Madison Communities Makes 1st BTR Purchase
The developer paid $40 million for this Northern Florida asset.
Madison Communities has completed its first build-to-rent property acquisition: The Collective at Archer, a 172-unit asset in Gainesville, Fla. LCA Development sold the asset for $39.5 million, public records show.
The community came online in 2023, two years after Ameris Bank had issued a $26.2 million construction loan, due to mature in 2027, according to Yardi Matrix data. Madison assumed the debt, now held by Greystone, public records also reveal.
Although the current deal marks Madison’s first BTR acquisition, it doesn’t represent the developer’s first foray in the sector. The company already has several such projects underway across markets like Charlotte, N.C., Charleston, S.C., and Savannah-Hilton Head, Ga.
The Collective at Archer, up close
The Collective at Archer occupies nearly 24 acres at 7000 SW 91st St. Units consist of one- to three-bedroom floorplans spread throughout one- and two-story detached cottages with private, fenced-in yards. Common-area amenities include a swimming pool, a gym and outdoor lounge spaces, as well as a clubhouse.
The property’s occupancy rate clocked in at 96 percent, 100 basis points above the BTR national average reported by Yardi Matrix in June. Moreover, The Collective at Archer is the only stabilized build-to-rent property within the Gainesville market.
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The Alachua County community is roughly 10 miles southwest of the city center. Interstate 75 runs about 6 miles away. Major nearby employers include HCA, which will deliver a $231 million hospital next year, as well as UF Health and the University of Florida.
Alachua County’s population has grown by more than 22 percent since 2010, with projections further increasing it by another 16 percent across the next two decades. Gainesville’s medical, research and academic fields have fueled this emerging market’s expansion.
BTR investment across North Central Florida has kept a steady pace, with two build-to-rent assets of 50 or more units trading during the first seven months of 2025—a figure identical to the one recorded during the same period of last year, Yardi Matrix data shows. Notably, D.R. Horton sold three of these four properties.
