AMCAL Equities, Star America Land $150M Refi for San Jose Student Housing

The Grad. Image courtesy of CIM Group

AMCAL Equities and Star America have secured a $150 million loan from CIM Group to refinance its 260-unit student housing community in San Jose, Calif. The loan was arranged by Gortikov Capital’s Bryan Gortikov.

AMCAL and Star America worked with Swenson to develop The Grad, which was aimed at accommodating the students of the nearby San Jose State University. The Grad offers 1,039 beds throughout its fully furnished units that are in studio, and one- to four-bedroom floorplans. The student housing community was also built with a computer lab, fitness center, swimming pool, jumbotron, sun deck, study rooms, bike storage and a parking structure with 263 spaces. The 19-story community also has 14,889 square feet of ground floor retail.

Located at 88 E. San Carlos St., The Grad is a block away from both San Jose State University and downtown San Jose. Residents also get nearby access to several public transportation options like Caltrain, BART and the VTA Light Rail.

STUDENT HOUSING STILL ATTRACTING CAPITAL

Earlier this year, CIM Group also provided a nearly $136 million construction loan to Medistar Corp. to build a 714-bed student housing community near the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Houston. Besides The Grad, other student housing projects have also attracted capital despite the challenges that COVID-19 presented to universities.

In November, Greystar secured $600 million in financing for three mixed-use student housing projects located in Texas and Maryland. Alliant Credit Union also provided $51 million in acquisition and refinancing loans in October for student housing communities near Louisiana State University, the University of Tennessee and Baylor University in Texas. A study from the National Multifamily Housing Council in July also showed that student housing would continue to be in demand, even with expected declines in enrollment growth.