Crescent, Heitman Open Atlanta-Area BTR Community
The property is coming online as part of a $345 million joint venture.
Crescent Communities, an affiliate of Sumitomo Forestry, and Heitman have opened the first rental homes at HARMON Cedar Run, a build-to-rent property comprising 151 units in Lawrenceville, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta.
HARMON is Crescent’s BTR brand and Cedar Run marks the first such property across metro Atlanta. All images courtesy of Crescent Communities 
The build-to-rent property comprises either three- or four-bedroom layouts across its units. 
HARMON Cedar Run features townhomes and detached single-family homes.
This property marks the first HARMON community to take shape in metro Atlanta. The partners acquired the site earlier this year as part of their $345 million joint venture, which supports the development of Crescent’s HARMON-branded projects across Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
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DRB Group, also an affiliate of Sumitomo Forestry, serves as general contractor, carrying on a trend whereby institutional investors team up with homebuilders to bolster their presence within the BTR sector.
Another such example is Laseter Development Group, a joint venture of JP Morgan, Georgia Capital and Paran Homes that focuses on BTR development throughout the Southeast, including Atlanta.
An Atlanta-area BTR property
HARMON Cedar Run occupies 38 acres at 1575 Cedars Road SE, about 36 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta and some 12 miles from Interstate 85 and U.S. Route 29 run within 12 miles. Employers such as Northside Hospital Gwinnett, Primerica, Georgia Gwinnett College and Publix operate within about 5 miles away.
The community encompasses three- and four-bedroom townhomes and single-family homes. Amenities include a swimming pool, as well as pickleball and basketball courts.
Crescent Communities has $7.2 billion in residential and commercial investments and developments including 15,300 multifamily and BTR units across the U.S. Heitman, for its part, had 48.5 billion in assets under management across the globe at the end of June, according to its website.
BTR completions ease, occupancy ticks up
Developers brought online more than 1,900 rental homes year-to-date through October throughout Greater Atlanta, according to Yardi Matrix data. For reference, the figure for the entirety of last year clocked in at nearly 3,200 homes. Although completions eased, the BTR pipeline still had some 4,400 units under construction as of October.
With many residents priced out of ownership, rental housing demand remains resilient. Occupancy rates ticked up 1.1 percent year-over-year across the market in August, settling at 94.7 percent, according to a recent Yardi Matrix report. The index was 20 basis points below the national average.
Developers active in the market include Trilogy Investment Co. and Pinnacle Partners. Last month, the duo broke ground on REV3 at Avondale East, a 46-unit BTR project in Decatur, Ga. First units are set to come online next summer.
