Spotlight On: Matthew Marshall, Senior Vice President of Development, RISE
January 2025 — Because of high interest rates, real estate investors remained on the sidelines in 2024, Matthew Marshall, senior vice president of development for real estate company RISE told Invest:. “Convincing investors to look toward the future and develop for the future versus being hesitant is our biggest challenge,” he said.
What have been the main highlights and milestones for RISE in Jacksonville in the last year?
We were fortunate in 2024 to break ground on three new developments. RISE at Glen Kernan Park is a 55+ community for active adults located at 202 & Hodges Road, a premier suburban location in Jacksonville. The community will become the pinnacle of our portfolio in Northeast Florida. RISE Oceola also started construction in 2024 in St. Augustine. It’s a 272-unit townhome community located just 2 miles from downtown. The third development we started construction on was RISE Doro located within the sports district of downtown Jacksonville. Unfortunately, during the start of 2024 we lost our development due to a fire. However, with a great partnership and leadership from the city of Jacksonville, we were able to recapitalize the development and start again.
Considering that 2024 was a challenging capital environment to obtain financing, we feel like we accomplished a lot this past year getting all three deals closed. Together they represent approximately $300 million in total development activity in the region, which was a great accomplishment.
What is your overview of both the residential and commercial real estate market in Jacksonville?
One trend in Jacksonville that should probably be highlighted is the fact that the city itself and the downtown investment authority (DIA), which is a component of the city, have spent a lot of time, money, and energy, to redevelop downtown Jacksonville. They’ve done a wonderful job at signing the new stadium deal with the Jaguars among several other developments. The Jaguar’s ownership has also started construction on the new Four Seasons hotel.
From a trend perspective, I would say the entertainment district in downtown Jacksonville is making significant progress. I think that we’re going to see some huge improvements as new housing, hotels and restaurants become more prevalent in the district.
Overall, we are confident in the outlook for both residential and commercial real estate in Jacksonville. The continued population growth is impressive combined with higher education and job growth will continue to reshape the city.
Which services do you expect to be the main drivers of growth in Jacksonville moving forward?
Jacksonville is fortunate in that it continues to grow in population on an annual basis. Pre-COVID, Jacksonville averaged about 27,500 new residents a year in the four counties that comprise the metropolitan area. Post-COVID, that has jumped up to about 34,000 a year, and it’s projected to go close to 40,000 new people a year. It’s a huge population demand, and it is the driver that’s behind the residential and commercial real estate activities.
Developers are going to stay busy in Jacksonville for years to come. Essentially, from a demand perspective, there’s going to be demand for about 6,500 new residential rental units on an annual basis moving forward. If an average multifamily development is 300 units that’s 20-plus new development transactions annually to keep pace with demand.
How does RISE leverage innovation to provide the best development, construction, and management services to its clients?
Our company is fortunate to develop for multiple age demographics. We’ve been developing student housing communities at major universities for three decades now. To compete our designs must show innovation of amenities both exterior and interior along with technology and property management services to remain best in class within these markets. Student housing has continuously changed over the years, becoming a top real estate asset class. I would challenge any class A, multifamily deal to compete with the best-in-class student housing assets from a design and amenity standpoint.
Thus, when those students leave college housing and transfer over into the job market, they expect that same level of design and services from amenities and technology.
We also develop active adult communities which are designed for people who desire an active lifestyle full of daily options. So, our clubhouses are 10,000 sq.ft. with music rooms, fitness facilities, yoga and Pilates areas, craft rooms, wine and cheese areas, various lounges and heated pools to provide the lifestyle our residents deserve.
RISE is unique because we’re developing property for three age demographics in America. That is, from the 18- to 25-year-olds, the 25- to 55-year-olds, and then from the 65- to the 85-year-olds. It’s a continuous approach that we need to have for all three demographics that we serve.
What are the primary challenges for real estate and construction in Jacksonville?
The two primary challenges for real estate and construction in Jacksonville have been the rapid increase in interest rates causing property valuations to decrease and asset sales to slow combined with the increased delivery of multifamily units beyond annual demand contributing to a concessionary environment. Our projections are that Jacksonville will hit equilibrium in 2026, and rents will start to increase again causing investor demand to return. As developers, we build for the future, thus convincing investors to underwrite future growth is important and will contribute to a healthy real estate environment.
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