Florida Student Tower Trades

Three developers teamed up to build this 15-story community.

Provident Resources Group has purchased the 15-story, mixed-use student housing tower, UnionWest at Creative Village, in Orlando, Fla. Halstatt Real Estate Partners sold the purpose-built community which serves students at the University of Central Florida and Valencia College.

The property is located at the corner of West Livingston Street and North Terry Avenue. It features 644 student beds, more than 100,000 square feet of academic space, 11,000 square feet of street-level retail and 600 parking spaces.

Completed in August 2019, the tower was built by Ustler Development, Development Ventures Group and Halsatt Real Estate Partners. The $105 million project was part of Creative Village, a $1.5 billion mixed-use master redevelopment project in downtown Orlando featuring restaurants, art, parks and open spaces. Now, Creative Village is the University of Central Florida and Valencia College’s downtown campus hub.

Baker Barrios Architect’s Grayson Silver, who designed UnionWest, told Multi-Housing News that the design of the community was very intentional.

“A mixed-use approach satisfies the desires for certain amenities, conveniences, accessibility, and vibrant community that today’s students seek while also creating flexibility that can make a project more financially viable,” he said.

The sale of UnionWest at Creative Village was funded through tax-exempt and taxable bonds underwritten by BofA Securities. This transaction marks the second successful exit involving bond financing for Development Ventures Group, known as the Deven Group.

Other mixed-use student communities

Mixed-use student housing is becoming an increasingly popular trend. More specifically, schools across the Southeast are seeing an increase in the demand for these types of communities.

For developers, mixed-use projects can be more financially stable because they attract a diverse group of tenants, reducing the risk associated with relying solely on student occupancy, according to Doug Ressler, business manager, Yardi Matrix.

Jeff Warwick, CEO of CCI Real Estate, based in Suwanee, Ga., said his firm is developing three mixed-use student housing projects on the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia Southern University campuses. Each is a redevelopment of the Baptist College Ministry buildings on the schools’ campuses as part of an ongoing partnership between CCI and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

“Mixed-use housing offers essential gathering and collaborative spaces for students beyond the traditional school campus setting, which is much-needed given the busy and high-stress nature of their daily lives,” Warwick told MHN. “Rather than just a place to study and sleep, mixed-use housing fosters the sense of community needed to truly live, learn, socialize and thrive as a student.”

In addition to UnionWest, Baker Barrios has also designed other student-oriented buildings aiming to serve the same mixed-use need. The company designed the recently opened Grand Center Residence Hall at the University of Tampa.

The 10-story, 460,000-square-foot building is the largest building on campus to date. It includes a residence hall with 600 beds, 37 faculty offices, five classrooms, a designated study lounge for veterans and other study spaces. It also features a Starbucks, spaces for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Institute for Sales Excellence, the International Programs Office and parking for 440 vehicles.