Last week, we sat down with APOGEE President, Kassie Inness, to discuss one of the newest developments in our pipeline: Ravello 2, a second phase of our existing development Ravello 192.
Q: Tell us a little about the project as a whole.
A: We had great reception to our Phase 1 apartminiums. Not only do people love the all-inclusive pricing model, but this is also a great product type for someone looking to “right size” into an apartment home. These will have high quality finishes and attached garages, and the community in itself has a very homy, subdivision feel with private streets and drives.
Q: Was demand another factor that went into wanting to do Phase 2?
A: Yes, demand was very high following the completion of Phase 1. Ravello 192 leased up very well, and people are looking for more opportunities to right-size into a home like these. The benefits of the all-inclusive pricing are also very attractive to this demographic; our residents write one check every month that covers rent, lawn maintenance, snow removal, water/sewer/trash, wifi, pet rent, etc.
Q: Will there be any difference in the two phases?
A: The interior and exteriors of Phase 1 and 2 will be very similar – we chose to utilize the same high-end quartz countertops, luxury vinyl plank flooring, 9-foot ceilings, etc. We upgraded some of the fixtures and pendant lighting as well. In terms of layout of the buildings, we received great feedback from our existing residents that the “big house” concept used in designing Phase 1 (stacked apartments with 360-degree entries) was less desirable than a more vertical, individual townhome build. This includes entries all along one façade and helps with noise attenuation as there won’t be any two homes vertically stacked. This influenced the design and layout for this new phase of the development.
Q: What kind of timeline are we looking at for Phase 2?
A: If everything goes according to plan with entitlement (and taking spring storms into account), we are planning to break ground in May of 2021. Our goal is to have the entire project completed in late summer of 2022, with the first building being delivered in 10 months from project start. There will be new buildings delivered every 45-60 days following the opening of the first building, allowing for phased lease up during construction.
Q: If someone at Phase 1 wants to renew but move into phase two, is that possible? Is it a separate entity in terms of renewals, etc.?
A: Our property management partner (Seldin Company) will stay on for Phase 2, as they knocked it out of the park with Phase 1. There is, however, a slightly different ownership entity between the two phases – the investor set differs. However, there will absolutely be crossover between the two phases. This is very much so a cross-collateralized project, and if someone who currently lives in Phase 1 would like to renew into a home in Phase 2, that option is certainly available to them.
As I mentioned before, we were able to use helpful feedback from the residents in Phase 1 to develop these new homes, so it is very likely that there will be residents moving from one phase to the other. For example, we heard that the existing residents desired bigger bedrooms and more greenspace. These new homes take all of this into account.
Q: What are some of the advantages of building onto an existing product/development?
A: Feedback from customers is definitely a huge advantage. In addition to that, initial lease up is much easier since it’s not technically a brand-new concept, just an extension of one. From the investor standpoint, in the event our partners would like to sell, an extension positions the development in the market better with more units (186 units total). Since Phase 1 sold out so quickly (specifically the three-bedrooms), we found that lots of families and empty nesters wanted to live in this kind of product type and were able to cater the new product mix to fit these desires.
Stay tuned for more information about this exciting development, and listen to our podcast (linked below) for more information about Ravello 2!
https://anchor.fm/realestate-radio/episodes/Ep–8-Breaking-Ground-with-APOGEE—Ravello-2-eq90b6
