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Sponsor Spotlight: NexMetro

An inside look at how DLP Capital is partnering with a leading build-to-rent developer

August 21, 2026

Impact in Action

Established in November 2012, Phoenix-headquartered NexMetro Communities is the Sunbelt’s largest developer of cottage-style build-to-rent communities.¹

Across NexMetro’s nearly 14-year history, the firm has developed and operated nearly $4 billion in real estate, encompassing more than 10,000 units across 60 projects.²

Avilla Homes: NexMetro’s build-to-rent concept

Today, NexMetro is most known for its Avilla Homes developments: purpose-built cottage-style leased home communities that feature residences built for rent rather than for sale.

NexMetro was an early pioneer of the build-to-rent concept when they brought the 125-unit Avilla Palm Valley community to Goodyear, Arizona—a submarket about 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix—in 2015.²

Back then, renting was nearly synonymous with apartment living, which invariably meant that residents shared walls with neighbors inside dense and connected mutli-story spaces. Single-family homes, which were fully detached from neighboring units and often featured front or back yards, were for homeowners, not renters.

NexMetro’s Avilla Homes concept turned that idea on its head. Avilla communities feature mostly detached homes with private backyards—accompanied by resort-style shared amenities such as pools, lounge areas, dog parks, and more—all in a setting tailored exclusively to renters.³ In other words, living in a NexMetro community meant the privacy and space of single-family living sans the hassles of home maintenance or the inflexibility of a mortgage.

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Avilla Homes expand across the Sunbelt

NexMetro soon brought the Avilla Homes concept to other Sunbelt markets. In February 2017, the firm opened Avilla Premier in Plano, Texas, the first Avilla community outside of Arizona.²

In July 2018, the firm sold its first three Avilla communities in the Phoenix metro and simultaneously surpassed 1,000 build-to-rent units across all communities.2 Shortly after, NexMetro closed on its 20th Avilla Homes project, expanding its footprint to four states.²

Growth continued from there. In 2019, NexMetro crossed the $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) milestone, with over 5,000 build-to-rent homes either completed or in progress across 30 Avilla projects in the Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, and Tampa metro areas.²

By October 2021, that figure had surpassed 40 communities, and by 2022—the firm’s 10-year anniversary—Avilla communities had expanded into two additional markets, Atlanta and Austin.²

NexMetro continued to expand across the Sunbelt. The firm surpassed $2 billion in AUM and brought the Avilla Homes concept to San Antonio, Texas, in 2023, closing on its 50th Avilla Homes project in May of that year.²

In 2024, the firm had 10,000 build-to-rent homes either complete or in its pipeline and had invested over $2.6 billion across its Avilla projects.² By January 2025, that number had increased to 60 communities, cementing NexMetro’s reputation as a market leader and pioneer in build-to-rent housing.²

A strong partnership with DLP Capital

NexMetro is a recent but repeat borrower with DLP Capital. Proceeds will support the land acquisition and other pre-development costs across four Avilla Homes projects—three in Texas and one in Georgia.

“We commenced our lending relationship with NexMetro in November of last year by financing three Avilla communities,” says Nick Lanni, DLP Capital’s Managing Director of Lending. “In May 2025, we followed up with a development loan for Avilla Lockwood, one of the firm’s newest projects in Texas.”

In tandem with traditional borrowing criteria, such as creditworthiness and track record, DLP Capital also evaluates sponsors for mission alignment. “What resonated with us was the strong overlap between the sponsor’s core values and our own,” explains Lanni. “Beyond their executive team’s commitment to servant leadership, what also stood out to us was their Board-sponsored philanthropic efforts, which addressed access to quality housing and community building.”

These motivations coincide with DLP Capital’s mission to build Thriving Communities for America’s working families—a North Star that the company pursues through its careful partnerships with values-driven investors, employees, and sponsors like NexMetro.

Impact in Action

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