Please read the article below written by Laura Kinsler from GrowthSpotter.
‘INB Homes growing its BTR portfolio with projects in Osceola and Apopka’
Orlando-based INB Homes is expanding its Build-to-Rent portfolio with five new projects in Central Florida that will add more than 800 purpose-built rental homes to the region.
On Monday, Osceola Commissioners approved the rezoning and preliminary subdivision plan for County Line Towns, a 151-lot community just south of C.R. 532 with 11 detached bungalows and 140 townhomes.
All of the homes would be rear-alley loaded with some fronting on the street and others with front doors looking out on the pond. Rj Whidden & Associates is the planning consultant. The project is slated to rise on 22 acres bound by the Polk County line and CSX RR tracks, but it may never get built.
That’s because the future Poinciana Parkway extension would abut the property, and the current toll road design calls for a drainage pond in the middle of the subdivision. The toll agency is close to wrapping up its design for the project, which means it can negotiate for right-of-way acquisition.
“We haven’t gotten a final say from CFX” on how much land they need for the pond. “It’s been kind of a slow process.”
Also this week, Polk County approved the site development plan for phase 2 of Bimini Bay, a rental townhouse community just off U.S. 27 in the Four Corners area. INB purchased the unfinished portion of the development in 2022 for $3.4 million with entitlements for 148 townhomes.
The original plan expired in 2008, but IBN modified it to include a one-car garage and driveway parking for each unit instead of street parking. Jonathan Bell, VP of Development and Acquisitions, told GrowthSpotter the plan IBN has applied for building permits and plans to sell the project with permits to Shoreham Capital, which will complete the development and rebuild its clubhouse.
The builder also has a 21-acre site under contract on Narcoossee Road, north of the St. Cloud city limits, where it’s planning 167 dwelling units. The project, called Millstone Hammock, would include a mix of detached homes with front- and rear-loaded townhouses. That satisfies Osceola County’s requirement for three product types in the subdivision.
The site along Lillian Black Road was rezoned to Low Density Residential in 2022. It lies within the county’s Narcoossee Overlay District and is across from the entrance to Center Lake Ranch, a master-planned community with neighborhoods underway from Ashton Woods and Taylor Morrison.
“The national builders are all over the place,” Bell said.
The builder is also under contract for a 35-acre site in Apopka, where it plans to build 235 units — a combination of detached homes and townhouses. The site is at 2584 W. Kelly Park Rd.
Bell said IBN’s BTR townhomes will all have three bedrooms, and the detached homes will have a mix of three- and four-bedroom floorplans. The builder also will construct the amenities for its communities. Those typically include a pool, clubhouse, playground and dog park.
The fifth project, located in Palm Bay, will have 133 for-rent townhomes.
Bell said the company uses various methods to finance its growing BTR portfolio. IBN could build the units and sell the community after the initial lease-up, or it could bring in a joint-venture partner. In some cases, the builder will sell the homes in bulk to the investor after receiving certificates of occupancy. The fourth option is a for IBN to contract-build the units for a landowner.
“We do all of the above,” Bell said. “We have multiple companies that we work with on it. I probably get two or three calls a week from multibillion-dollar funds, wanting to buy BTR communities in Florida. So there’s a lot of appetite for it right now, and has been for the last six to eight months.”