HUNTSVILLE, AL - Watermark Residential, a wholly owned affiliate of Thompson Thrift and one of the nation's leading multifamily developers, announced the acquisition of 22.5 acres of land in the Huntsville suburb of Madison, Ala. The company will develop a Class A garden-style multifamily community on the land, consisting of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes. The company plans to build the apartments in a single phase, completing them by late 2021.
Located at 1150 Balch Road, the site is in the midst of a thriving suburban neighborhood. The 550-acre mixed-use Clift Farm development is immediately adjacent to the property, which is within walking distance of a newly developed Publix-anchored retail center, as well as multiple dining locations. The development will be the company's second multifamily community in the Huntsville area. Watermark at Bridge Street Town Centre, a 244-unit Class A multifamily community located at 6854 Governors West NW was completed in 2019 and is currently 86 percent occupied.
"The Huntsville area is experiencing tremendous population growth and demand for quality multifamily options continues to far outpace the available supply," said Paul Thrift, president and chief executive officer of Thompson Thrift and Watermark Residential. "Huntsville is expected to soon surpass both Birmingham and Montgomery to become the largest city in Alabama. Watermark Residential will help fill the need for quality housing with our Madison development."
Watermark's planned multifamily community will consist of nine three-story buildings and a clubhouse. Community amenities will include a 24-hour fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, a resort-quality swimming pool with cabana and a "bark park."
According to U.S. News & World Report, Huntsville is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Alabama and the 11th best place to live in the country. The city generated more than 62 percent of jobs in the state during the past decade and continues to experience an influx of investment, including:
- Toyota and Mazda are scheduled to begin production next year in their new $1.6 billion assembly plant that will generate 4,000 direct and 5,500 indirect jobs.
- Facebook invested $750 million in a local data center.
- Aerojet Rocketdyne recently completed construction on an advanced rocket manufacturing facility that will soon be home to 800 employees.
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced a significant expansion at the nearby U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal with the addition of 1,350 employees by 2021, as well as an additional 4,000-5,000 added jobs in the coming years when the FBI's Huntsville investment is expected to reach $1 billion.
Josh Purvis, managing partner for Watermark Residential, added, "Huntsville is a perfect match for Watermark, which seeks to develop exceptional multifamily communities in areas of high job and population growth where occupancy and rental rates are stable or expanding. We look forward to commencing construction and delivering another exceptional community to the city."
The Huntsville project is the first of six to be funded by the Watermark 3G Development Fund II which closed in late 2019.