In February, two senior executives with Buvermo Investments spun off a new company with a mission to develop, invest in and manage properties in the Southeast, Sunbelt, and the Washington, D.C. metro area.
The company, BVO Capital, is focusing on active adult, multifamily and build-for-rent properties. Its current management footprint includes five active adult communities in the Carolinas, with a development pipeline that includes an additional six projects. The company’s first property is due to open in the coming weeks in Myrtle Beach.
BVO is backed by London-based Rinkelberg Capital, and has offices it shares with Buvermo in Bethesda, Maryland and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Leading BVO are managing partners Jim Lindsey and Kevin Woodley, who said they saw an opportunity to expand in the active adult sector while working on more traditional senior housing projects while at Buvermo.
“We realized that there’s a large group of folks who want to live around folks in the same demographics, but don’t need needs-based [care], nor do they want to live in those buildings,” Woodley told Senior Housing News.
Taking stock of the wider active adult landscape, Lindsey said he sees a “big opportunity in terms of how many of these buildings actually exist right now.”
“There just aren’t a whole lot of buildings out there when you look at the entire nation versus the demand,” he told SHN.
The company is eyeing anywhere from three to five new projects a year once development eases up. For now, it is taking a more conservative estimate of two construction starts in 2024. Acquisitions will come where they make sense, the co-managing partners said.
While development costs remain a barrier for new projects across the industry, Lindsey and Woodley see trends moving in the right direction.
Construction pricing has come down anywhere from 8% to 10% from where it was last summer, and they expect that to continue in the months ahead. Having a deep-pocketed capital partner like Rinkelberg also gives them confidence in the strategy.
At the core of BVO’s strategy is its middle-market Arden active adult brand, which focuses on “stress-free lifestyle through universal design concepts,” according to its website.
Typical amenities include pickleball courts and pools, outdoor grilling areas, business centers, full bars for alcoholic beverages or coffee and a wellness center that offers flexible spaces. Each community has its own full-time lifestyle coordinator, who is in charge of both organizing activities for residents and facilitating ones residents plan themselves.
Lindsey and Woodley said the brand is based on socialization and fostering connections between residents. The company’s rates are in the ballpark of 10% to 15% higher than a typical multifamily property in the area.
“They’re moving in to be around folks like them,” Woodley said. “We want to try to minimize [costs for residents] as much as possible while offering the activities that they want.”
With each new project, Lindsey and Woodley plan for BVO to iterate on its previous successful designs. That is partly how the company has been able to achieve a cost basis for its middle-market strategy.
“We’re focused on getting better and better about building something that caters to the seniors,” Woodley said. “At the same time, we are trying to offer the most attainable economical rent on a monthly basis for these folks.”
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