CRG, Landmark Break Ground on South Carolina Student Housing

Rendering of The Standard. Image courtesy of CRG and Lamar Johnson Collaborative

CRG has partnered for the first time with Landmark Properties to develop a 678-bed student housing project in Columbia, S.C. The partnership broke ground on The Standard at Columbia, which is expected to start pre-leasing in fall 2022 before its expected completion in fall 2023.

J.J. Smith, managing partner of CRG, said in prepared remarks that the company has competed with Landmark for many years securing sites in university towns. Instead, the two companies decided to form a partnership with The Standard at Columbia project, Smith added in his prepared statement.

The project team also includes CRG’s integrated partner Lamar Johnson Collective who designed the project, while CRG’s parent company Clayco will serve as the general contractor. The project also received $65 million in construction financing from Citizens Bank, Smith told Multi-Housing News.

The 17-story student housing community will include 247 fully furnished units in studio and one- to five-bed apartments totaling 678 beds. The nearly 443,000-square-foot project will also include a rooftop pool, hot tub, jumbotron television, fitness center, golf simulator, game-day lounge, private and group study space and grilling stations. Located at the corner of Washington and Assembly Streets, The Standard at Columbia will also be blocks away from The University of South Carolina.

Wes Rogers, Landmark’s president & CEO, said in prepared remarks that there was strong demand for quality housing in the downtown submarket. Beyond The Standard at Columbia, Landmark is also working on its own student housing projects in Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Washington.

BILLION DOLLAR SUN BELT STRATEGY

Bethany Crispin, senior vice president & leader for Clayco’s residential business unit, said in prepared remarks that the company will continue to look for additional opportunities in the Columbia area.

CRG is also working on its $1 billion development strategy to create Class B workforce housing communities throughout the Sun Belt regions of the U.S. The company launched the initiative in November and is now nearing completion for Lakeview Green, a 118-unit mixed-use community in Birmingham, Ala., and Broadway Chapter, a 242-unit project in Fort Worth, Texas, that kicked off CRG’s workforce housing strategy.