Greystar, Provident Acquire 2 Student Housing Properties

The properties are located near the University of Washington in Seattle.

Exterior of student housing property

The Nordheim Court property. Image courtesy of Greystar Real Estate Partners

A public-private partnership between Greystar Real Estate Capital, Provident Resources Group and the University of Washington has secured $183 million in tax-exempt bond financing for, and completed the acquisition of, two on-campus housing communities serving the Seattle university’s students, faculty and staff.

The properties, Nordheim Court and Radford Court, are now owned by Provident, a national nonprofit organization focused on developing, owning and operating educational, healthcare and government facilities that make a positive impact on communities, under a ground lease with the University of Washington. As of May 1, they are managed and operated by Greystar’s Student Living team. Starting this summer, Greystar’s Pacific Northwest Construction team will begin upgrading both residential properties and common areas over a three-year period.

The acquisitions are part of Phase 1 of UW’s multiphase plan known as UH4 to increase housing options and improve housing quality for students. The university will use proceeds from the sale of the properties to develop additional on-campus undergraduate housing to accommodate enrollment growth, alleviate existing demand and provide additional bed capacity to support the replacement of existing residence halls. In a second phase, two additional communities – Blakely Village and Laurel Village – will be redeveloped. Provident will also own a long-term ground lease for those properties and Greystar will be the developer and property manager.

Housing plans

Built in 2003, Nordheim Court has 454 beds and serves single upper-division UW students. Radford Court was completed in 2000 and provides housing for 399 UW students with families and staff. Rents are set below market rates with about 127 units designated at 50 percent of the Area Median Income for the UW student families. The facility also has a 77-space child-care center.

Under UH4 Phase II, Blakeley Village, which currently has 80 student family apartments, will be expanded to about 1,000 student apartment beds by summer 2028. Laurel Village, which also has 80 student family apartments now, will be transformed into approximately 350 apartments for students and student families. About 33 of the apartments will have rents set at 50 percent AMI for student families. The project, which will also add a 123-space child-care facility, is also slated for completion in summer 2028.

Aaron Keeler, Greystar managing director of development, and Jared Everett, managing director of university partnerships at Greystar, led the transaction and worked with bond underwriters Barclays and Raymond Jones. Chris Hicks, president of Provident Resources Group, worked closely with Greystar and the University of Washington on the public-partnership deal to free up capital to advance the university’s housing needs.

Greystar’s Student Living team has 26 university partnerships, comprised of more than 40 communities and nearly 27,000 on-campus beds. Additionally, Greystar oversees more than 30,000 residential units in the Seattle area, including two off-campus communities catering to UW students.