Harrison Street Buys Stake in Arizona Student Housing Portfolio

922 Place Apartments. Image via Google Street View

Harrison Street has entered a joint venture with American Campus Communities for the ownership of eight student housing assets serving students at the Arizona State University in Tempe and Glendale, Ariz. The company is set to pay $551.3 million for a 45 percent stake ownership in the 8,187-bed portfolio, which includes seven on-campus communities and one off-campus asset.  

ACC will retain a 55 percent stake ownership and will continue to manage the properties. The firm originally developed six of the assets and redeveloped the other two through a public-private partnership with ASU.

The agreement allowed the university to redirect capital toward research, Morgan Olsen, executive vice president, treasurer & CFO at ASU, said in prepared remarks. Following the first phase of the transaction, ACC provided $5 million to ASU for scholarships to support students and sustainability. 

Portfolio breakdown

Harrison Street initially acquired a 45 percent stake ownership in three communities for $271.7 million. The properties are:

• Barrett Honors College, a 1,721-bed community developed by ACC in 2009. The LEED Gold-certified asset includes 12 classrooms, an advisement center, administrative offices and a dining facility. 
• Tooker House, a 1,594-bed residential college that ACC built in 2017 for undergraduate students in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. The community is also LEED Gold-certified and features digital classrooms, maker spaces with 3D printers, laser cutters and soldering tools.
• Greek Leadership Village, a 957-bed community developed by ACC in 2018. The community is also LEED-certified.

The second phase of the transaction involving the remaining five properties is expected to close in late 2022 for $279.6 million. The assets are:

• Vista del Sol and Villas at Vista del Sol, two communities that feature a 12,000-square-foot academic support services center. ACC developed the properties in 2008 and 2012.
• 922 Place, a 468-bed off-campus apartment community, steps from the ASU-Tempe campus. ACC acquired the 2009-built community in 2012.
• Casa de Oro, a 365-bed community located in the center of ASU’s Glendale campus. ACC developed the property in 2012.
• Manzanita Hall, a community originally developed in 1967 and redeveloped by ACC in 2013. The LEED Silver-certified community can accommodate 816 students. 

Harrison Street’s student housing portfolio encompasses around 8,900 beds across ASU campuses in Tempe, Glendale and Mesa, Ariz. Nationwide, the company is present in 145 university markets and owns 113,000 beds.

Building a diverse portfolio

The company specializes in alternative real estate properties and has invested more than $5 billion in public-private partnerships in sectors, such as military housing, senior housing and health care. 

In November last year, Harrison Street closed the largest portfolio transaction in its history, after teaming up with Reliant Real Estate Management LLC to acquire 26 self storage properties across the U.S. 

Harrison Street continues to make large investments in 2022. Last week, the company launched a $1.5 billion venture with Core Spaces for the acquisition and development of single-family built-to-rent properties.