BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Christopher Todd, developer of Christopher Todd Communities – one of the nation’s Build-To-Rent (BTR) pioneers and innovators – is growing with plans to open three regional offices, starting in Florida, to support development of new luxury rental home communities. “We have invested considerable resources in planning our entry into regional markets whose demographics and migration trends support not only the need, but the desire, for our successful Build-To-Rent cottage-style homes,” said CEO Todd Wood.
The Arizona-based company had created thousands of one- and two-bedroom rental homes in the Phoenix, Ariz. metro market before completing the sale of its southwest portfolio in 2021. In 2019 the company entered a national joint venture with a publicly traded homebuilder, from which it successfully exited in 2022. The company hit the pause button on development for 18 months as the economy weakened, and it has utilized that time to plan its next chapter of delivering A New Way To Live® to some of the 34 percent of Americans who prefer to rent a home. “The time is right for this kind of expansion. Existing rental products are being absorbed, and more new rental options are in demand,” said Brent Long, Christopher Todd president of development.
With this 2024 growth plan, the company has hired Jeffrey Gersh as Florida regional president and Matthew Paul as the Florida regional vice president. Both gentlemen have extensive backgrounds in finance and real estate development. Gersh was most recently with Trez Capital Florida, and Paul was with Alta Terra Real Estate. While they will be officed in Boca Raton, their efforts will be focused on Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando, Sarasota, southwest Florida, Jacksonville, Treasure Coast, and the Space Coast. They will be evaluating land and development opportunities, including potentially buying existing BTR assets to rebrand and add to the portfolio. They will also be reviewing capital investment opportunities. Meanwhile, Christopher Todd will be opening a regional development office in Texas as well as one in Utah.
BTR has become the real estate niche that makes sense for thousands of people. Research shows that it is now $500 a month cheaper to rent than own, on average, in the US. While homeownership is unobtainable for many, they still want the privacy that a Christopher Todd BTR cottage-style home affords, including a private backyard, doggy doors, and in-home technology. The majority of the Christopher Todd prospective residents fall into the millennial category – born between 1981 and 1996 – who want to live in a home, maintenance-free. The community lifestyle amenities including resort pools, event lawn and dog park help create a social environment that connects the neighbors to one another, and the communities are professionally managed. Christopher Todd homes also eliminate the objections often associated with apartment living such as noise from above or below as every home is single-story.
Build-To-Rent delivers a housing solution for municipalities, especially currently in Florida, Texas, Utah, and Arizona where state to state in-migration is strong. That migration is driven by cost of living, employment, weather, and taxation, and boosted by the California outflow of long-term residents.
About Christopher Todd Communities
Christopher Todd Communities is a leader in the build-to-rent real estate sector, specializing in cottage-style luxury single-story smart homes located in amenitized, gated, planned communities designed specifically for renters. The company has a proprietary playbook for their branded, technology-forward homes with private backyards and doggy doors in professionally managed, smart-gated communities. www.ChristopherTodd.com
