Work starts on BTR Community

In St. Augustine, Fla., Third Lake Development has started work on The Cottage at St. Augustine, a 250-unit build-to-rent (BTR) community.

“St. Augustine remains one of the most dynamic housing markets in Northeast Florida,” said Robert Hogan, President of Build-to-Rent (BTR) at Third Lake Development. “We are excited to have construction in progress at The Cottages at St. Augustine and to see the vision for this community come to life. Upon completion, we believe this community will be a great addition to St. Augustine, providing residents with a housing experience that blends the comfort and privacy of a single-family home with the flexibility and convenience of renting.”

Located a close to Downtown, the Cottages at St. Augustine will provide convenient access to Interstate 95, to beaches, museums, and historic landmarks.

“The Cottages at St. Augustine represents another step in our strategy of developing high-quality communities in markets supported by strong demographic trends and long-term growth,” said Luke Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Third Lake Development.

The project team includes Third Lake Development as developer, CBI Construction as general contractor, Parker Mynchenberg & Associates as civil engineer, Nequette Architecture & Design as architect and Focus Design Interiors as interior designer.

Community amenities include a resort-style swimming pool with cabanas and outdoor lounge areas, a clubhouse with co-working space and private work pods, a fitness center with yoga room, pickle ball courts, dog park and pet spa. Residences is set to feature private fenced-in yard.

Build-to-rent communities have gained popularity because they offer many of the characteristics of a single-family home, such as backyards, garages, neighborhood schools and walkability found in communities of for-sale housing. As mortgage rates rise and affordability poses a big hurdle to consumers, BTR housing offers an option in the housing market.

“All those kinds of operations need to be designed properly at the beginning, This is different from other for sale builder’s product,” said In Ting Qiao, Ceo of the Houston, based Wan Bridge building organization.

“We started our Build to Rent and property management business in 2019. We purchased another site in Dallas, and we started in Austin this year, and now have 39 projects in our pipeline,” said Qiao in a 2021 interview.

Arizona-based Christopher Todd Capital has active developer of build-to-rent (BTR) communities in Texas.