Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC has opened its first modular apartment community in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The Ltd. Findlay property consists of modular structural pieces built in the firm’s Modern Living Solutions factory in Knox, Pennsylvania, and assembled on-site.
The project encompasses 312 units within six buildings, including one, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 662 square feet to 1,373 square feet. Once assembled, the building resembles a traditional garden-style multifamily development.
Each apartment consists of two to four modules built at the MLS factory and then driven to the community site and assembled, said Andy Mest, managing director of development for MLS at Greystar when the community began pre-leasing earlier this year. “This allows us to deliver an attainable product that is also more sustainable due to reduced construction waste."
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Mest has helped develop Greystar’s US modular business after successfully leading its modular efforts in Europe. Ltd. Findlay was built roughly 40% faster than Greystar’s traditional projects and 10% cheaper than a nearby multifamily project, Mest said. The on-site construction required a third of the company’s standard workforce and generated 90% less waste, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal about the community.
Rents at Ltd. Findlay are lower than typical multifamily housing in the area, according to Greystar. Unlike most existing attainable housing in the United States, however, each Ltd. community and apartment includes property-wide high-speed internet, smart locks and resident apps that streamline maintenance requests and guest access. Community amenities include a pool and fitness center.
The modular concept is thought to be a potential solution to the nation’s housing affordability crisis, but only a handful of companies are developing modular construction capabilities in the United States. Developers such as Related and Amherst are among the major companies that have experimented with modular, and Marriott also has begun using modular to build some of its new hotels, according to WSJ.
The concept traditionally has been limited to lower-budget or emergency housing applications, WSJ said. Proponents say this type of building can be completed faster using fewer workers and with materials that can be purchased at a bulk discount, reducing overall costs. However, modular presents its own set of challenges, including the cost of transporting pieces, difficulties with financing and getting regulatory approvals, said the article.
Over the past decade, the annual market share of modular construction has more than tripled to 6.6%, according to the Modular Building Institute. A shortage in the construction workforce could spur additional growth in the modular concept, according to WSJ. McKinsey Global Institute projects that modular construction revenues globally could grow to as much as $1.1 trillion by 2040 from $180 billion in 2022.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
