Maxx Crowley jokes that, like most kids who grow up in Westport, he thought he would move to New York City and never come back. But the pull of this community—the one where his father, Steve Crowley, built his real estate services business SCA Crowley—was too strong to deny. Maxx did move to New York to work in advertising, then pivoted to residential real estate and ended up at Compass in Manhattan. “That’s where I sort of got my MBA in real estate,” Maxx says. But when COVID hit and the real estate sector started to change, “I saw that there was a lot I could do to help the family business grow, and take some of the knowledge I got from my career in the city to put momentum into our business,” Maxx says. He came back to Westport in 2020. “I’ve loved it ever since.”
Maxx now works with not just his father, but also his sister, Judy, and brother, Bob. He has been an integral part of SCA Crowley since he came on board, helping build out a relatively new arm of the business: residential management. “We work with everyone from the folks that are going to Florida for six months and one day to managing private estates here in Westport,” he says. “From overseeing renovations to new construction to making sure the pool gets opened on time, we’re handling everything soup-to-nuts for the owners.” These residential management offerings are in addition to SCA Crowley’s expertise in the sale and leasing of commercial real estate, commercial property management, and property maintenance. (Once you start noticing the SCA Crowley logo on businesses around town, you’ll never stop.) “Our team has been lucky to manage most of the commercial properties in Westport," says Maxx. "We help landlords with everything from financial management to property oversight. Joining the family business has been amazing.”
But his work at SCA Crowley isn’t his only contribution to the fabric of Westport. Maxx is also the president of the Westport Downtown Association, the nonprofit that promotes the economic interests of the downtown Westport business community, a role he rose to quickly upon returning to his hometown. “I have a great board and staff around me, and I will forever be indebted to our previous first selectwoman Jennifer Tooker and second selectwoman Andrea Moore, because I was getting started as they were getting started,” he says. “They were huge partners for me, helping pull off a lot of our events and activations and helping me get the lay of the land.”
One of Maxx’s proudest accomplishments at the WDA was the installation of Westport’s new clock at the corner of Main and Elm Streets. He saw a similar clock while visiting a friend in Spring Lake, N.J., and thought: “We’ve gotta get one of those for Westport.” With the support of Tooker’s administration, Maxx made the clock a reality just before 2025’s annual Downtown Holiday Stroll. “I’m really thrilled with how it came to life,” he says. “It goes with the elegance of Westport, and our beautiful, historic charm.”
There is one thing that ties all of Maxx’s work together: a love of Westport and a connection to the people here. “I've always loved the town,” he says. “Whether we're managing a property for someone that has been here for 20 years or for two weeks, it gives them confidence knowing that we know the town very well and have such a great relationship with so many folks, from the best electricians to knowing the fire marshals on a first-name basis.” Bringing that sense of community forward is what drives him. “The idea that I can work hard to carry on the next generation of our business and continue to make the Crowley name a staple in town is worth, to me, more than anything.”
For more about SCA Crowley Real Estate Services, visit scacrowley.com