Huntsville, Alabama, is bustling with new jobs, development, and an influx of new residents. Leading the charge to create multifamily homes and a fresh sense of community is Nadia Niakossary, director of development for RCP Cos. At the start of the year, the RCP team celebrated the groundbreaking of Wellory Living, a net-zero multifamily development in Huntsville’s MidCity District, a mixed-use project also led by Niakossary.
To learn more about the projects and what’s to come, MFE chatted with Niakossary.
MFE: How is the outlook for the multifamily development industry in Huntsville this year?
Niakossary: Last year was a big year for the multifamily development industry in Huntsville. Local apartment market fundamentals peaked in early 2022, the best in over 25 years. With the energetic job growth in Huntsville creating a severe housing shortage and high interest rates creating a barrier to entry, the multifamily market is sitting at a great place in the long run. One caveat that may affect the short-term absorption is the velocity of workforce moving here to fill the many jobs available.
MFE: What do you think the spring will bring for the industry and your market?
Niakossary: Absorption per property is generally slowing in Q1, with some exceptions in the market. Delays in inspections and systemic supply chain delays have slowed deliveries, often by months, which caused 2022 deliveries to be lower than expected. We believe this will result in more 2023 deliveries.
MFE: Wellory Living sounds like an exciting net-zero project. What’s your favorite aspect of it?
Niakossary: We believe it is the future of development. There are entire communities that are striving for net zero by 2030, so Wellory Living is a great way to introduce decarbonizing real estate and pave the way for this type of development in the Southeast. Investments in “impact” are meant to be meaningful ways in which to differentiate and distinguish the project from conventional multifamily projects. The project’s design takes a multipronged approach to sustainability and sets the stage for continued reduction in impacts during both construction and operations. This ranges from site and landscaping to construction waste management to commissioning and tenant engagement.
MFE: Can you share a bit about the other multifamily projects coming to MidCity District?
Niakossary: MidCity District currently has 540 units delivering this spring between Metronome at MidCity and Encore Living. And we recently broke ground on 330 micro units at Anthem House and 325 units at Wellory Living, both with a 2025 delivery.
MFE: Tell us about the MidCity District and how its reshaping Huntsville.
Niakossary: MidCity District is a creative and leading-edge 140-acre mixed-used development that in total represents $1.5 billion of public and private investment. The District is anticipated to include 350,000 square feet of retail, 400,000 square feet of office, 1,600 multifamily units, 650 hotel rooms, a 40-acre public park, among other amenities. Retail already in place includes Top Golf, Trader Joe’s, and REI among others, and creative programming through the Orion Amphitheater and The Camp has already left a favorable impression of the District.
The city of Huntsville's job growth has been outstanding over the last decade. There are 13,000 jobs available in the market and a low unemployment rate. As we develop the District, we ask ourselves, who are we trying to recruit to fill these jobs and how do they like to live? The answer is in the quality of life and the five-minute city. The next generation of workforce wants to spend minimal time in their cars and spend more on entertainment. That's what we're aiming to assemble, an 18-hour District with everything you need within walking distance.
MFE: How is multifamily folded into the project’s goals?
Niakossary: Having people live at the District will create a new dynamic for the retailers on-site. Having residential in a mixed-use environment generates more nighttime foot traffic. It’s also embedded into the main employment area of Huntsville so it will provide a suitable option for those who are moving to the city and want to live both in close proximity to their job and in an amenity-dense environment.
MFE: How has the District impacted the community so far?
Niakossary: We started at ground zero in 2017, so in five short years we've built a strong inclusive community at MidCity District. And it all started with The Camp: a former steakhouse outparcel that we demolished to build a placemaking container entertainment venue that can be ever changing based on the activations that are taking place. We wanted to create traffic flow to the District early on so we have an in-house hospitality team that programs and activates The Camp with live music, cultural events, a farmers market, multiple food concepts, and so much more.
The idea was to create fans, not customers, early in the development process so people come and hang out at The Camp and watch as the District comes out of the ground. We pride ourselves on truly having something for everyone at The Camp, and the community has adopted it as their own grounds. We want The Camp to embody the ethos of what we want the District to feel like, it's our living brochure of the development for both patrons and potential tenants and investors.
MFE: What’s your hopes for the District and its many new residents to come?
Niakossary: We're looking forward to seeing people walk around and utilize all the unique spaces and places within the District. Gensler introduced the idea of affinity districts that do more than mix uses; they promote a stronger sense of community and the likelihood of unlikely connections and interactions in the streets, parks, and places within the district. We want the District to be more than a place to go, but also a place to grow. We host activations year-round with cultural programming in the streets and at The Camp to give opportunities for people to make new connections, discover something new, and inspire innovation.
MFE: Are there any additional projects in the works?
Niakossary: If last year was the year of multifamily, 2023 is shaping up to be the year of hospitality and office. We have multiple hotels in predevelopment and preconstruction, as well as our first predominately office building with ground-floor retail that will go vertical this year. This is a great opportunity for us to bring out-of-town restaurateurs to Huntsville or provide a brick and mortar to a successful food truck business looking to expand.
MFE: Personally, what is it like being a woman in the development industry?
Niakossary: I'm fortunate to have a leadership team at RCP Cos. that empowers me and the women I work with. As a young woman of color in the industry, they have given me a true seat at the table with an opportunity to grow in this industry, even if it felt like drinking water through a firehose along the way.
The industry has seen more women in recent years than my mentors had experienced 10-plus years ago, but I do still find myself being the only woman in the room far too often. Progress in diversifying the industry has been slow and negligible so I find myself opening doors for more women and people of color to get involved in commercial real estate whenever I can. Proper representation in our company reflects the representation and diversity we bring to our developments.
