Here at Patch of Land, we love to see developers use creative and sustainable design to repurpose old properties and help build communities. Recently, there have been a lot of great efforts to revitalize urban neighborhoods by rehabilitating distressed properties and building up residential density within the urban core.
Today we will be highlighting two multifamily developments from the ULI Case Studies that have successfully mixed historic rehab with new construction, modern design principles and amenities, and large common areas. As a result, both locations have become highly sought-after rental communities that are accessible to or in the heart of downtown.
Sofia Lofts
Sofia Lofts in San Diego has 17 units and offers a mix of newly constructed duplexes, flats, and studios, anchored by Cursive Labs, a tech incubator who repurposed a three-bedroom home into a boutique office space.
Sofia Lofts is a great example of a small-scale, urban-infill development trend that is transforming the United States. Developers have been taking vacant and underperforming land and rehabilitating it for productive use.
“Our target is urban, infill sites. In these beautiful metropolitan neighborhoods, there is so much character and culture. They are waiting to be revitalized,” says Soheil Nakhshab, developer of Sofia Lofts and principal of Nakhshab Development and Design (NDD) Inc.
Nakhshab and his business-partner brother Nima’s aim with this complex was to recreate the feel of a multigenerational household and connect the community and residents through a central courtyard. The inclusion of an office space allows for constant stimulation as employees can use the courtyard to have lunch, hold business meetings, and even use the outdoor screen for presentations.
Mercantile Place
Mercantile Place in downtown Dallas was a large-scale urban revitalization project that took several historic but vacant office towers and created an entirely new neighborhood with four separate and diverse buildings, resulting in a total of 704 apartments.
With the help of Forest City Realty Trust and the city issuing tax increment financing (TIF), this major, mixed-use project was successfully financed and became a key player in the renaissance of downtown Dallas.
“Be sure you have a partner that wants to see urban development,” says James Truitt, senior vice president of Forest City Texas, “The city of Dallas has been a great partner.”
If you’re thinking about rehabilitating a property, let Patch of Land be your partner to fund your next project! We are committed to connecting real estate developers with online real estate investors who want to diversify their portfolio via crowdfinancing or P2P Lending. Read our Borrower Handbook for more information on how you can use crowdfunding to help finance your project.
Read the original article here.
