Capstone Communities is building its fourth cottage-style community, The Cottages at Riverlights, in Wilmington, North Carolina. The 21-acre, multifamily development is the first project underway in a 120-acre master-planned community, Riverlights by Newland, a joint venture owned by Newland Real Estate, North America Sekisui House LLC and Brookfield Residential.
The Cottages at Riverlights marks Birmingham-based Capstone’s latest conventional cottage-style development program, a build-for-rent housing model that is rapidly expanding across the country. Capstone currently has similar developments in Huntsville; Daytona Beach, Florida; and Summerville, South Carolina.
“Since 2007, our team has developed cottages in more than 20 student housing communities across the country and have found this model to be highly successful,” said John Acken, executive vice president of Capstone Communities. “As we begin introducing the cottages to the multifamily sector, our goal is to meet the needs of young professionals, empty nesters looking to downsize or new residents to build a true sense of community that can be difficult to create in a traditional apartment setting.”
The Cottages at Riverlights will be Capstone’s second cottage-style development within a Newland master planned community. Developed with a “new urbanism” style featuring sidewalks, pocket parks and open green spaces, units will range from 650 to 1,350 square feet and offer a mix of one, two and three-bedroom cottages, each with its own fenced yard. The development also offers studio lofts and two-story carriage units.
Riverlights, a 1,400-acre development, also will feature residential home sites, commercial space, eight public parks, community gathering space and a 38-acre lake.
Capstone’s in-house construction firm, CBI Construction Services, is the general contractor on The Cottages at Riverlights. Construction financing is being provided by Truist Bank and Birmingham-based Nequette Architecture & Design is serving as lead architect. Capstone Properties, Capstone’s in-house management division, will begin pre-leasing in summer 2022.
