Jon Van De Voorde, NexMetro
Jon Van De Voorde, NexMetro

Phoenix-headquartered NexMetro Communities, America’s builder of next-generation leased–home neighborhoods in the Sunbelt, announced the appointment of real estate veteran, Jon Van De Voorde as the company’s vice president and general manager.

Most recently serving as Vice President of Development for Dallas-based Wilbow Corporation, Jon will be heading up NexMetro’s Dallas office with responsibility for the Texas operations, including acquisition, development and construction of new neighborhoods. NexMetro plans to open four leased-home neighborhoods in the north Dallas area in 2015, with an aggressive growth strategy to acquire 5 new properties annually.

“We are excited to bring Jon on board to head up this next growth phase of our company,” said Josh Hartmann, Executive Vice President. “He knows the Texas market, and as we make this significant move to grow into this high-demand area, we are fortunate to be able to rely on Jon’s expertise in the local real estate market to guide our growth.”

The Dallas Metroplex represents NexMetro’s first foray into a market outside of Arizona. The first community scheduled to open will be in McKinney Texas, with groundbreaking to occur in early 2015. Often spotlighted as one of the “Best Places to Live” in the country, McKinney represents the ideal location for NexMetro to expand its concept of leased home neighborhoods to meet the demand created by the growing housing crunch in the area.  In fact, Money Magazine in its September 19, 2014 issue named McKinney the “#1 Best Place to Live” citing the lifestyle the city offers, downtown charm, a plethora of available growth-industry jobs, and the close proximity to nearby Fortune 500 companies, as some of the reasons it was named the top pick.

“The Dallas area has seen an influx of several large corporations, and in general, provides excellent employment prospects, attracting high-wage earners to the area,” said, Jon Van De Voorde, Vice President and General Manager, NexMetro Communities. “This provides us with an excellent opportunity to meet the housing challenge the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex faces. I’m excited to join NexMetro, a company that understands, and is prepared to deliver, the new “rentership” lifestyle that more people are choosing. And with millennials, empty nesters and so many other population groups demanding quality living options that allow them flexibility, and a true lock-and-leave lifestyle,  we know the Avilla product will meet their expectations.”

Once the Avilla properties are underway in the Dallas area, NexMetro plans to expand into the Houston market where the same demand for housing exists.  In the Phoenix metro area, Avilla neighborhoods are already open in Chandler. In addition, Avilla Palm Valley, which will feature 125 homes, recently broke ground in Goodyear, just 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix.