Multifamily start activity has slowed significantly over the past year, with a 28.8% year-over-year drop reported in November. However, there are still developers taking advantage of opportunities to deploy capital — many of them on a very large scale.
These mixed-use projects are located across the country in both urban and suburban areas, some already started and others expected to break ground soon. Here are a few examples of the largest mixed-use projects making news this year:
Willets Point
Location: Queens, New York
Developer: Related Cos.
Cost: $3 billion
Groundbreaking: June 2021
New York City-based Related Cos. has its eye on revitalizing a 62-acre section of Queens near the Flushing River and next to the New York Mets’ Citi Field stadium. Willets Point, once an ash dumping ground, has long been known for its auto shops and junkyards.
The $3 billion redevelopment plan calls for 2,500 new affordable homes, over 20,000 square feet of retail, a 650-student public school and 40,000 square feet of public space. A new $780 million stadium for the New York City Football Club soccer team is expected to open on the site in 2027.
Remedial work at the site began in June 2021 and has since been completed. The first vertical phase will include 1,100 of the planned affordable housing units.
Veridea
Location: Apex, North Carolina
Developer: RXR
Cost: $3 billion
Groundbreaking: December 2024
New York City-based real estate firm RXR is underway on the first phase of development at the $3 billion Veridea mixed-use project in Apex, North Carolina, located southwest of Raleigh. The 1,100-acre project had been in the planning stages for 17 years when RXR took over the site in 2023, according to a press release shared with Multifamily Dive.
The first phase will include 1,500 multifamily units; 1,100 single-family homes and townhomes built by Miami-based home builder Lennar; 150,000 square feet of commercial, retail and restaurant space; over 200,000 square feet of industrial space and a new campus for Wake Tech Community College, according to the release.
At full buildout, Veridea will offer up to 8,000 residential units, 3.5 million square feet of retail space, 12 million square feet of commercial space and a new public elementary school, in addition to the new college campus, the release said.
South Pier
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Developers: Cantor Fitzgerald, Silverstein Properties
Cost: $1.8 billion
Groundbreaking: 2023
South Pier, a $1.8 billion master-planned community in progress on the Tempe Town Lake waterfront in Tempe, Arizona, hit a milestone in its construction in October with the topping out of its first phase — Shorehaven, a three-building site mixing residential, retail and recreational space.
Developer Silverstein Properties and financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, both based in New York City, intend to build a multi-acre complex of apartments, condos, hotels and office towers on the Opportunity Zone site, along with an entertainment pier.
Shorehaven will consist of 722 units ranging from studios to three bedrooms, plus 20,000 square feet of indoor amenities, 30,000 square feet of outdoor amenities and 26,000 square feet of retail, according to the release. The property is slated for completion in 2026.
Park Eight Place
Location: Houston
Developer: Johnson Development
Cost: $1 billion (projected)
Groundbreaking: Late 2024
Houston-based Johnson Development announced the groundbreaking of Park Eight Place, a 70-acre mixed-use site in west Houston’s Westchase district, on Sept. 25. Site work has since begun on the estimated $1 billion project, with roads and infrastructure set to follow early this year, according to the Houston Chronicle. Information on residential developments at the property is not yet available.
The project is designed around promoting healthier lifestyles, according to the developer’s news release. Michael Cox, president of Johnson Development, says the property is driven by a commitment to environmentally friendly and sustainable design and technologies.
The city of Houston awarded Park Eight Place its first developer-initiated Walkable Places designation in November, according to a news release shared with Multifamily Dive. The property will be integrated with the adjacent 200-acre Arthur Storey Park, connecting its residents to a trail system that extends through the metro area.
Esplanade
Location: Pittsburgh
Developer: Piatt Cos.
Cost: $740 million
Groundbreaking: 2025
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission approved a $740 million redevelopment plan for nearly 15 acres of post-industrial land on the city’s North Side on Nov. 12, including future housing, entertainment and retail.
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based real estate firm Piatt Cos. is leading the project, which will be located on the Ohio River. The plan encompasses over 1.7 million square feet of developed space, with 300 apartments, a 125-room hotel, 105 condo units, restaurant and retail space, a river safety facility and a 164-foot Ferris wheel.
Development will occur in two phases. Piatt Cos. plans to start construction on the first phase in early 2025, following approval from the city and closing on the development land.
Peoria Place
Location: Peoria, Arizona
Developer: Greystar
Cost: $500 million
Groundbreaking: May 2023
Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar is underway on multiple elements of its $500 million, 88-acre Peoria Place development in Peoria, Arizona. At full buildout, the site is expected to include more than 700 apartments, 255 build-to-rent homes, 20 acres of open space and a light industrial park.
The industrial center was the first part of the property to break ground, according to AZ Big Media, and the first residential development, Marlowe Peoria Place, followed in January 2024, according to Greystar. Marlowe, still under construction, will include 370 of the site’s apartment homes and 4,900 square feet of retail.
Habitat
Location: Los Angeles
Developer: Lendlease
Cost: $316 million
Groundbreaking: 2023
Construction at the 3.5-acre Habitat property in Los Angeles’ Culver City submarket is well underway, with two of its buildings — a six-story office and a 12-story apartment building — topping out in early December.
Developed by Sydney-based Lendlease in partnership with Australian superannuation fund Aware Super, Habitat will be a net-zero-carbon property with an integrated solar array and 64 dedicated electric vehicle parking spots, according to the news release. The project broke ground in 2023 and is valued at $316 million, according to Urbanize LA.
On completion in early 2026, the site will include a 253,000-square-foot office building, a 260-unit multifamily building and 2,900 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Apartments at Habitat will range from studios to two-bedroom units.
The project is among the last for Lendlease outside of Australia. The company announced in May that it was exiting international development and construction within the next 18 months, but would honor its commitments to finish joint venture projects, of which Habitat is one.
