Alpaca Real Estate Seeds $300M BTR Strategy
The firm is teaming up with two partners on a 150-townhome community that will feature a rent-to-own option.
A 150-townhome build-to-rent community in Dallas will be the first project to launch a $300 million residential strategy by alternative investment management firm Alpaca Real Estate. The New York-based firm’s plan is to assemble a portfolio of more than 1,000 new construction rental homes in markets with strong population growth, robust household income, best-in-class school districts and access to employment and recreation.
New BTR communities are increasing in popularity across the United States with Dallas placing second in the top 20 metros for BTR completions last year, according to a new RentCafe report that leverages Yardi Matrix data.
Launched in late September as a private equity real estate platform by Alpaca VC, an alternative investment management firm, ARE is led by co-founders and commercial real estate investment veterans Daniel Carr and Peter Weiss. Carr was a principal at Ares Management focused primarily on securing joint venture equity for investments during his 10-year tenure. Weiss worked at private equity firm Prospect Ridge, most recently as a managing director responsible for real estate acquisitions and investment management. They previously worked together in the Real Estate & Lodging investment banking division at J.P. Morgan.
A joint venture of ARE and LyvWell Communities acquired the entitled parcel and simultaneously entered into a forward purchase agreement with Southern Impression Homes, which will develop the homes at an agreed-upon fixed cost.
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The Dallas property is located near major transportation nodes, lifestyle and entertainment offerings and multiple employment centers. The townhomes are expected to consist of two- to -four-bedroom residences ranging in size from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet. Each home will have an automated technology package, curated in conjunction with Alpaca VC’s portfolio of more than 100 companies. Resident-focused community amenities will also be included in the development.
The community in Dallas will also include a rent-to-own component for a portion of the homes, which will be managed by a rent-to-own operator. The partners noted the rent-to-own option offers an innovative and accretive overlay to the strategy. It also creates net new housing in an area where there is significant demand for BTR residences.
Earlier BTR Deals
Both LyvWell Communities and Southern Impression Homes have been active in the growing BTR niche in recent years.
In December, LyvWell Communities announced its latest BTR development in Tampa, Fla., where it is building 115 townhomes in the Deer Valley district. The firm, which focuses on residential and multifamily development, investment and management in the Southeast and Texas, acquired Chamberlain Pines Townhomes from a joint venture of Blaze Capital Partners and Cross Lake Partners for $54 million in November 2022. The 22-building, 132-unit property, located within 25 miles of downtown Charleston, S.C., was completed in 2022.
Southern Impression Homes, a Jacksonville, Fla., homebuilder, was tapped by Crescent Communities and Pretium in March 2022 to develop Harmon Legacy Trail, a BTR community in Nokomis, Fla. The property is located next to a more than 20-mile path that stretches from downtown Sarasota, Fla., to downtown Venice, Fla. Harmon Legacy Trail was the third project in a $1 billion commitment to build BTR communities by Crescent and Pretium.
