United Property Associates Celebrates 45 Years  

Bernie and Helene Grablowsky (left and right) started United Property Associates 45 years ago. Now their daughter Debra Young (center) serves as president and CEO. 

Bernie and Helene Grablowsky started United Property Associates (UPA) 45 years ago and now their daughter, Debra Young, serves as president and CEO, marking the second generation to lead the highly successful company. UPA, a primarily women-owned company, provides property management for apartment communities, homeowner and condominium associations, and single-family home rentals. 

“My dad was a professor at ODU who dabbled in real estate when he and my mom began UPA,” Debra says. “I worked at the company in the summer during high school and college but didn’t come on full-time until 2009.” Debra worked in financial services for several Fortune 500 companies gaining valuable experience that is serving her well today. “I didn’t feel inspired when I was working in corporate America, and my parents were at an age where they were trying to figure out what was next for UPA. That’s when I talked to them about coming into the business.” Debra and her husband moved to Virginia Beach from Atlanta and started the transition. 

“I came in as a regional manager and as I learned, I took on more and more responsibilities. It was a slow transition, which helped me gain the trust of the employees,” Debra says. By 2018, she had started to revamp the company and focus on reducing expenses, implementing more technology, creating efficiencies, and enhancing the company’s culture. “We focused on creating core values, mission and vision statements, as well as strategic planning.” During Covid, Bernie and Helene began to step back from their leadership roles. “Covid was a pivotal time for UPA because it came under my direction. We navigated well through the pandemic, leaning on our past experiences, to remain successful during that time of uncertainty,” Debra says. 

Today, UPA has 220 employees, four corporate offices – three in Hampton Roads and one in Glen Allen outside of Richmond – and 31 rental offices throughout the state. UPA currently manages more than 45,000 units throughout Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. “We are one of the largest independently owned association management companies in the country,” Debra says. “We care for each property as if it were our own.” 

Debra relates that she most enjoys supporting the employees. “I find satisfaction when I can help create an opportunity for someone that accentuates their strengths and then watch them succeed.” UPA employees are active in their communities, supporting organizations like local SPCAs, CHKD, Equi-Kids, and food banks.  

United Property Associates has been part of the TowneBank family for many years. “We believe in using local companies, and over the years, we’ve developed a lot of trust and loyalty with TowneBank. We moved a large majority of our business to Towne because of the service we received.” 

For more information, visit UnitedPropertyAssociates.com.