Peak Campus Management to Manage Purpose-Built Student Housing at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities
Peak Campus Management has been selected to manage The Mills at Riverbend Commons, adjacent to the Western Illinois University-Quad Cities campus in Moline, Ill.
By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer
Atlanta—Peak Campus Management has been selected to manage The Mills at Riverbend Commons, adjacent to the Western Illinois University-Quad Cities (WIU-QC) campus in Moline, Ill. The development is the newest purpose-built student housing development from Three Corners Development Inc.
The Mills at Riverbend Commons features fully furnished studios, two-bedroom-one-bath and four-bedroom-two-bath floor plans. Units include leather furniture, full-sized efficiency washer-dryers and 42-inch flat-panel LED TVs. Market-leading amenities include a fitness center, sand volleyball court, several lounge areas, picnic tables and grills, bike racks and student rooms on each floor.
“This was the perfect time to introduce a modern, purpose-built student housing asset to Moline, as enrollment at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities is growing rapidly, particularly among freshmen and sophomores,” Three Corners Development president Christopher Woods tells MHN.
The institution has recently announced a $35 million science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program expansion, he adds. “Thanks to that expansion and to private investment like The Mills at Riverbend Commons, WIU-QC now has all the physical assets and programs necessary to offer current and prospective enrollees an incredible educational value within a modern, 21st Century living-learning environment,” he reports.
The Mills at Riverbend Commons is for all intents and purposes on-campus housing for WIU-QC, Woods notes. The university’s new engineering building is right across the parking lot from the front door of the housing.
“Yet it is privately financed and professionally managed by a premier national firm, Peak Campus,” he adds. “WIU-QC students can create a sense of community and network with students attending other higher education institutions in the Quad Cities . . . That sense of community and networking will help them achieve the most from their higher education experiences in Moline.”
Peak Campus Management has started leasing efforts. “This project is a testament to our strong regional operating performance,” says Bob Clark, president of Atlanta-based Peak Campus Management. “We are excited to bring our world-class platform to the Western Illinois University market.”
The primary challenge faced by Orland Park, Ill.-based Three Corners Development was creating institutional-grade, purpose-built student housing incorporating all the amenities today’s students expect, while still providing a strong value proposition. It met that challenge by teaming with corporate partners to master lease bed spaces.
For instance, The Mills at Riverbend Commons has signed a master lease with John Deere Company to use the housing for the company’s summer interns.
“Thanks to its partnerships with John Deere Company and with the city of Moline, The Mills can provide housing for students at value-oriented price points and terms,” Woods says.
