Gebhardt Development

Gebhardt Development is a real estate investment and development company. Among our many projects are The Constellation, a 220-unit ultra-modern, high rise in Madison's Capitol East Corridor. Next to the Constellation along East Washington Ave is The Galaxie, with 170,000 square feet of commercial space on the first three floors and topped by 248 residential units.  This development builds on what The Constellation brought to the East Washington Corridor including a Festival Foods which is a full-service Wisconsin family-owned grocery store.  Also constructed on the Galaxie block but along East Mifflin Street, are the Starliner Condos and Lofts which offer both rental and ownership opportunities with a focus on energy efficiency. Opened in 2018, The Gebhardt Building is directly across the street from the Galaxie on East Washington Avenue and includes a mix of retail, commercial office space, and a 2,500 seat performance venue called The Sylvee, by Frank Productions.

Gebhardt Development is a Madison based, family owned business, founded by Otto Gebhardt III in 1995. City officials have recognized and awarded Otto’s efforts to create future forward projects that bridge neighborhoods and generations by providing a wide variety of housing and commercial spaces throughout Dane County for the last 30 years.


Project Team


Otto Gebhardt III

Founder & CEO
Otto grew-up in Madison’s east side Orton Park neighborhood in the real estate investment business. He started work at the age of 7 in the family run business Gebhardt Realty, made his first offer on a property at age 13, owned his first property by 18, and at 19 began more serious trading in the stock market. Otto’s real estate portfolio is comprised of over 2,000 commercial and residential units in the Madison and Sun Prairie areas of Dane County, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and Madison College's Truax campus areas. Otto’s most recent projects include mixed-use, high rise developments on East Washington Avenue. Otto sees the Capitol East Corridor as an opportunity to bridge Madison’s near east and downtown neighborhoods.

Otto’s entrepreneurial adventures also included sixteen years as part owner of Quality Fitness, a family run, fitness equipment business with retail stores in WI, IL and FL. He has been active in several local civic and non-profit organizations over the years including five years on the board of directors for Greenwoods Financial Group.

Michael Carter

VP - Operations
Michael joined Gebhardt Development in 2018 and brought with him a breadth of experience from the private and non-profit sectors. He is recognized as someone who goes above and beyond the standard requirements, utilizing creative methods to solve complicated problems. He enjoys working with others to build strong business relationships and strives to represent Gebhardt Development’s vision and mission. Michael works diligently to contribute progressive and unique projects that seek to change the landscape of the Madison community. He also works hard to develop and help fellow employees reach their professional goals.

Christopher Harvey

Business Director
Christopher began working for Gebhardt Development in 2014. In addition to real estate, his background includes a career in operations, finance and people management. He works with our team through all stages of the development process - from acquisition to entitlements, construction, and ultimately transitions projects to our operations team for lease-up. Christopher also oversees the IT and Accounting departments at Gebhardt Development.



Darlene Buhler

Executive Assistant


Cap East neighborhood map