Greystar Debuts Its First Modular Apartment Complex

Greystar Real Estate Partners opened a six-building modular apartment complex in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The complex, roughly 15 miles outside of Pittsburgh, marks the South Carolina-based apartment giant’s first modular build in the country.

Dubbed “Ltd. Findlay,” the complex contains 312 apartments, each unit ranging anywhere from 660 to 1,375 square feet. The complex also includes a gym, amphitheater and bocce courts. Monthly rents start at $1,400, according to Apartments.com.

Greystar opened its first modular production base in Knox, Pennsylvania last year. It acquired the 256,000-square-foot property in December 2020 and planned to open it for its modular construction business, Modern Living Solutions, in August 2021 before delays set in.

While Ltd. Findlay is the first completed complex to come out of the Knox base, it won’t be the last. Six more projects are in development at the production facility.

Modular construction is growing increasingly popular. Home parts are constructed on an assembly line — reducing costs and timelines — then transported to a site where the home is pieced together.

Greystar cut down on its traditional construction timeline by 40 percent and built the complex for 10 percent less than it would have a typical project in nearby Pittsburgh.

There are drawbacks to large-scale modular construction, however. The ability to customize developments could be limited and it’s hard to build something with components that are too big, considering the transportation obstacles; Greystar is sticking to seven stories or fewer on its modular builds.

All of Greystar’s modular developments are within 600 miles of the production facility due to the challenges and costs of transportation. Additionally, finding financing for the projects can be difficult, as lenders are cautious to jump in when they’re unfamiliar with the process.

Nevertheless, modular construction is on the rise. From 2015 to 2023, the annual market share of modular construction tripled to 6.6 percent, according to the Modular Building Institute.

— Holden Walter-Warner