Rockefeller Group, the U.S. real estate developer, owner, and operator, announced today that it has acquired two sites for the development of 152 build-to-rent townhomes. The two sites, approximately 1.75 miles apart, total 16.5 acres and are located in Phoenix’s booming South Mountain corridor. Groundbreaking on both sites is expected this summer with first occupancies projected for first quarter 2025.
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The first site, located at 8181 S. 20th Street, is 9.2 acres and sold for $4.9 million. The seller was The Bruckal Group. The second site, located at 825 E. Euclid Avenue, is 7.34 acres and was purchased for $3.8 million in an off-market transaction. The seller was Proximity Rental Homes. Both sites are fully entitled.
“Rockefeller Group is excited to be able to acquire two of the few remaining infill sites for residential development in South Phoenix,” said Mark Singerman, Vice President and Regional Director for Rockefeller Group. “There is big demand and low supply in the South Mountain area, and we are confident that these two projects will help fill that need.”
Singerman expects the projects will be attractive to prospective tenants due to the proximity to Arizona State University and surrounding communities, which are accessible via surface streets, as well as the proximity to I-10, the airport, jobs in Chandler and Gilbert and downtown Phoenix.
Zack Mishkin, senior vice president with Orion Investment Real Estate in Scottsdale, Ariz., brokered the transactions between the buyer and sellers. “Arizona is the epicenter and proving ground for BTR product,” Mishkin said. “Since 2015, Phoenix has added more than 12,000 units completed or in various stages of development in the Phoenix MSA alone.”
The townhomes, which will be brought to market by Rockefeller Group under a singular brand, will range from 1,126 square feet to 1,525 square feet with two and three bedrooms. The 20th Street townhomes will all have two car attached garages. The Euclid Avenue site will have 27 garages available for lease to residents. Both sites will have a pool, hot tub, dog park and other open space amenities.
“These two projects provide flexibility to the tenant who is looking to expand beyond typical apartment living but not ready to purchase a single family home due to rising interest rates and lack of supply,” said Singerman. “A growing family can have a yard, an office for working from home, and a garage in a gated community close to jobs without fully committing to purchasing a home.”
Rockefeller Group opened its first office in the Phoenix area in 2008. Since then, the company has developed more than 1,900 units of residential through its partnership with Liv Communities, more than 100,000 square feet of flex-industrial, and more than 240,000 square feet of flexible office space. In April, the company announced it is developing Surprise Pointe Commerce Center, a 415,000-square-foot speculative distribution center in Surprise, Ariz.
