MIAMI—Locally-based Global City Development, partnering with the alternative investments platform Leste, has launched Cassa Life, a build-to-rent (BTR) housing initiative focusing on developing 10,000 new homes and townhomes in approximately 30 communities over the next 5-7 years.

The initiative will focus on creating tech-enabled communities lots of amenities within a 30-minute drive of the urban cores throughout the southeast, Texas and Washington, DC. Cassa Life will be led by Adam Adler, a seasoned real estate executive, who was most recently a senior executive with Miami-based Terra.

Global City will invest about $2.5 billion in partnership with Leste, which manages high performance liquid and illiquid assets from offices in Miami, London, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Cassa Life will feature 200-500 highly amenitized homes per community, with units ranging from 1,200 square feet to 2,000 square feet. Each community will offer programming similar to what is offered in co-living and student housing residences, targeting the prime renter group of 25- to 44-year olds.

The team has already closed on two properties in the burgeoning tech hub markets of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee, providing sufficient acreage for about 900 homes and townhomes. Construction on that initial phase is expected to begin in Q1 2020.

Brian Pearl, principal of Global City Development, tells GlobeSt.com that Raleigh/Durham and Nashville were chosen to launch the effort due to their heavy concentration of tech and knowledge jobs, which attract millennials. He says the first two communities should open in about 18 months.

"It comes down to mobility," Pearl says. "Our target work force is very mobile, and they don't know where they will be in five to six years. Living in these houses and not have to commit, allows mobility. We feel it's an opportunity to move up or down depending on circumstances and being able to provide a nice experience for them and their families."

Adler says Cassa Life will initially be looking at tech-oriented cities in 10 markets, including Charlotte, Austin, Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tampa, Orlando, Savannah, Charleston and West Palm Beach.

"Cassa Life is a bold initiative that will provide the convenience of spacious single-family living in a flexible rental format, removing the extensive commitment and costs of traditional home ownership," Pearl said.

Instant Insights /

Global City Debuts Build-to-Rent Offering

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