Crescent Communities Breaks Ground on Crescent Gateway

By Joshua Ayers, Senior Editor

Orlando, Fla.—Crescent Communities has announced the ground breaking on its latest Orlando, Fla.-area luxury community, Crescent Gateway. The project, which is expected to complete in summer 2015, represents the first phase of the 80-acre Gateway development in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Spring, Fla.

“We’re excited about the future of the Gateway development,” says Jay Curran, vice president of Crescent’s multifamily group. “It fits Crescent’s model of creating an exceptional lifestyle experience, and with unmatched amenities and an ideal location, Crescent Gateway will set the stage.”

Additional phases of the Gateway development will incorporate 300,000 square feet of new office and retail space, with the possibility of a hotel as well. Curran says that plans for the future phases are still being finalized, with the master plan including a hotel component.  Crescent is already marketing the Gateway development for preleases and build-to suit opportunities.

Curran tells MHN that Crescent Gateway has been “designed to meet the rigorous criteria of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS),” adding that “Home Innovation NGBS Green Registered communities are verified to meet the criteria independently by third-party agents of Home Innovation Research labs.”

For phase one, Crescent Gateway’s 249 units will include an assortment of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as three-bedroom units and two-story townhomes with attached garages. Individual units will include upscale finishes like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, upmarket lighting and built-in USB ports. Amenities include a resort-style pool, outdoor fireplace, grilling area and indoor-outdoor café with flat-screen televisions, a yoga lawn and a dog park.

Orlando’s multifamily development is currently booming, but despite the plentiful supply in the market, Curran expects the units at Crescent Gateway to go quickly.

“We expect the units at Crescent Gateway to be absorbed at a rapid pace,” he says. “In the immediate submarket, very few high-end multifamily developments were delivered in the last cycle, and we expect future supply here to remain low. In addition, the Maitland/Altamonte office submarket is one of the largest submarkets in the metro Orlando area; with quality, major employers such as Adventist Health Systems, EA Sports and Charles Schwab already in place, we expect Crescent Gateway to be well-received in the market.”

Financing for the project has come from an equity investment from Crescent and CNL Growth Properties Inc, with construction financing by PNC Bank. Crescent Mulifamily Construction is providing general contracting and Charlan Brock and Associates was tapped as the project architect and DRMP as the civil engineer.  ZRS will handle management responsibilities.