Jim Jacobi, president of Parkland Communities and Parkland Residential, recently sat down with Tim Sullivan, senior managing principal with Zonda, for the first installment of Zonda’s Rental Housing Outlook interview series. Created to interview acclaimed builders, operators and ideators, the interviews cover current trends and what’s happening in the rental housing market.

“It was an honor to sit down with Tim Sullivan to discuss the state of the rental market and take a deep dive into my projects,” Jacobi states. “Tim has his finger on the industry’s pulse, which always makes for a lively and intelligent conversation.”

With over 20 years of experience in the home building and developing industry, Jacobi founded Parkland Residential with the mission of delivering attainable rental homes for the underserved missing middle market. Jacobi understands how land entitlements can create opportunities and uses his data analytics platform with his innovative home plans to obtain a competitive advantage in the market. 

In the interview, Jacobi touches on how he differentiates his company from national public builders and the process of developing his first build-to-rent project, Sweetwater Springs. Situated on a 4.6-acre track originally developed as a retail center and gas station, the rental community features private, stacked townhomes. These units feature added privacy because residents don’t live above or below each other. Showcasing up to 1,958 square feet of living space, each townhouse features two or three bedrooms, private living quarters and a one-car garage. 

Tune into the full interview with Jim Jacobi on Zonda’s Rental Housing Outlook here: Zonda Portal (metrostudy.com)

Following the success of Sweetwater Springs, Parkland Residential is now building phase two of the community and has many stacked townhome communities planned across metro Atlanta to provide more affordable rental opportunities to the market. 

In addition to the townhome communities, Parkland Residential is currently working on Grove Landing, this first single-family rental home community in Warner Robins, Georgia. This build-to-rent community will feature 317 homesites boasting spacious front porches, one-car carports with driveways, resort-style amenities, and large backyards. These ranch-style homes are ideal for millennials and active adults alike.