DEAL OF THE DAY: GE Provides $44.65M Loan to Student Housing Complex

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAustin, Texas–GE Real Estate recently provided a $44.65 million, on-book fixed-rate loan to The Preiss Co. and HSBC Real Estate Equity Partners (USA) LP for the purchase of Campus Estates, a housing complex serving students from the University of Texas and Austin Community College, in Austin, Texas. The funding includes $5.7 million for capital expenditures for deferred maintenance as well as upgrades on more than half of the property’s 498 units.Preiss also owns the adjacent University Village at Austin student apartments, which it acquired in November 2006. After completing $2 million in upgrades, they were able to increase occupancy from 90 percent to 97 percent. Preiss plans to gradually transition Campus Estates to a tiered rental structure (standard, upgraded and premium), a strategy that also was effective at University Village.Campus Estates was built in two phases and has 39 three-story residential buildings on a 45-acre site. Located at 300 Crossing Pl., it is about eight miles south of the Central Business District and the main campus of the University of Texas, which has approximately 50,000 students.“This acquisition strengthens our presence in this area and provides operational efficiency benefits as well cross selling opportunities for our two adjacent properties,” says Donna Preiss, founder and CEO of Preiss. “We’ve had a good relationship with GE, which recognized that, as tuition costs continue to rise, so will demand for our lower-cost student housing properties.”