Why Bonaventure Waited Four Years to Break Ground on the 344-Unit Attain at Swift Creek

Features September 11, 2026| | Amy Wolff Sorter

In an environment where multifamily developers scramble to make projects work economically, Bonaventure took a different approach with Attain at Swift Creek in Chester, VA, a southern suburb of Richmond.

It waited.

The 58-acre site was under contract for four years while the developer worked through entitlements, changing construction costs and interest rates, and a financing strategy focused on a decades-long hold.

The delay was worth it. Bonaventure closed on the land in 2026 and recently broke ground on the $93.3 million, 344-unit project, its largest Attain-branded development to date.

“We took the property through rezoning and site approval before committing capital to the acquisition,” Chris Cobb, president of Bonaventure Development, told ApartmentBuildings.com.

“This allowed us to bring long-term financing to the project from day one, rather than carrying a raw land position.”

Sorting the Site

In May 2022, Bonaventure put the Kroger-adjacent greenfield site at 6805 Greenyard Rd under contract. The seller, a private landowner, had inherited the property.

“This was undeveloped land in a submarket where sustained population growth has outpaced new housing supply,” Cobb said.

The site rezoning was completed in August 2023, and the project appeared ready to proceed.

Then came massive interest-rate increases and construction-cost hikes.

“The original underwriting no longer supported moving forward at the pace we’d originally anticipated,” Cobb said.

Rather than proceed with a project that could negatively affect long-term returns, Bonaventure slowed the site-plan process until the fundamentals became more favorable.

But the time wasn’t wasted. Each new development requires multiple steps, including site engineering, architectural design and permit approvals. At Swift Creek, the two-year gap between the 2023 rezoning and 2025 site approval “allowed us to fully prepare the project before committing the capital required to acquire the land and begin construction,” Cobb said.

Figuring the Financing

Bonaventure selected a financing structure that matched its ownership strategy, opting for a 40-year, fixed-rate Section 221(d)(4) loan that combines construction and permanent financing. Walker & Dunlop originated the loan, with Bonaventure backing the project on its balance sheet as it pursues a long-term equity partner.

“The structure provides greater certainty around long-term borrowing costs and aligns well with our long-term ownership strategy,” Cobb said.

Bonaventure is one of the more active HUD developers in the country, making the patience required by the program a natural fit for the way it underwrites projects.

Progressing the Portfolio

Swift Creek differs from Bonaventure’s other under-construction Attain-branded projects.

Attain at Greenbrier at 1553 River Birch Run in Chesapeake, VA, is an adaptive reuse of a former commercial site, while Norfolk, VA-based Attain at Newton at 6659 E. Virginia Beach Blvd. was structured as a Qualified Opportunity Zone investment with a family office partner.

Cobb said Chesterfield County provided the ideal location for a multifamily development because housing demand is outpacing supply. The region has one of the stronger long-term outlooks in Virginia, he said, thanks to sustained population growth, meaningful employer expansion and continued public and private infrastructure investment.

“All of that supports the demand fundamentals we considered when we committed to Swift Creek,” Cobb said. “It’s also consistent with what we look for when evaluating locations for the Attain brand.”

The three Attain developments underway will deliver 950 units along the Interstate 95 and Interstate 64 corridors in Virginia when completed. Cobb said Bonaventure has an active pipeline of additional Attain projects in various stages of predevelopment.

“We expect continued groundbreaking activity into 2027 and beyond,” he said. “Specific project timing depends on capital markets, entitlement process and construction cost dynamics. We’re deliberate about that as we move forward.”

Patience Wins Out

The result of Bonaventure’s patience is the pending delivery of more housing in a submarket that truly needs it.

“Swift Creek is our largest ground-up development to date and required the longest patience horizon between site control and groundbreaking,” Cobb said.

Just as important is what happened during the four years between agreement and groundbreaking. Bonaventure used the time to get the entitlements, design, approvals and financing structure in place before putting significant capital at risk.

“We’re committed to a long-term vision and disciplined execution,” Cobb said. “Bonaventure intends to own, operate and reinvest in the property for decades to come.”

Photo: Attain at Swift Creek rendering, courtesy of Bonaventure