Student Housing Business is the voice of the student housing industry.
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February it had closed two acqui- sitions totaling 10 assets consist- ing of 6,855 beds and 2,301 units. The company's portfolio now includes assets near top tier uni- versities like the University of North Carolina, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida and the University of Virginia. Fourth on the list is Inland Group, whose related entity Inland American Communities recently re-branded as University House Communities. University House, as Inland American, made a big push to acquire and develop. The company's most recent acqui- sition is the 355-bed Asbury Green project near the University of Denver. The company is rebrand- ing the project University House. University House Communities is making a play for properties that are walkable to campus, like Asbury Green. Rounding out the top fve is Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, who contin- ues to co-invest with strong devel- opers and companies to acquire development opportunities and student housing assets. In early March, Harrison Street partnered with Lutz Real Estate Investments to acquire University Meadows, a 616-bed property near Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. In the past three years, Lutz and Harrison Street have acquired more than 2,800 beds at universities around the country — and that is just one partnership that Harrison Street has. Other notable entries on RCA's list of the top 20 investors in stu- dent housing include: • The Scion Group: Chicago- based Scion has gone from own- ing 6,800 beds in 2010 to 16,253 beds — the nation's ffth largest owner of student housing — in 2014. In February 2015, the com- pany acquired three projects total- ing 2,293 beds: Avenue East, a 616-bed project near Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, formerly owned by a joint ven- ture of a private equity fund and Campus Crest Group; Woodlands of Columbia, a 1,209-bed proj- ect near the University of South Carolina; and University Edge, a 472-bed project in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, serving Louisiana State University. • Memphis-based EdR: The publicly traded REIT contin- ues to be active in acquisitions and development. The company acquired The District on Apache in September 2014 for $89.8 mil- lion. The project near Arizona State University has 900 beds and was featured on the cover of Student Housing Business last year. • The Preiss Company: The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company continues to acquire projects at a steady pace. Known for making capital improvements that return their investment quick- ly, TPCO has announced several acquisitions in the frst quarter of 2015. TPCO acquired the nine-sto- ry Vista student housing complex near the University of Denver in a joint venture. The property has 286 beds. Preiss acquired the Orion on Orpington, serving students at the University of Central Florida, it announced in January. The 624- bed project sits on 21 acres. WhaT's Driving acTiviTy? The most active region for investment sales in the sector was the Southeast, which had 14 Class A properties sell at an average cap rate of 6.1 percent and 23 Class B and C properties sell at an average cap rate of 6.75 percent, accord- ing to FourPoint Student Housing Investments. FourPoint's 2014 Year-End Student Housing Report also states that average sales prices for student housing have trended upward since 2012, with contributing factors including continued cap rate compression, lower interest rates, asset age and an increased focus by investors on assets with core pricing fun- damentals such as pedestrian to campus locations. According to investment sales brokers — those who intimately know the market and the buy- ers — the low interest rate envi- EdR's The District on Apache. WHERE STUDENT HOUSING POTENTIAL Meets PERFORMANCE A Top 10 Buyer of Student Housing since 2007, Pierce Education Properties is a major national investor and operator of student apartments. Through our acquisitions of core, core plus and value-added assets, we have: • Completed over $500 million in acquisitions since 2007, representing over 12,000 beds • Targeted $400 million in acquisitions over the next two years • Developed extensive capital relationships for best-in-class investment capacity and execution Our growing team continues to maximize value through positive investments. We are industry leaders with proven experience, innovation, and success. P i e r c e e d u c a t i o n P r o P e r t i e s . c o m Contact our acquisitions team at 619-297-0400 or email mmaruccia@PierceEducationProperties.com to discuss potential opportunities. INVESTMENT SPOTLIGHT: 100 Midtown, a 330 bed community serving Georgia Tech and Georgia State University students, is our 5th acquisition of 2014 adding approximately 2,800 new beds to our portfolio. $500+ MILLION IN ACQUISITIONS 1995 2015 2 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y INVESTMENT MARCH/APRIL 2015 STUDENT HOUSING BUSINESS .COM 42