Land Advisors Organization’s Metro Phoenix Homebuilding team announced the closing of a land sale in the bustling West Valley of Metro Phoenix on behalf of Empire Village at Paseo de Luces, LLC, The Empire Group of Companies. The sale fetched $7.8 million for 21 acres, which will be developed into a single-family Build-to-Rent community. It will be the fourth such development in the West Valley for The Empire Group of Companies.
The project, Village at Paseo de Luces, is planned for approximately 272 units at the E-NEC of 99th Avenue and Van Buren Street in Tolleson, Arizona. The Empire Group of Companies plans to offer single-family, rental homes ranging in size from +/-700 to 1,300 square feet in 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom floorplans. Land Advisors Organization’s homebuilding team of Bret Rinehart and Ryan Semro represented the buyer in the transaction.
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“The West Valley is one of the most active markets in Metro Phoenix. With this land purchase, The Empire Group of Companies is eager to develop another exciting single-family, Build-to-Rent community, this one in Tolleson,” Rinehart said. “The metropolitan Phoenix area is ground-zero for the single-family Build-to-Rent concept. Although it’s been well-known in the market and we’ve helped groups like Empire find land for their communities over the past decade what we are seeing today is a new level of popularity from consumers, which is causing enormous interest from builders and investors looking to either grow their market share or break into it in Arizona as well as other growing areas.”
The Empire Group intends to break ground shortly and expects approximately 12 months for construction of the project. The Empire Group of Companies has developed a trio of single-family build-for-rent communities in the West Valley – Village Harvard Crossing in Goodyear; Village Pioneer Park in Peoria; and Village Olive Marketplace in Glendale.
“With markets like Arizona, Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Tampa, Houston and Dallas experiencing high population growth, the Build-to-Rent concept has become a great option for consumers who are new to an area, or for those transitioning from apartment living to a home but need to take this initial step as they wait for more inventory or pricing to stabilize,” said Rinehart. “And, with more capital groups opening up to the notion of financing these projects, we’re seeing a massive surge in interest on the builder and developer side.”
“In metropolitan Phoenix in particular, the Build-to-Rent space has reached an inflection point where institutional investors are viewing these opportunities on a large, programmatic scale,” said Rory Hansen, western regional director for Land Advisors Capital located in Scottsdale, Arizona. “With land values and construction costs rising in Arizona and across the region putting continued pressure on retail homebuyers, Build-to-Rent communities are becoming an attractive asset class.”
Land Advisors Organization’s Metro Phoenix homebuilding team facilitates sales on behalf of landowners with virtually every major home builder in the market. The team specializes in home builder developments, multi-family communities and master-planned communities throughout Arizona.
“In the last several years institutional investors have recognized the Build-to-Rent strategy as viable and have thus become more interested in diversifying their portfolios with these assets, said Michael Zarola, managing director with Land Advisors Capital located in Austin, Texas. “Nationally, we’re finding that capital groups generally fall into one of two categories when it comes to Build-to-Rent: investing as a general partner with a regional or public homebuilder who has purchasing power, subcontractors and a good knowledge of the local market; or as a limited partner often with a multi-family builder/developer/operator who maintains the operational expertise to manage the asset. There are different risks and benefits to each, so the “right fit” is critical.”
