Since moving to Charlotte in 1978, Frank has been active in the city’s real estate industry. Through Martin Development Group and Landcraft Properties, each of which he founded, he has developed condominiums, townhouses, single family communities, commercial properties, and medical offices.

Frank earned a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1966, where he was a Morehead Scholar and an MBA from Harvard University in 1971, where he was a Spencer Love Fellow. Between UNC and Harvard, he served in the U.S. Navy for three years, one of which was in Vietnam.

Throughout his 40+ years in Charlotte, Frank has balanced business with community service. He has held the positions of president of the Charlotte Homebuilders Association, commissioner of the Charlotte Housing Authority, board chair of Historic Rosedale, board member of the Charlotte Housing Partnership, and board chairman of the Harvest Center.

For 10 years, Frank served as board chairman of Sugar Creek Charter, a K-12 school with 1,725 students, most from economically disadvantaged families, that is among North Carolina’s most highly regarded charter schools. In 2018, the school’s high school campus was designated the “J. Frank Martin Campus.”

Frank is husband to his wife Frannie and father to his son Grainger.