HSL Buys 50-Acres with Entitlements for 378 Build-for-Rent Lots in Marana

MARANA, ARIZONA, March 8, 2023 – HSL Properties of Tucson (Omar Mireles, President) has purchased 50 acres at Thornydale and Tangerine Roads in Marana, with entitlements for 378 build-for-rent lots for $9.45 million ($25,000 per lot). The seller, H2T Partners, LLC of Tucson (Donald Hom, manager) had the property zoned to Specific Plan Marana with several concept plans approved over a four-year period.

The entitlements for build-to-rent lots are what attracted HSL Properties to the deal.  This will be HSL’s first build-for-rent community, as they are best known for their luxury Encantada apartment communities in Tucson, Phoenix, Casa Grande, and Yuma.

This will be HSL’s first build-to-suit project.

Encantada Saguaro National in the Vail area and The Flin in Downtown Tucson are two of their latest apartment communities to open. Encantada Twin Peaks, just one interstate exchange away from this new project, is scheduled to open Spring 2023.

The demand for build-for-rent is being driven in large part by millennials with new careers, as a substantial portion of their paychecks goes to pay student loans. This makes it difficult to save up the traditional down payment for a house with a median sales price of $359,900 in Pima County now.

There is no denying that rents are higher, and build-for-rent communities can charge a premium for the highly amenitized homes. Despite the increase in rent, higher interest rates over the course of the last 12 months make the cost of renting a home more appealing or affordable than buying. Under the current market, first-time home buyers are largely forced to sit on the sidelines due to the higher home prices and interest rates—combined with student loan and consumer debt—making build-for-rent a nice option.

But build-for-rent communities also appeal to those ready to downsize, and to independent seniors wanting easy lock-and-leave living with security. With the gap between buying and renting continuing to widen, 2023 is on track to seeing a boom in  build-for-rent developments.

Kit Donley of Donley Commercial Real Estate handled the sale for the seller and can be reached at 520.907.0955 for more information.

To learn more, see RED Comp #10489.