Robert Thorne, CEO & Founder, Urban Network Capital Group
Robert Thorne, CEO and founder of Urban Network Capital Group, sat down with Invest: to discuss sustainable development in a rapidly evolving climate, how the company opens up its communities to everyone in the area, and how important culture is to a company’s success.
What milestones or achievements have Urban Network Capital Group accomplished in the Greater Orlando region this past year?
It has been exciting for us in the last three and a half years. Before last year, we were mostly in the land acquisition stage. We got all our approvals, and in the last year, the fun began, which means we broke ground on all our projects at the same time. I think our biggest accomplishment was that we sold out of almost 600 units. We’ve been tracking about 21 units a month on our sales portfolio. We were very blessed to be able to work well with the county aesthetic. We brought in some architects from Mexico, Europe and Spain to design. The design concept was similar to what was being built in Central Florida, and considering that many of our buyers are Latin Americans, they felt connected.
How have some of these projects invigorated the Orlando market?
When we came into the market four years ago, we had to compete with companies like Lennar and Polte that had been here for a long time – and they had the reputation. We’re an eco-friendly wellness developer. We are eco-friendly, using sustainable materials and installing EV chargers at various points of all our developments. Projects are designed with LEED technology and solar energy. All our projects have features like environmental and probiotic diffusion to kill bacteria in all the units and all the common areas. We have vitamin C diffusion to kill all the chlorine and bacteria in the water, even when taking a shower. Circadian lighting can help people who travel from Europe or South America with jet lag. We have infrared saunas for hypoallergenic pain, as well as cold tubs, IV infusion and bilateral beads. These are a variety of things that we brought to the market that are now attractive to many different buyers, and it’s starting to make the Orlando area a Wellness and eco-conscious community.
How is collaboration key when doing these kinds of developments?
Today’s city planners are much different. I’ve been developing since 2000, and in the last 25 years, I’ve seen a wave of new thinking. This new generation consists of young designers who have studied the cities of the future. They are more eco-conscious and environmentally conscious and are experiencing the changes in the atmosphere. Having these guys on board makes the projects work. Our company offers a healthy living environment.
What is your outlook on the market, and how does the city’s potential for growth and development align with the company’s growth?
I think we’re bullish. Orlando is exploding with growth. Housing is tough but we’re considering installing a 180-unit multi-family affordable housing tower in one of our projects instead of another condo hotel. The cities come to us and ask for help. The statistics show that affordable housing is almost at the same price as regular housing. There’s a need for housing growth in Orlando as it is not a vertical city. We know that it’s not like Miami. It’s not like Mexico City, which is a horizontal city. We understand that people in South Florida can’t afford to live in South Florida anymore so they want to live in Orlando. With the bright line connecting South Florida and now Tampa in the near future, Tampa and Orlando will become one city. We don’t view growth as opportunistic, but rather we work to fill in the gaps.
What challenges has the company faced, and how have you navigated around them or worked to overcome them?
The challenge that we have now is that purchasing land has become a little bit difficult because developing is a mathematical equation. There’s nothing else to it. Being able to acquire land at the price that you used to be able to acquire it three and four years ago becomes harder and harder. We’re having to offset that cost. We must now get creative in providing different terms. We used to buy land, and we would close a year and a half later when we got an SDP permit. Now that doesn’t exist. We have to close sooner or take the chance to acquire the price that we need. Working closely with the landowners is necessary. We’re looking for opportunities that we won’t be able to execute today but maybe four years from now.
How does Urban Network Capital Group involve the local community, and what efforts are being made to address community needs and concerns?
None of our projects are gated. The facilities that we offer are open to the community. We work diligently with the county to make sure that traffic is accounted for. We don’t develop faster than is sustainable. We do alternate routes so that we don’t worsen existing problems. We bring in water parks and retail areas in a closed community, as well as a clubhouse with several pools. We do it in an organized manner because everybody has to take advantage of it, but it’s open to everybody.
What do you envision for the future of Urban Network Capital Group and its presence in the Orlando market?
We never focused on end-user products; instead, we concentrated on vacation rentals. We sell the units to an investor, and they lease them back to us. Then, we put them in a hotel pool, and we manage it. So basically, it’s a hospitality company, and the asset owners are investors who have purchased from a developer. Because of the housing shortage, we are now entering and negotiating 160 acres on I-4 in Haines City to do end-user products because there’s a big need.
