Apartment Specialist McKinley Expands into Student Housing

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Ann Arbor, Mich.—McKinley, an owner and manager of about 33,000 apartment units, is expanding into student housing. To pursue that end, the company has hired Therese Cochran as its director of student housing services. Previously, Cochran oversaw Buckingham’s student-housing portfolio of more than 2,500 beds.

“Our clients have asked us to expand upon the service that we’re providing,” Ken Polsinelli, chief real estate officer for McKinley, tells MHN. “We’re sure that our focus will deliver results for student housing investors, the education community and the students.

“It’s a natural entry for McKinley, since we’re combining Alex’s successful track record in student housing with our investment in the McKinley platform,” Polsinelli adds, referring to Alex Jackiw, the company’s vice president and managing director, residential client services. The company hired industry veteran Jackiw, who is chairman-elect of the National Apartment Association, in May.

The company is no stranger to the student housing realm. McKinley started as a student housing operator in 1968, and later followed an acquisition strategy of buying garden apartments in tertiary college student markets such Ann Arbor, Champaign, Ill., and Gainesville, Fla.

McKinley is no stranger to tertiary markets, either. As CEO Albert M. Berriz told MHN TV earlier this year, “We’re really away from the crowd, because most of the crowd is in primary markets. We’re in markets that no one wants to be in, and dealing with assets that are the hardest to do.”