RKW Expands BTR Management Portfolio

An aerial shot of Crossings at NoDa. Image courtesy of RKW Residential

RKW Residential is expanding its build-to-rent management portfolio in the southeastern U.S. with the addition of more than 1,400 BTR units to its community management assignments. This latest move will leave RKW with upwards of 5,000 BTR units under management or consulting.

The Charlotte, N.C.,-based company was an early adopter of the BTR market segment and consulted on its first project in 2018. The newest BTR assignments are located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida and come from new and existing clients in Sun Belt states, where developers are moving quickly to meet demand.

Hopper Communities, a Charlotte-based developer that focuses on properties in the Carolinas and Austin, Texas, is a new client that has hired RKW to manage three BTR communities in the Charlotte market: the 88-unit Crossings at NoDa, the 49-unit Enderly Towns and the 89-unit Eastland.

RKW also expanded its relationships with several existing clients, including Mandrake Capital Partners, developer of Easthaven, a 143-unit property in Pooler, Ga.; Stellar Communities, developer of Havens at Central Park, a 158-unit property in Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and Sands Cos., developer of Argent Cottages, a 285-unit community in Hardeeville, S.C. RKW manages the full portfolio of Sands, a Myrtle Beach, S.C.,-based developer.

Other properties added to RKW’s portfolio include:

• Affinity Wendell, developed by Barings, a 172-unit community in Wendell, N.C., within the Raleigh, N.C., market.
• Avery Place, developed by Collett Capital, a 68-unit community in Charlotte.
• Beaumont Oaks at Porters Neck, developed by Logan Homes, a 204-unit property in Wilmington, N.C.
• Beaumont Oaks at Porters Neck II, developed by Logan Homes and RAS Realty Partners, a 34-unit property in Wilmington, N.C.
• Zora University, developed by Suncrest Real Estate, a 108-unit community in Charlotte.
• 15 at Heron, developed by Wakefield Residential, an affiliate of LM Sandler & Sons Inc., a 15-unit property in Longs, S.C.
• Southrail Townhomes, developed by Westplan Investors, a 53-unit community in Charlotte.

Growing footprint

The expansion comes about two years after residential technology company Alfred acquired RKW Residential. At that time, RKW’s portfolio was comprised of 30,000 single-family and multifamily rental units in key markets such as Charlotte, Miami and Atlanta, including 2,000 BTR units. RKW’s management and consulting portfolio now includes upwards of 35,000 units across eight states.

In August 2022, RKW expanded its management portfolio with the addition of 13 new communities comprising more than 2,800 units. At that time, the company entered several new markets, including Ashville and Concord, N.C., and Huntsville, Ala. Two of the properties added, the Lorrel in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., and the NinetyNine in Raleigh, were owned by LM Sandler & Sons.

Earlier that year, RKW expanded in Florida, adding more than 1,500 units to its management throughout the state.