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MARCH/APRIL 2015 STUDENT HOUSING BUSINESS .COM 94 MARKET PROFILE: COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS the Northpoint Crossing Phase I, developed by Capstone Collegiate Communities, Hudson Trails, U Center at Northgate and The Legacy at Traditions. In addition to the aforemen- tioned White Creek Apartments, fall 2015 will see the opening of The Domain at Northgate, a 344-bed community developed by Asset Campus Housing, and The Northpoint Crossing Phase II, for an additional 2,500 beds in College Station. "We really enjoy operating in the College Station market," says Kolososki, the Peak Campus busi- ness development manager. "It is your quintessential college town, with a strong, loyal and proud identity. Additionally, strong ath- letics, diverse student base, night- life and university tradition make it an extremely exciting market. We are proud to have a strong presence in College Station and to be able to offer great living experi- ences for Aggies." Asset Campus Housing (ACH) operates 10 properties in the mar- ket that total more than 5,000 beds, including a combination of off-campus private residence halls, garden-style by-the-bed, garden-style by-the-unit, high- rise, mixed-use and cottage-style communities. Joe Goodwin, senior vice presi- dent of marketing for ACH, says, "We think there is a really good balance in the market right now. Over the course of the last decade we've developed three deals and purchased two deals in College Station and all have proven to be very successful. College Station as a whole is a unique market because not only do you have to account for Texas A&M;'s enroll- ment, but you also need to look at Blinn College's enrollment to get a real sense of the overall demand." ACH's internal surveys have placed their properties' occupan- cy levels in the mid- to upper-90 percentile range. "Considering that the market pre-lease average is tracking to last year, the market as a whole is doing a good job of absorbing the new supply and we expect continued growth," says Goodwin. College Station has done very well for ACH, and vice versa. "For several reasons, we just don't like this market, we love it," Goodwin adds. "The university is situated in population growth feeder areas like Houston, Dallas and others. It's got strong enrollment growth, 15 percent in the past four to fve years. It's a frst-class institution with a strong core that is very rich in tradition and has a very large junior college feeder school within a few miles of campus. The university is great at working with off-campus housing provid- ers and the city really does treat us like we are an important part of the community." Another property to come online last year was Northpoint Crossing, developed by Capstone Collegiate Communities. The project's second phase will come online this fall, for a total of 928 beds. Adjacent to campus on the north side, the development is a wood-frame structure above a podium that houses 55,000 square feet of retailers such as Minuti's Coffee, Toasties Sub Shop and World of Beer. New York-based Vesper Holdings entered College Station in 2011 with the purchase of Campus View, an 867-bed, 478- unit complex developed in the 1970s. Located within one mile of campus, Campus View is more than 90 percent occupied and hopes to end up in the high 90-percentile range for the 2016- 2017 year. Since the purchase, Vesper has done a signifcant renovation to the leasing offce, ftness center and pool area, and will soon renovate the interiors in units with new fooring, light fxtures, appliances and furniture packages. "There was a period of time where we were lukewarm on the market," says Doug Kligman, chief investment offcer of Vesper. "There was a tremendous amount of development while enrollment at the university was stagnant, but since then the market dynamic has changed and there has been rapid enrollment growth in spite of a new supply. It's still a good equilibrium," he says. Because of these favorable conditions, Vesper is looking to acquire more properties in the market. Location of course is para- mount, says Kligman, but so is purchasing a property that can be priced at an affordable level for a majority of students. "Our observation has been that new supply is priced over $1,000, and that appeals to maybe the top 10 percent of the most affuent students," he says. "There's a lim- ited amount of students who can afford high-end properties." Vesper is pleased with its invest- ment in College Station, and calls it an exciting part of the country to be in. "The town is transforming in front of our eyes, with regards to the quality of retail and hotel offerings," says Kligman, who professes to be a frequent visitor to Rudy's BBQ when in town. American Campus Commun- ities owns fve properties in the College Station-Bryan market, including its recently opened U Centre at Northgate, a 784-bed community. ACC's assets, which total 3,116 beds, have maintained 100 percent occupancy over the past fve years with average rental rate growth of 3.5 percent. This growth has not caused ACC to have to incentivize renting for any students. "In fact," says The second phase of Northpoint Crossing will open this fall, bringing the total capacity to 928 beds. BUILDING EXCELLENCE FOR 75 YEARS. www.wolvgroup.com C E L E B R A T I N G Y E A R S The Lodges of Colorado Springs