Baker Barrios Architects expands its reach with development management services launch

A 755-bed, 243-unit student housing complex broke ground in August within a 15-minute walk from the University of Mississippi in Oxford. The developers on this 370,000-sf project, whose first phase is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2027, include Christa Development, Development Ventures Group, Kayne Anderson Real Estate, and BirdDog Development Partners. That last company is an LLC launched last Spring by Baker Barrios Architects, which is providing architectural and master planning services for the project near Ole Miss.

Montgomery Martin Contractors is the GC on the student housing complex, BirdDog’s first project. The buildings will include a mix of housing types (cottages, townhouses, and flats), and a 3,000-sf event venue. The complex will offer fully furnished one- to four-bedroom units and a variety of amenities, including a resort-style pool, beach volleyball and pickleball courts, indoor and outdoor fitness areas, sauna and cold plunge, lounges, study areas, a multi-sport simulator, and a yoga/spin studio, according to the Oxford Eagle newspaper. 

Baker Barrios’ CEO Tim Baker and Chief Strategy Officer John Slavens are serving as BirdDog’s managing partners. The new firm offers development management services that include site selection, design, planning, budgeting, construction, and operations. Baker Barrios sees BirdDog as a bridge between its architectural practices and preferred developers, working as a kind of project clearinghouse to connect clients with industry partners. The market sectors that BirdDog focuses on are student housing, mixed use, multifamily, and medical offices.

A comprehensive service approach

BirdDog is based in Orlando, Fla., where Baker Barrios also has an office. In an email response to BD+C’s questions, Tim Baker wrote that BirdDog Development partners with other developers “to bring their visions to life.” BirdDog “formalizes the delivery” of Baker Barrios’ three-plus decades of expertise.

BirdDog’s services are not confined to Baker Barrios’ clients but are being offered “to any developer who would like to work with a partner that offers a comprehensive approach.” For example, wrote Baker, developers interested in expanding into new sectors might benefit from the architecture firm’s wide-ranging experience in projects it has done in multiple sectors.

“BirdDog closes the gaps in the development process by delivering full-cycle services including investment strategy, market research, feasibility analysis, entitlement and zoning, land acquisition, proforma management, construction management, branding, marketing, and project turnover,” said Baker.