Foreign Investor to Buy Texas Student Housing in $70M Deal
The Asia Pacific real estate trust’s student accommodation portfolio in the U.S. now counts three communities.
Wildwood Lubbock. Image courtesy of Ascott Residence Trust
Ascott Residence Trust (ART), a real estate trust sponsored by Ascott Ltd., is set to pay $70 million to Crow Holdings for Wildwood Lubbock, a 1,005-bed student community in Lubbock, Texas. The property, serving students at Texas Tech University (TTU), is already fully leased for the 2021 university year. The transaction is scheduled for completion later this month.
Wildwood Lubbock last changed hands in 2018 when a private real estate fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital Real Estate acquired the asset from Dovetail Development.
The 2017-built property encompasses 25 three-story buildings across more than 25 acres at 1701 N. Quaker Ave. Floorplans for the 295 units feature a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom residences, ranging from 1,234 to 1,760 square feet. All apartments include washers and dryers and high-speed internet access. Students have access to a gym, a volleyball and a basketball court, a pet park, two swimming pools and two spas, as well as 430 parking spaces.
Texas Tech University is roughly 3 miles from the community, with the TTU Health Sciences Center 2 miles away. The retail corridor on Fourth Street, which includes shopping and dining options, is situated 3 miles from the property.
Wildwood Lubbock is ART’s third student accommodation asset in North America. The trust, which is owned by one of Asia’s leading hospitality investors, expanded its investment mandate to include student accommodation assets in the U.S. and Japan in January of this year. One month later, ART entered the U.S. market with the $95 million acquisition of Signature West Midtown, a 525-bed student community in Atlanta.
In June, ART announced plans to invest $73.4 million in the development of 678-bed student accommodation in Columbia, S.C. The new community will serve over 35,000 students enrolled at the nearby University of South Carolina and is set for completion in the second quarter of 2023.
