LMC Announces Launch of LMC Emblem Communities

LMC has launched LMC Emblem Communities, a new housing development initiative to increase supply of quality suburban housing options for middle-income residents nationwide.

LMC created the Emblem program in July 2019 to help address the national shortage in supply of Class A housing that is attainable for middle-income residents. Since the inception of the strategic platform, LMC has assembled a nationwide pipeline of 20 new communities with the first under construction in suburban Atlanta.

“The imbalance in the pending supply of Class A product, coupled with the challenges associated with developing cost-effective rental housing, has created a shortage of supply and strong demand for suburban garden apartments that fit within the budgets of middle-income residents,” said Doug Bober, who will lead LMC Emblem Communities as Division President. “We are aiming to improve the market share of quality rental housing by developing a high-quality, more attainable design that can be replicated across the country.”

The focus on simplification and standardization of LMC Emblem Communities is designed to increase efficiencies with regard to cost and schedule. These developments will reach the market much quicker than individualized communities, expediting the timeframe in which the nation's essential workers, first-responders and other middle-class professionals will have access to quality housing that doesn't price them out of the neighborhoods they serve.

The programmatic approach to housing development will utilize consistent interior finishes from one Emblem community to the next, featuring high-end materials like quartz countertops in kitchens and baths, stainless steel appliances, and luxury vinyl plank flooring. Amenity designs and property features such as social rooms and fitness centers will also follow the prototype.

Through scale and repetition, LMC estimates a significant reduction in costs associated with architectural and interior design, as well as branding. LMC anticipates a reduction in labor costs through increased contractor efficiency, and by acquiring materials in bulk it can also drive down front-end expenses for Emblem apartment communities.

“On a typical community, we make thousands of decisions to only build it once. At Emblem, we make all of these decisions once and replicate that prototype nationwide at a cost savings to residents,” said Todd Farrell, president of LMC. “There is a troubling lack of quality yet attainable homes in the suburban rental housing supply, and we’re taking direct aim at that missing middle with LMC Emblem Communities.