Quinn Residences planning its first Central Florida Build-to-Rent community in Eustis

Atlanta-based Quinn Residences has entered the Central Florida market with its first purpose-built rental community in Eustis.

Quinn paid just over $6 million in late December for the Eleven Oaks subdivision at 3000 E. Orange Ave., at the intersection with E. County Road 44.

The seller was BE Homes of Florida, a local developer who had already secured permits and completed horizontal development for the 69-home community. BE Homes will stay on as construction partner to complete the buildout by this June. The community is named for the 11 oak trees situated throughout the community and in the central park area, all of which will be preserved by the builders.

The subdivision will consist of 35 three-bedroom two-bathroom single-family detached houses and 34 two- and three-bedroom townhomes ranging from 1,335 to 1,650 square feet. The townhomes will be rear-alley loaded and each will have a 2-car garage. Amenities include a courtyard, greenspace, playground and sizable dog park.

Rents at Quinn homes typically range from $1,600 to $2,500 for a 1,750-square-foot to 2,500-square-foot home and include maintenance and lawn service. Eleven Oaks will be the company’s second BTR community in Florida, following the Duval Landing townhouse community in Jacksonville.

The build-to-rent company was formed right before COVID-19 entered the U.S. and subsequently heightened the public’s desire to live in more spacious units. CEO Richard Ross participated in a BTR panel discussion last month at the National Association of Real Estate Editors 2021 Conference in Miami, where he announced the company closed a $900 million strategic investment led by its primary shareholder, Conversant Capital.

That cash infusion has allowed Quinn to accelerate its growth. In the last month, the company closed four other deals in Georgia and the Carolinas. Combined with Eleven Oaks, these acquisitions will increase Quinn’s portfolio by more than 50%, to nearly 2,300 homes across 17 sites.

At the conference, panelist Todd LaRue, managing director of RCLCO, said purpose-built rental homes make up about 10% of the nation’s housing supply. On average, from 2008 to 2020, 29,000 BTR homes were built annually, he said, adding that number will likely double over the next five years.

RCLCO projects there will be demand for 2.5 million new single-family rental units over the next decade. New-build rental communities will account for about 709,000 homes, according to the data. And Central Florida is one of the hottest new markets for BTR development.

ResiBuilt, another Atlanta-based BTR firm, launched a regional expansion across the Southeast this year, opening a Florida division in Orlando led by former Craft Homes executive Richard Maddalena. ResiBuilt has applied to Osceola County for approvals for a 554-home subdivision on Hickory Tree Road. So far, the company has BFR projects in the development in Wildwood and Tampa Bay and even more planned in markets such as Jacksonville, New Smyrna Beach, Naples and Sarasota. ResiBuilt is even designing a new product line specifically for the Florida market.

Arizona-based Christopher Todd Communities will enter the market this year with one of its signature single-story rental communities built by Taylor Morrison Homes on Narcoossee Road. Curve Development, also based in Arizona, has two BTR projects in the pipeline in Harmony West and Villages of Minneola.

National players, such as D.H.I. Communities and American Homes 4Rent, also have multiple projects underway in the region. Local builders, such as Boyd Development, are also getting a piece of the action. Boyd is planning a 91-unit luxury townhome BTR community in the Hamlin area of Horizon West.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261, or tweet me at @byLauraKinsler. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.