EverGreen Living president Creighton Call anticipates strong demand in Southeast markets.
Davidson Holding Co., the parent company of Huntsville, Ala.-based Davidson Homes, is expanding into single-family rentals with the launch of EverGreen Living, a single-family rental community construction and management venture based in the Southeast. The company has appointed Creighton Call, an industry veteran with 13 years of acquisition and development experience, as president of EverGreen Living.
“EverGreen Living marks an exciting new phase in the expansion of our company,” says Adam Davidson, founder, president, and CEO of Davidson Holding Co. “We are eager to serve the growing number of people who want to live in new, expertly built rental homes in neighborhoods where the quality of life is exceptional. The build-for-rental industry will see significant growth in the future as young families and baby boomers look for housing alternatives that offer the best of Class A apartments and the amenities of living in single-family homes in resort-style communities.”
Davidson has already purchased land in Huntsville for a single-family rental development, and plans to build 4,000 homes over the next five years, at the rate of 800 to 1,000 per year, across Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
“We’re in the process of building our pipeline, so we’re focused on markets that Davidson Homes currently builds in,” says Creighton Call. “We’re leveraging the visions and the construction teams, the purchasing teams, and the marketing teams that are in place in Huntsville, Nashville, Raleigh, and Atlanta. We’re super focused on product development and sourcing land where we can ensure the entitlements to develop these kinds of communities.”
According to Call, the single-family rental community model—already successful in Arizona and Colorado markets—is poised for success in the Southeast, owing to its strong demographic trends, including job and population growth. In addition, with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, he anticipates that renters will show a greater desire for open, private spaces.
“We really think [our renter] is going to be someone that migrates from larger apartment communities to something that we’re offering that’s more private. You have four separate walls, you can entertain in your backyard, you can host picnics and cookouts and gatherings, you can have pets, you can let your children run out in your backyard,” Call says. “We really think it’s the next evolution of moving out of the apartments into a single-family detached home, and we also think it appeals to baby boomers who are looking to downsize and go to a maintenance-free, lock-and-leave lifestyle.”
Each community will feature 150 to 250 homes with private yards, hard-surface and tile floors, and stainless steel appliances. Amenities will include clubhouses, walking trails, and swimming pools. Rents will be between $1,200 and $2,000 per month for homes ranging from one to three bedrooms and 800 to 1,400 square feet in size.
“We’re excited to bring this product to market in the Southeast,” Call says. “I think Davidson Homes has been a leader in delivering a quality product, and we’re going to leverage that team and that product. We’ll be in some of the best growth markets in the Southeast and provide just a really fantastic lifestyle opportunity for folks who are looking for the convenience of a rental, but also the privacy and the benefits that come with single-family detached housing.”