In this conversation with MHN’s Olivia Bunescu, Gilbane’s Geoff Eisenacher discusses how public-private partnerships are reshaping campus housing.
Across the country, colleges and universities are rethinking how they deliver and finance student housing for today’s students. Aging residence halls, shifting enrollment patterns and rising expectations for the on-campus experience are prompting more institutions to turn to public-private partnerships to modernize housing while managing capital constraints.
Gilbane Development Co. has been one of the firms most active in this space, with several projects illustrating how P3s are supporting large-scale campus transformations. Earlier this year, the company secured Western Kentucky University Board of Regents’ approval for Elevate WKU, a $350 million project designed to redevelop the university’s residential footprint, with the first phase including a new 1,000-bed living and dining facility. The firm also started work on another multi-phase P3 with the University of Rhode Island, where the company will add more than 1,100 beds to the institution’s flagship campus in Kingston, R.I.
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That activity reflects a broader shift in student housing. In this episode of Student Housing Unlocked, Senior Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu is joined by Geoff Eisenacher, executive development director at Gilbane Development Co., to discuss why campus housing is no longer just about adding beds. Instead, Eisenacher describes a sector shaped by new expectations for the college experience, with projects increasingly combining housing with dining, parking, infrastructure and mixed-use components.
Much of the discussion centers on the factors driving increased interest in P3 arrangements among higher education institutions. According to Eisenacher, the model is becoming more relevant as schools weigh limited public funding, balance-sheet constraints and the need to keep campuses competitive.
The projects the company has been working on point to a more holistic approach, where universities are rethinking the full housing system rather than one building at a time. Eisenacher also discusses how Gilbane evaluates markets, why demand studies should guide decisions around more beds, better beds, or a different housing mix and how affordability is influencing amenity decisions.
Here’s what they discussed:
- How is student housing faring today? (01:34)
- The residential campus experience keeps demand resilient (05:38)
- Gilbane’s roots in student housing and its current strategy (07:36)
- Reading enrollment shifts and selecting university markets (09:18)
- Why colleges are considering P3s (12:39)
- Elevate WKU and the rise of whole-campus housing strategies (15:37)
- Balancing university control with private capital (17:43)
- On-campus P3s vs off-campus purpose-built student housing (20:12)
- More beds, better beds or a different housing mix? (23:46)
- Right-sizing amenities around affordability and flexibility (27:42)
- The next phase of student housing (30:20)
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Music credits: “Easy to find” by Corinne song via Uppbeat.com
