By: Maria Williams
Employing a hands-on investment and development strategy, Los Angeles-based real estate firm The Latigo Group (TLG) specializes in delivering high-quality, mixed-use and residential ground-up developments. The company works with world-class architects, design professionals and consultants to create innovative spaces that enhance the fabric of communities.
Creating peaceful sanctuaries in distinctive, high-end apartment communities that residents can call home without passing the price of luxury on to renters is a challenge that has confounded developers across the country, particularly in recent years with uncertainty spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, TLG has been able to prioritize delivering an upscale living experience for residents through an active approach that immerses the company in all phases of asset acquisition, planning, entitlement, construction, operations and disposition.
Although TLG’s approach requires added front-end responsibility and time commitments for each project, it has afforded the company greater control over contract and cost variables and has allowed TLG to pioneer new developments in high-barrier-to-entry locales. This philosophy was instrumental when the developer started its first project in Florida at the end of 2016, which blossomed into a full portfolio.
“We had a deal in the pipeline in Miami Gardens that we were working on, so that was a launching pad. Then we started looking around more in Florida,” says TLG Co-Founder and Partner, Scott Whitaker. “We love the fundamentals in Florida, and then COVID hit and accelerated those fundamentals. We made our way around in all the different markets in Florida, buying off-market land deals and getting those entitled. We went from Miami to Orlando, to Lakeland, St. Augustine, Naples, Pasco County and Cape Coral.”
EXPANDING FOOTPRINT
As 2023 draws to a close, TLG is nearing completion on three projects that will be ready to welcome residents before the end of the year. On the site of a former county softball park in Kissimmee, the 384-unit Infield Apartments development is pre-leasing. Spanning 25 acres, Infield will bring four five-story buildings and one four-story building to the prime Orlando submarket, with access to nearby shopping, dining and entertainment destinations.
A variety of one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans will be available to residents. Included in the host of resort-style amenities are a restorative wellness room with a sauna and treatment rooms, co-working spaces with private offices and conference rooms and a gaming lounge with a golf simulator.
“We’re super excited about this property, because Infield Apartments will set a new bar for amenities for residents there,” TLG Co-Founder and Managing Partner Mark Maron says in a statement.
“And because the long-term outlook for the Orlando market is so favorable.”
On a sprawling 26.6 acres just east of Champions Gate in Davenport, a new luxury multifamily development, Lynwind, is nearing completion of its leasing phase. The project will host 384 units spread across six mid-rise buildings, each with smart technology integrated throughout. Lynwind will feature high-end amenities like a clubhouse, crystalline pool, fitness center, yoga studio and dog park. Additionally, 601 parking spaces will be added along major state roadways, the recently expanded Interstate 4 and Florida’s Turnpike offer regional connectivity in addition to its proximity to nearby entertainment and employment hubs.
In St. Augustine, the multifamily development Soluna will wrap up construction of 320 units by the end of 2023. Known as The Ancient City, St. Augustine is one of Florida’s first cities, and Soluna’s thoughtful mission-style architecture reflects the origins of the area inside the building’s continuity with modern interiors. Each resident will enjoy state-of-the-art apartment homes with chef-inspired kitchens and stainless-steel appliances, smart thermostats, keyless door entry and designer lighting packages.
CONTINUED GROWTH
In 2024, TLG will play a significant role in helping the rapidly growing city of Cape Coral meet its housing demands. The addition of 444 units at the Hadley development. Set on a picturesque 28-acre site in Southwest Florida’s largest city, Hadley will combine mid-rise units with nearby commercial services and recreation centers. By 2025, nearly 400 miles of residential and commercial developments plus amenities and premium features. Punctuates the change is a new community development that spans 13,000-square-foot clubhouse, large fitness center and wellness areas round out a robust residential experience.
With a goal of developing 10,000 high-quality units in the next five years, TLG will continue to remain nimble in its approach, prioritizing deals that are well-positioned in strategic markets around the country.
“We’re trying to deliver high quality products for people-to live in, with those budgets that cover quality amenities,” Whitaker says. “With Lynwind and Soluna, we have put into space planning a lot of things we’ve thought through. Lynwind’s smart technology, dog cold for cups, these spaces are tailored for those people to really start. And really high-quality design. That’s really what we’re trying to do—give people something that they can call home and where they feel good about being there.”
Published by: Nelly Chavez
