Or is it pretty much a desperate attempt by the developer to get SOMETHING in there?

As @Jonathan Greene mentioned it can be that the relationship is not well enough developed, however I’ve pitched opportunities to some of my closest friends who have given similar objections simply because all they’ve ever Interested in are common stocks, REITs, and mutual funds.

I went under contract for a 2nd town home in my primary residential development thinking it would be a good way to dip my toe into the world of rentals and property management.

So was wonder where I can go who I can talk to on developing a credibility packet.

No doubt, @markainley GC realty and development 

The only things that you can do with it are: hold it, sell it, split it, or develop it. 

You're going to have to develop your own repertoire to some extent.

I'm in commercial construction lending and developers frequently talk about the price of labor being a major cost that is limiting the financial feasibility of some projects.

Hello everyone Devon here from Sunny SouthWest Florida(Estero), a little bit about me I am new license Real Estate Agent in Florida and I do have some real world experience in Rentals(New York area, Georgia) I would say far from a professional at it :-)  My professional background is in Software Development and Cloud Architect(AWS,Google) and Online Marketing.As I get older I am feeling the urge to go FT into Real Estate and enjoying the ups and downs of investing into Real Estate.I am definitely looking forward to sharing what I  know and experience I have in addition I am definitely looking forward to learning so much from all of you guys.Hopefully I will get the chance to meet some of you guys offline.- "Meet you on the beaches of the world"

The larger properties in the 100s of unit range tend to be owned by larger companies who have developed systems to maximize returns over the long run.