Student Housing Near UConn Trades for $20M

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Storrs, Conn.—Storrs Acquisition LLC has sold its five student apartment communities surrounding the University of Connecticut’s main campus in Storrs to a private investor for $20.2 million. The portfolio consists of 231 units, with a mix of 95 one-bedroom and 136 two-bedroom apartments.

The properties include Knollwood Apartments, 101 S. Eagleville Road, 125 units; Oakwood Apartments, 114 S. Eagleville Road, 10 units; Clubhouse Apartments, 3 Clubhouse Circle, 44 units; Maplewood Apartments, 1 Carlton Road, 40 units; and Millbrook Apartments, 170 Spring Hill Road, 12 units.

Chozick Realty Inc., represented the seller as well as procuring the buyer. Four years ago, Chozick’s Tom Boyle and Rick Chozick facilitated the sale of the properties to Storrs Acquisition.

Since then, under the management of Herbert & Ari Berezin of Mount Holyoke Management LLC, the properties have been repositioned, units improved, rental rates increased and occupancy brought to 100 percent. The value-add strategy implemented by Mount Holyoke was instrumental in obtaining the sales price, according to Boyle.

The University of Connecticut is in a growth mode, driving demand for student housing. The school is expanding both its faculty and student populations, with enrollment currently at more than 31,600. Under the school’s Next Generation Connecticut initiative, education and research in the STEM disciplines are being greatly expanded over the next decade. Part of the initiative is the creation of a new technology park on North Campus, with the first 115,000-square-foot building now underway.