Residents of the Zora Encanto community will soon be saving $15,000 annually on electricity bills thanks to the partnership of master developer Suncrest with the Tempe-based HercuTech.

Found just half a mile north of I-10 and two miles east of Loop 101, Zora Encanto is situated near many of the area’s largest employment hubs including Banner Estrella Medical Center, Luke Air Force Base, Westgate Entertainment District, the West Commerce Center, and the Central Phoenix Industrial District.

The community’s 109 luxury, ranch-style, rental homes, features the following amenities, in addition to a resort-inspired swimming pool, fitness center yoga lawn, grilling stations, community fireplaces and a multi-purpose event lawn:

• A private walk-up entrance
• Higher-end finishes
• Stainless steel appliances
• Smart home technology
• Wood-inspired flooring
• 10-foot ceilings
• Open concept kitchens with pantries
• Doggy doors in every home
• Large, private turf backyards

All homes in Zora Encanto have been built with HercuWall technology, representatives of the brand tell the Arizona Digital Free Press.

HercuTech’s lumber replacement, HercuWall, is an ICC-certified, panelized exterior made of insulating foam, reinforced with a patented steel HercuStrip, laminated with a weather-resistant barrier.

Also, the barrier is followed by site integrated concrete that provides greater strength, insulation, and energy efficiency than traditionally built homes, representatives of the brand say.

Zora Encanto will feature the Enhanced Living Package backed by HercuWall technology, allowing residents to enjoy lower energy bills, a quieter home, and healthier air quality, according to a press release.

“HercuTech is proud to partner with Suncrest at Zora Encanto. We believe HercuWall technology is what everyone should expect in today’s environment — a safer, stronger, quieter, healthier, and sustainable living experience, while simultaneously recognizing cost savings through lower utility bills and less maintenance costs,” said HercuTech CEO Jason Rhees in a prepared statement.

“The HercuWall system absolutely differentiates Zora Encanto from competing product in the market and highlights Suncrest’s commitment to building better and focusing on their residents’ experience and well-being.”

With the use of the HercuWall system at this community compared to 2×4 wood framing, Zora Encanto will save over 35,000KG of carbon emissions annually, reduce residents’ energy bills by over $15,000 annually, and has saved over 600 trees in the construction of this community, a press release states.

“We are extremely excited to partner with HercuTech at Zora Encanto and look forward to growing our relationship as we develop more luxury rental communities in the Phoenix Metro and other Suncrest markets,” said Mike Koch, managing partner of Suncrest. “They truly are an industry disrupter and we’re thrilled to offer our residents a higher level of privacy, sound proofing, significant savings on energy bills and other benefits that HercuWall offers.”

The post Zora Encanto provides state-of-the-art building technology with HercuTech appeared first on Zora Living.

Phoenix-based Suncrest, which has developed 24 master-planned communities on 4,100 acres since 2016, has entered the wildly popular build-to-rent sector.

A newly created Zora Living brand is being unveiled at its first build-to-rent community in Phoenix. Called Zora Encanto, the $33 million development will include 109 single-family rental homes on 10 acres at the southeast corner of 83rd Avenue and Encanto Boulevard in west Phoenix. “We’re just getting started,” said Mike Koch, managing partner who co-founded Suncrest with Sean Cooney. “We’re looking forward to growing that component of the business.”

While Suncrest has sold engineered lots to builders for two other rental communities in Buckeye and Maricopa, it has been focusing build-to-rent development in the Carolinas and Texas, Koch said. While the company is getting into the BTR sector, 85% of its business is still in the development of master-planned communities that feature for-sale homes. “We are in the land business,” Koch said. “Build-for-rent is another application for land. With the housing shortage across the country, there’s a need for both for-sale and for-rent. We’re trying to fill the void for both.”

Koch said he’s looking at building rental divisions with Suncrest’s existing master-planned communities in Nashville and Charlotte. He’s also planning one in Tennessee. “We’re looking for land opportunities for master-plan opportunities in Phoenix for sure,” Koch said.

He said he’s negotiating contracts for two parcels in Phoenix that are within Loop 101. If all goes as planned, he would have two more rental communities built by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, the Zora Encanto community is in pre-leasing, with monthly rents averaging $1,950 for one- and two-bedroom homes.

Amenities include what Koch calls a “resort-inspired pool,” a small cabana, a fitness center that includes a sliding garage door to a yoga lawn and open space for gathering areas. Each of the homes will include 10-foot ceilings, smart home technology, stainless steel appliances, higher-end finishes, open concept kitchens with pantries and doggie doors leading to large, private turf backyards.

On average, the back yards at Zora Encanto are roughly 600 square feet, which Koch said is twice the size of other rental communities. “Some of our biggest backyards are 1,200 to 1,500 square feet,” Koch said. The private backyards include turf, plantings, pavers and are surrounded by white vinyl privacy fencing.

“Phoenix is ground zero for standalone rental communities,” Koch said. “We learned from the best — Christopher Todd Communities and NextMetro. There are a lot of good groups doing a lot of good things. We focused on land closer in town within a mile of major transportation routes and major employment. We wanted to focus on the outdoor experience. The big backyards were something we wanted to market as a little bit different than most.”

Mike Mancini, president of Sodella Construction, is building Zora Encanto using HercuTech’s HercuWall technology. Using HercuWall to build these homes can help residents lower their energy bills by up to 40%, Koch said. “Our plan for all the communities we build in Phoenix is to use HercuWall,” he said.

The post Developer Suncrest makes its first move in Valley’s fast growing build-to-rent sector appeared first on Zora Living.

An Arizona real estate firm entered the Charlotte market in 2019 and has been very active in acquiring land and leading the development of large residential projects. And that portfolio might soon be getting larger.

Suncrest is working with landowner HLG Capital LLC and seeking to rezone just over 35 acres in Gastonia to facilitate a new residential project, city documents show. The rezoning request includes a site at 3024 Beaty Road, which is southeast of Gastonia.

City documents show that the rezoning application is looking to allow for the development of up to 190 duplex units at the site. The request is scheduled for consideration by the Gastonia Planning Commission tonight.

Mark McAuley, Suncrest’s director of land development in the Carolinas, told the Charlotte Business Journal that the proposed Gastonia project is part of the company’s Zora duplex product line. Suncrest has a Charlotte project in that line called Zora University, which is advertised as a 108-unit luxury rental community off Rocky River Road.

Planning commission documents refer to the project as Zora Grove Duplexes. The project proposal includes 96 one-bedroom and 94 two-bedroom units. The city’s planning staff has recommended approval of the rezoning request to allow the Suncrest project, according to a staff report available in commission records.

Suncrest entered the Charlotte region in 2019 with a large project in Gastonia and has other developments in the area as well. Its portfolio in the region includes additional projects in Charlotte, Indian Land and Kannapolis. Suncrest is “qualifying, planning and rezoning an additional 2,000 residential lots” in the Charlotte area that can be ready for builders in the next 12 to 36 months, the company said.

The company has acquired about 1,200 acres in the Charlotte region since entering the local market. It works with homebuilders to develop the lots it owns.

Charlotte Business Journal

The post Arizona-based Suncrest eyes Gaston County for residential project with duplex units appeared first on Zora Living.