A real estate private equity firm based in Charlotte is partnering with a longtime residential real estate executive to launch a new business line.

Collett Capital and Creighton Call, formerly of Crescent Communities and Davidson Homes, have teamed up to launch Canvas Residential. The platform will focus on the development of build-to-rent communities throughout the Southeast. The team is already under construction on around 200 units in Charlotte, with plans to begin construction on at least 530 additional units in the Southeast by early 2023.

Canvas Residential is focused on developing communities with between 60 and 250 homes and a mix of floorplans with two to four bedrooms.

The housing supply shortage helped spur the formation of Canvas Residential, Call said, with Charlotte and the Southeast being among the areas with a big need for more housing. Call and DuBose Williamson, a principal at Collett Capital and Call’s former colleague at Crescent, decided to join forces to try to meet that need.

“We believe firmly, in particular, that there is a lack of high-quality residential neighborhoods that appeal to renters,” Call said. “We feel that the fundamentals for purpose-built residential communities have never been stronger, in particular in Charlotte.”

Canvas Residential is underway on two local townhome projects. One includes 58 units in southwest Charlotte, Williamson said, while the other is in the Mountain Island Lake area and includes around 140 units. Williamson said the company hopes to break ground in August on a 224-unit project in the Atlanta area.

Canvas Residential will pursue projects throughout the Southeast but will likely have a focus on the Carolinas and Atlanta markets, Call said. It is currently pursuing opportunities in Charlotte, the Triangle, the coastal Carolinas area and Atlanta.

With the two active Charlotte projects and others that are soon to break ground, Canvas Residential hopes to grow quickly.

“That’ll take us close to 1,000 units by the time we’re sitting down here a year from now,” Williamson said of the first projects for Canvas Residential. “We want to continue to grow that, leveraging the best-in-class relationships we have to find well-located sites and continue to grow.”

Call will serve as Canvas Residential’s managing partner. He most recently led EverGreen Living, a build-to-rent division of Davidson Homes, after spending a decade as a vice president at Crescent.

Collett Capital is headquartered in Charlotte and has over $500 million in assets.

Article Link: Charlotte Business Journal

Partner Link: Canvas Residential