Southern Land Company (SLC) has sold Morada Plano, a high-end, mixed-use community in historic downtown Plano. The Jacobson Company, a real estate investment company that specializes in acquiring and operating multifamily, student housing and commercial properties, purchased the five-story community, which includes 183 rental residences and 12,700 square feet of restaurant and retail space.
Morada Plano features upscale amenities including a heated saltwater pool, a 24-hour fitness center, game room, business center, pet parlor for on-site pet grooming, and more. Every residence includes high-end interior finishes, such as wood laminate flooring, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and outdoor balconies. The community has one- and two-bedroom options ranging from 545 to 1,297 square feet. Its central location off 14th Street places residents near the downtown Plano Dallas Area Rapid Transport (DART) station and within walking distance of several restaurant and retail locations.
“Morada Plano was a rewarding project for many reasons,” said Tim Downey, Southern Land Company founder and CEO. “It is a beautifully designed building, and for the last two years, a warm, hospitable community has been cultivated there. Beyond this, Morada exemplifies Southern Land Company’s history of joining in the City of Plano’s mission to strengthen and preserve its historic downtown. Our partnership with the city was key in the development of Morada, and we have been proud to see Morada fit so well into the fabric of downtown Plano.”
SLC’s working relationship with the City of Plano dates back to the early 2000s, when the city was focused on restoring its historic downtown and arts districts. At the time, the city created a tax increment finance district (TIF) to encourage economic development activity downtown, and SLC signed on to redevelop a prime 1.6-acre parcel in exchange for 92 dedicated parking garage spaces for the Plano Police Department. That successful cooperative resulted in SLC’s development, ownership, and eventual sale of Junction 15, a transit-oriented multifamily community that marked SLC’s first multifamily project in Plano.
In 2014, SLC entered a second partnership with the City of Plano, in which SLC procured 1.7 acres of land for redevelopment in exchange for public parking spaces. Today, 122 spaces are dedicated for public parking beneath Morada Plano in the city’s first and only below-grade parking garage, prompting more activity in the neighboring downtown and arts districts.
“The city already owned part of the property, which housed an old city facility,” said Frank Turner, the City of Plano’s former deputy manager of development. “After working with Southern Land Company on Junction 15, we knew it was a good opportunity for them to redevelop and bring a new residential and commercial space to downtown.”
Peter Braster, City of Plano’s director of special projects, added, “Southern Land Company’s willingness to develop two projects in Plano, and our partnership with them for public parking at Morada, has brought more people to live and experience the downtown area.”
In addition to Morada Plano and Junction 15, SLC has developed and sold several other multifamily communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including The Lofts at Watters Creek, Arthouse in Keller and Novē at Knox. In October 2021, SLC broke ground on Deco 969, Fort Worth’s first luxury high-rise rental residences in more than 30 years.
Additionally, SLC is the developer of Tucker Hill, a master-planned community in McKinney, Texas.
Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) brokers, Drew Kile, Joey Tumminello, Michael Ware, Taylor Hill, Jeffrey Kindorf and Will Balthrope, represented SLC and procured the buyer, The Jacobson Company, in the sale of Morada Plano. IPA, a division of Marcus & Millichap, is a leading commercial real estate services firm. The IPA Texas team cumulated a sales volume of $7.5 billion in 2021.
