Change likely coming for Lakeside apartments

The purchase of Nexus Lakeside last year and the appointment of a new community management company at Elan Flower Mound in January suggest other changes may be in store for the two large Lakeside properties, according to a news release from Realty Capital, master developer of Lakeside.

AvalonBay Communities of Virginia purchased Nexus Lakeside in September from Azure Partners LLC, which had owned the property for five years.

“AvalonBay is thrilled to be in the DFW area and in particular at Nexus Lakeside,” said Danyell Alders, head of the company’s residential services team for Texas and Colorado. “The decision to purchase Nexus Lakeside was easy given the excellent community quality and the unique mixed-use attributes of the immediate area.”

AvalonBay brings a history of developing and acquiring many mixed-use properties across the country, a stark contrast to the previous owner, whose portfolio contained very few mixed-use properties, according to Lakeside.

AvalonBay ranked as the nation’s third largest apartment owner in 2021, according to Statista, with 80,094 apartment units in around the country. The purchase of Nexus Lakeside added 425 apartment units, along with 17,000 square feet of retail space, to the portfolio of the publicly traded real estate investment trust, its first foray into Texas since 2015.

In January, change came to the 466 apartment units down the street at Elan.

Elan’s owners, BlackRock Realty Advisors, brought on Kairoi Residential, a San Antonio-based apartment developer and management company, to serve as community manager. A self-described “boutique apartment property management company,” Kairoi caters to “sophisticated owners looking for a higher level of intelligence and strategy,” according to the company website.

“We have a narrow scope,” the site says, “and are suited for best-in-class assets where residents value service.”

“We are proud that Lakeside is attracting the best-in-class in terms of long-term investment and management companies,” said Jimmy Archie, managing partner of Realty Capital. “It signals that Lakeside has earned national recognition as a premier mixed-use community. We are proud and happy for our stakeholders and the entire Flower Mound community.”

Over the past several months, Kairoi has begun rebranding the apartment community from Elan to Elora Flower Mound.

“Elora means light or sun ray,” said Felicia Martinez, regional manager of Kairoi Residential. “It is a unique hybrid of ‘Elan’ and ‘Flora’ for a fresh, botanical nod that ties more closely to the location in Flower Mound. Being a popular girl name, Elora brings a feminine touch to this casual take on suburban luxe and rural charm.”

Kairoi manages several premier high-rise apartment buildings in DFW like Skye of Turtle Creek, Nove At Knox and The Katy. Rents for a studio apartment at these buildings start at $1,630 (as of May 11), according to the company’s website.

“The goal for this community,” said Martinez, “is to position ourselves as a place where wellness abounds, happiness thrives, adventures flourish, because that’s the beauty of Elora.”

Major changes have yet to appear at Nexus Lakeside, but it is clear that AvalonBay has embraced mixed-use development as “the new formula for modern living,” as their website states.

“More and more,” the site says, “consumers are showing a growing desire to live in walkable work-play communities. Whether in the downtown area of large and small cities or in urbanizing suburbs, a significant lifestyle shift points to highly designed personal living space, shared social space, and public or publicly accessible amenities converging into one.”

And in addressing purchases such as Nexus Lakeside, the company website says the company seeks to “substantially add to our mixed-use portfolio … to create programmatic relationships with retail partners in great retail environments.”

Mid-rise, mixed-use projects include Avalon Public Market (San Francisco area), Avalon Towson (Baltimore area), Avalon Clarendon (Washington, D.C. area), and many more.

At some point, AvalonBay Communities may replace Highmark Residential as the property management company, as is normal when a new owner assumes control. Then, a name change may be forthcoming.

AvalonBay has developed three distinct brands for its properties: Avalon, Ava, and eaves by Avalon. The two most likely for the Lakeside property are Avalon — “live modern,” and AVA — “live awesome.”