Landmark, Liberty Mutual Team Up on 2 Student Housing Developments
The developments will serve Pennsylvania State University and the University of Connecticut.
Landmark Properties is entering into its first ever partnership with Liberty Mutual Investments to acquire and develop two purpose-built student housing communities in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The joint venture will develop The Mark State College and The Mark Mansfield for Pennsylvania State University and The University of Connecticut, respectively. The developments, which total 1,255 beds, were made possible with funds from TSB Capital Advisors.
The Mark State College is being built along East College Avenue in State College, adjacent to the Penn State Campus. The development adds to Landmark’s housing portfolio in the market, where it already owns and operates The Retreat at State College and The Station State College. This will be Liberty’s third student housing investment at the university.
The Mark Mansfield is being developed at the corner of North Eagleville Road and Ledoyt Road in Storrs, Conn. When it opens in the future, it will join Landmark’s The Standard at Four Corners, which opened earlier this month.
Completion dates for the projects were not disclosed.
Landmark owns and manages 115 properties with 72,000 beds. Currently, the developer has over 50 projects in various stages of construction. According to Landmark, the new joint venture is furthering the firm’s focus on purpose-built housing near public colleges, which already includes 17,000 beds.
A place for students
The Mark State College has been an ongoing project for Landmark since 2022. When completed, it will stand at 12 stories high. In March, Centre Daily Times reported that the planning commission’s outline of the project will incorporate 159 units with 515 beds. Community amenities will include a skydeck, pool and hot tub on the roof as well as a fitness center, clubhouse, sauna, sports simulator and more.
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The Times also revealed that the The State College location is being planned with retail space available on the first and second floors,.
For University of Connecticut students, The Mark Mansfield will include similar amenities to State College. When it welcomes students, the nine-story community will add an additional 740 beds for the area’s student housing market, which has faced some recent supply and development constraints.
Big investors flock to student housing
While this is the first time Liberty Mutual Group’s investment arm is partnering with Landmark on a student housing venture, the latter firm has entered similar partnerships with Manulife Investment Management. In 2025, the companies teamed up on development of The Standard at West Lafayette in Indiana, a 678-bed community intended to house students at Purdue University. It’s set to open in 2027.
Another major investment firm, Morgan Stanley, partnered with The Scion Group in June to acquire a 2,000-bed student housing portfolio in Mississippi for $262 million.
Harrison Street is also investing in student housing communities. This past summer, the firm partnered with LV Collective on Rambler College Park, a 1,003-bed mixed-use community that will house students at the University of Maryland.
