South Florida JV Buys More Than 3,000 Student Beds in Tallahassee

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Tallahassee, Fla.—A new joint venture between Calidus, Pebb Capital and Pragma Investments, three Palm Beach County-based real estate firms, has acquired a portfolio consisting of 3,155 student housing beds at Florida State University in Tallahassee. The new company, Collegium Capital Partners, paid $43.5 million for the beds, and will spend a few more million to renovate the properties.

CCRE, a commercial real estate finance company affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald, provided the acquisition financing as part of its new bridge lending program. The acquisition will bring Collegium’s student housing portfolio to about 6,000 beds, with three additional closings scheduled during the remainder of this year.

Todd Rosenberg, CEO of Pebb Capital, tells MHN that the partners’ ultimately goal is to grow Collegium into one of the largest privately held student housing portfolios in the country. By this time next year, the JV aims to have 15,000 to 20,000 beds nationwide, he says.

Each member of the JV brings a particular skill set to the group. Calidus provides underwriting and asset management; Pebb brings capital, debt and equity resources; and Pragma oversees capital improvements and rebranding efforts. Collegium selected Peak Campus Management to provide property management for the portfolio. With this management contract, Peak will manage nearly 35,000 beds nationwide.

There are about 10,000 on-campus student beds and 30,000 off-campus, purpose-built student beds in Tallahassee, a city that has more than 70,000 students. For its part, Florida State University currently has an enrollment of more than 41,000.