25 The Oakland Group LLC