Aspen Heights Partners, a nine-year-old developer based in Austin best known for its student housing projects, is expanding into multifamily and condo development and construction in several markets.
The company has raised over $1 billion in capital, and is seeking land and equity partners to develop and build six multifamily housing buildings in metros with high demand and occupancy rates. Its initial targets are Denver, Raleigh, Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Orlando.
“We have always believed there are opportunities in the Millennial sector, and increasing opportunities with baby boomers, more of whom are becoming renters,” says Kevin Wisdom, Aspen Heights’ Executive Vice President, in an interview with BD+C.
Among the eight projects that Aspen Heights currently has under construction is The Independent, a 58-story multifamily high rise that, at 658 feet, would be the tallest building in Austin and the tallest residential structure west of the Mississippi River. The $300 million tower will include 370 luxury condos and 13,500 sf of retail space, as well as a dog park, children’s area, pool and spa, fitness center, yoga and barre studio, and theater.
Also under construction is a 22-story building with 196 apartments on 8th and Nueces Streets in Austin, scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2016; and a project in South Austin comprised of six 3- and 4-story buildings with a total of 345 garden-style apartments (pictured).
Also under construction is a 22-story building with 196 apartments on 8th and Nueces Streets in Austin, scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2016; and a project in South Austin comprised of six 3- and 4-story buildings with a total of 345 garden-style apartments. It begins leasing in late 2016.
The firm’s move into multifamily is occurring as this sector’s construction activity continues to drive the nation’s residential building activity. The number of privately owned housing units started in structures with five or more units rose by 21.3% in November to an annualized rate of 398,000 units, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates. Multifamily permits were up 38.9% to 539,000 units, and multifamily completions jumped 25.4% to an annualized 306,000 units.
But Aspen Heights is entering a very crowded field. In Greater Atlanta, 11,000 new multifamily apartments are underway and 11,500 more are in planning stages. Alliance Residential, for example, just started construction on Broadstone Ridge, a five-story mixed-use development within walking distance of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area and the new Atlanta Braves stadium. When it opens in 2017, Broadstone Ridge will feature 277 apartments and 8,000 sf of ground-floor retail space.
Aspen Heights reportedly has put a parcel of land under contract in either the Buckhead or Midtown neighborhood of Atlanta for a 250-unit high rise. Wisdom is quoted as saying that this would be one of two multifamily projects that his firm wants to build in ATL.
Wisdom tells BD+C that his company “has a preference” for high-density multifamily in “urban-pedestrian environments.” However, it is also looking for infill opportunities that might not necessarily be high rises.
As for competition, Greg Henry, Aspen Heights’ founder and CEO, says that his firm believes it can apply its student housing expertise to multifamily, which presumably would include open floor plans, natural lighting, and upscale kitchens and bathrooms, with the homes themselves integrated into walkable urban areas.
Wisdom tells BD+C that his firm’s products will differentiate themselves by their architectural design and services. Among the design firms Aspen Heights Partners is working with are Merriman Associates/Architects, Rohde & Associates, and GFF in Dallas.
Long term, Aspen Heights Partners has aspirations of being a national multifamily developer and builder, he says.
Related Stories
| Sep 2, 2014
Melbourne's tallest residential tower will have 'optically transformative façade'
Plans for Melbourne's tallest residential tower have been released by Elenberg Fraser Architects. Using an optically transformative façade and botanical aesthetic, the project seeks to change the landscape of Australia's Victoria state.
| Sep 1, 2014
Ranked: Top federal government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Clark Group, Fluor, and HOK top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest federal government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 25, 2014
'Vanity space' makes up large percentage of world's tallest buildings [infographic]
Large portions of some skyscrapers are useless space used to artificially enhance their height, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Aug 21, 2014
Apartment construction hits 25-year high
The boost to apartment construction suggests that job gains are encouraging the creation of households.
| Aug 19, 2014
Goettsch Partners unveils design for mega mixed-use development in Shenzhen [slideshow]
The overall design concept is of a complex of textured buildings that would differentiate from the surrounding blue-glass buildings of Shenzhen.
| Aug 18, 2014
Seaside luxury: Arquitectonica, Melo Group introduce Aria on the Bay condo tower in Miami
Melo Group has launched sales for Aria on the Bay, its new 647-unit luxury condominium in Miami. The bayfront condo will overlook Margaret Pace Park, Biscayne Bay and the Miami Beach skyline.
| Aug 11, 2014
Will Alsop's funky 'high-rise on stilts' will be built over an apartment building in London
South London's riverfront will soon be graced by one of Will Alsop's eccentric designs: a curved apartment tower on purple stilts.
| Aug 6, 2014
Multifamily Sector Giants: Younger consumers, Sunbelt renaissance energize multifamily housing [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Multifamily housing construction is expected to remain relatively strong throughout 2014. Starts picked up in 2013, with completions due to catch up this year, finally approaching pre-recession levels, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 30, 2014
German students design rooftop solar panels that double as housing
Students at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences designed a solar panel that can double as living space for the Solar Decathlon Europe.
