G.S. Jaggi, known as “Jaggi”, is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Iridius Capital, a real estate firm based in Tucson, Arizona. Iridius closely follows real estate trends and consumer behaviors to identify exciting acquisition and development opportunities. Under Jaggi’s leadership, Iridius Capital has brought over $1.5B of real estate projects to life across all major real estate asset classes since its founding in 2011. Jaggi prioritizes cycle-resistant properties that are positioned to succeed even as real estate trends and consumer preferences change.
RendezVous Urban Flats, a new luxury residential building, is currently under construction in the heart of downtown Tucson. It is being developed by Aerie Development in partnership with G.S. Jaggi and Iridius Capital. Pre-leasing is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2020 with the first residents moving in by the following quarter.
One hundred rental homes will fill six floors over an existing below-grade parking structure. Each flat will have high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows stretching the entire length of the living area. RendezVous will offer a mix of one and two-bedroom homes with private patios. The first floor will also feature common areas for entertaining.
The amenity package for RendezVous residents will be downtown Tucson itself. The project site is on the southwest corner of Congress Street and Stone Avenue. This intersection marks the center point of Tucson’s address system as well as the center of downtown Tucson’s burgeoning downtown renaissance. The block is home to what has long since been the most iconic building of Tucson’s skyline, the 1 South Church office tower, and will now be home to Tucson’s most iconic residential building. RendezVous residents will be within easy walking distance to restaurants, live music, and an art scene that extends from galleries to the street.
RendezVous was designed by Richard Drinkwater of The Davis Experience, a Tempe based architecture firm. The meticulously considered details of the building capture the character and history of the surrounding area while also pulling downtown further into the future. Colors were selected from the surrounding Chase, Fox Theatre, and Ben’s Bells buildings.
RendezVous was laid out to maximize views for residents and to preserve historic pedestrian patterns that date back to the 1800s. Pedestrians will be able to walk under the corners of the RendezVous building and they will be encouraged to diagonally cross the block through the public pathway between RendezVous and the neighboring 1 South Church office tower. The Ben’s Bells Kindness mural that was removed from the site for construction will be returned to the site as a focal point of the plaza.
The City of Tucson was also instrumental in shepherding Davis and Aerie’s vision through the required approval processes. They were willing and able to think creatively with the team to ensure some of the most unique elements of the projects could be brought to bear. The balconies extend over public sidewalk space and the city worked through an air-rights agreement to allow the plans to move forward.
Walkscore.com gives the site an 82, 71, and 99 respectively for being walkable, transit-oriented, and a biker’s paradise. Such high marks are rarely found together in Tucson. Development plans include building out a pedestrian pathway along Broadway Boulevard on the southern border of the site. The block that RendezVous will share with 1 South Church is surrounded by four streetcar stops with easy east or westbound boarding.
In the revitalization of any downtown, there are turning points. There are major events that you can look back on and identify as the moment that everything changed, that new momentum was spurred. In Tucson, we can look back on TEP moving its headquarters to downtown, the arrival of the streetcar, students coming downtown to live at The Cadence, Caterpillar choosing Tucson as the home for its new campus, the opening of the AC Marriott hotel.
The RendezVous opening will be another turning point to remember is the story of downtown Tucson. It will be part of the growing package that Tucson has to offer to new employers (and new employees) considering a relocation. It is a step in the direction of being able to compete with the luxury living experiences available in Denver, Dallas, and other competing metro areas.
The development of RendezVous is possible today because of the public and private investment in downtown Tucson that came before it and because the past several years have represented the best of times in the multifamily market segment. Real Data reports that multifamily rents rose an average of 9% across Tucson between the end of Q2 2018 and the end of Q2 2019.
The extraordinary design of RendezVous and the seamless execution of its construction is to be credited to the work of Roger Karber, president of Aerie Development, and his team. Mr. Karber is a meticulous observer of multifamily life, often choosing to spend time living in neighborhoods and residential developments that can inform future projects. Scott Rathbun and Erin Riggins, VP of Operations and VP of Finance at Aerie, ensure all required parties come together with extraordinary precision.
Roger Karber was the original founder of the Avilla Homes concept and Aerie Development built and sold 7 Avilla Homes communities across Arizona. They also recently build, stabilized, and sold Pima Canyon Luxury apartments, a 240-unit development at Oracle and Orange Grove roads.
Iridius Capital is Aerie Development’s primary capital partner and a member of their extended strategy team. Iridius and Aerie work hand in hand from project conceptualization through disposition to bring unique real estate projects to the market.
Caroline Janjic is the Chief Operating Officer of Iridius Capital, a Tucson-based real estate investment company. Iridius works with experienced real estate operators and developers across asset classes to develop, acquire, and oversee best in class real estate assets.
About G.S. Jaggi
Having called Tucson home for over 20 years, G.S. Jaggi is a strong supporter of the Tucson community and the University of Arizona athletics program. As the leader of Iridius Capital’s Philanthropy Committee, Jaggi prioritizes local organizations that work to improve the health and wellbeing of children, arts and entertainment, and downtown revitalization.
While Iridius Capital is Jaggi’s primary focus, G.S. Jaggi is also the principal of Jaggi Family Office, which invests in a variety of real estate, financial services, and fintech companies. The Jaggi Family Offices’ portfolio includes NexMetro Communities, a leader in the fast-growing build-to-rent single family home real estate asset class, and Singularity Capital, a fintech fund focused on the mortgage industry. G.S. Jaggi was a founder of both companies and continues to serve as a board member of NexMetro Communities and General Partner of Singularity Capital.
