Campus Apartments Completes 4 Student Housing Properties

Campus Apartments has invested more than $220 million in four new student housing developments totaling 1,643 beds in Knoxville, Tenn.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and its first ground-up project in Philadelphia.

All four projects, which will serve the University of Michigan, University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the University of Pennsylvania, are within walking distance of their campuses and offer modern, fully furnished apartments and market-leading community amenities.

“We’re excited to be providing students with high-quality housing in Knoxville, Ann Arbor and our hometown, Philadelphia,” Daniel Bernstein, Campus Apartments president & chief investment officer, said in a prepared statement. “We pride ourselves on offering students a place where they can excel—a place to live, study, socialize and even exercise, just steps away from campus. We’ve been thrilled with the initial response to these four new developments, and we look forward to continuing to surpass our residents’ expectations.”

The new projects come just weeks after Bernstein described the 60-year-old company’s investment strategy to Multi-Housing News, noting that Campus Apartments had “responded to the current investment climate by turning to development as the best path for driving yield.”

While the vertically-integrated real estate company also owns and operates millennial-oriented multifamily properties throughout the United States, Bernstein told MHN that student housing has less cyclical volatility than other sectors and “still offers excellent risk-adjusted returns.”

New Project Details

The company opened two new off-campus communities in Ann Arbor, The Yard and Six11. The Yard is a 590-bed, mixed-use community that offers a Main Street location with ground-floor retail that is close to campus. Amenities include a clubhouse, a 24-hour fitness center, a heated pool, courtyard grill station with fire pits, multi-screen TV lounge, gaming lounge and private shuttle. Six11, which also has ground-floor retail, is a 350-bed high-rise located directly across the street from Central Campus. The property has a 24-hour fitness center, a penthouse lounge with views of the city along with a rooftop terrace, grill station and fire pits.

TENN is located on Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, steps from the university’s campus. The 603-bed, mixed-use property has three-, four- and five-bedroom floor plans and an amenity package including a clubhouse, fitness center, study lounge and putting green. An internal courtyard features a swimming pool, grill stations and fire pits.

While Campus Apartments has owned and managed student housing in the University City section of Philadelphia for 60 years, The Simon at Founders Row is its first ground-up development in the area. The mid-rise property is very close to the University of Pennsylvania’s campus and offers residents spacious, fully-furnished units and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, Campus Apartments sold a 383-bed student housing portfolio in June that served students at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., for $30 million to a private investment vehicle managed by Beacon Assets. The 71-building portfolio was about 99 percent occupied the past two academic years.