Urbanstreet and Wingspan Combine Multifamily Platforms

UrbanStreet Group and Wingspan Development Group have combined their multifamily and mixed-use development platforms in a strategic alliance designed to accelerate development and expand both companies’ reach.

Under the new structure, Wingspan will transition its future pipeline of multifamily and mixed-use developments to UrbanStreet, which will lead the partnership’s multifamily development efforts. The companies have described the transaction as a merger of Wingspan’s multifamily and mixed-use platform into UrbanStreet.

Wingspan Development Group is the development arm of Nicholas Family of Companies, a Mount Prospect, Illinois-based family-owned organization with operations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida.

The companies bring a substantial existing track record to the combination. UrbanStreet and Nicholas Family of Companies have worked together for more than a decade and have delivered more than 7,500 multifamily units across 25 completed projects, representing more than $3 billion in combined development value.

Wingspan is also bringing a significant future pipeline to the relationship. Nick Papanicholas Jr., CEO and managing director of Nicholas Family of Companies, told Multifamily Dive that Wingspan has between 7,500 and 10,000 units in various stages of development that will move into the alliance, with UrbanStreet leading development.

The companies say the arrangement is intended to accelerate that pipeline by combining their development infrastructure and experience.

UrbanStreet, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, will continue operating independently from Nicholas Family of Companies. Two Wingspan Development employees will transition to UrbanStreet, while existing ownership stakes and management structures will remain unchanged.

Current projects, partnerships, investment structures and financial commitments are also expected to remain unaffected.

Nicholas & Associates, the general contracting arm of Nicholas Family of Companies, will continue providing construction services for applicable multifamily projects under the alliance in Illinois, Florida and Wisconsin, as well as other markets where feasible.

Wingspan’s role in multifamily will shift toward investment and third-party construction services once its currently active projects are accounted for. The company plans to focus its direct development activity increasingly on sports and entertainment venues, retail, industrial and land development.

Wingspan Capital will continue supporting capital formation and investor relations across the Wingspan and UrbanStreet platforms.

The combination comes as the firms position themselves for another period of multifamily growth. Papanicholas told Multifamily Dive that more predictable taxes and insurance costs, along with a slowdown in new apartment deliveries, are making development opportunities increasingly viable.

Wingspan currently has approximately $225 million in assets under management and is targeting growth to roughly $500 million, according to Papanicholas.

The alliance builds on a long-standing relationship between the organizations. Their prior collaborations include multifamily and mixed-use developments in the Chicago market, with Nicholas & Associates also having served as contractor on UrbanStreet projects.