One of the largest U.S. student housing developers has embarked on its first single-family home rental development with a project in a rapidly growing Alabama area. But it won't be for students.
Athens, Georgia-based Landmark Properties kicked off construction on The Everstead at Madison in the Huntsville suburb of Madison. It’s the first for the build-to-rent division Landmark launched last year. Earlier this year, it decided to venture into the traditional apartment business when it bought several apartment developments and project sites from Haven Communities.
Landmark will build 231 townhouses and single-family homes inside a gated community that will have a fitness center, swimming pool, a dog park and other amenities.
By developing in the Huntsville area, Landmark is tapping into a market that has been adding jobs at a steady clip, which has attracted national apartment developers. CoStar data shows more that 5,200 units under construction now, or roughly 15% of the area’s existing inventory. Construction starts hit a record of 2,212 in the second quarter of last year, but the pace has slowed into this year with nearly 1,200 starts year to date.
Northern Virginia-based Middleburg Communities opened a 290-unit apartment property in Hunstville in June. Atlanta-based Novare Group is building a 290-unit property next to Town Madison, an urban community development that is about 4 miles from where Landmark is building.
Nicol Investment, based in Nashville, is developing more apartments in a planned mixed-used development inside Cummings Research Park. It opened a 334-unit apartment property near Town Madison.
Huntsville earned its Rocket City nickname because of Redstone Arsenal, a large military base where missiles are developed, and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for rocket propulsion research. Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ rocket launch company Blue Origin opened an engine plant in the city.
The federal government’s investment in the FBI building two campuses on the arsenal has reached nearly $2.5 billion, exceeding the investment a joint venture between Toyota and Mazda made in opening a new plant last year in Huntsville that eventually promises to employ 4,000 people.