The Campus Advantage Roadmap to Student Housing Site Selection, Lease-up, and Stabilization

May 20, 2019

This three-part blog series examines Campus Advantage’s article, “Ten Steps to Prepare for Your Next Student Housing Development,” which serves as an excellent road map for developers who are new to the student housing sector. Campus Advantage’s Vice President, Madison Meier explains how the 10-step process to preparing for your next development applies to the student housing leader’s most recent development project in Gainesville, Florida — Liv+ Gainesville. The 235-unit, 618-bed property is within walking distance to the University of Florida, and is scheduled to open fall 2020.

Part one of this blog series explored Campus Advantage’s recommended first steps of the preparation process, including market feasibility, pipeline analysis, choice of unit mix / layout, and amenity choices. Part two, continues our discussion with Madison Meier and outlines steps 6-8 of the process.

Step 6: Connect with the University during the design phase

SL: When designing your project in Gainesville, what discussions did you have with the University of Florida?

MM: The consulting team worked with the University’s Institutional Research department to confirm enrollment numbers, growth projections, and future on-campus housing plans. Solely relying on research databases for enrollment information often leaves gaps or questions in enrollment projections, so our team speaks to the University directly to fully understand their growth initiatives and how they expect this growth to impact the off-campus student housing market.

Step 7: Know your student demographic

SL: What steps were taken to understand the University of Florida’s student demographic?

MM: Campus Advantage conducts intercept surveys with students both on- and off-campus to gather feedback from a wide range of students. These non-structured interactions allow students to speak more openly about what they are seeking in housing options, reputations of other properties within the market, and their true opinion of a development’s location. Intercept surveys not only uncover market trends and nuances, but also help determine needed amenities to attract the target student body and key differentiators to set the development apart from other competitors.

In addition to the surveys, student demographic information must be analyzed to determine true demand. All feasibility studies focus on:

  • Full-time vs. part-time enrollment; part-time students often lead differing lifestyles and may not be consumers of purpose-built student housing
  • Student classification; freshman enrollment vs. senior enrollment
  • In-state vs. out-of- state enrollment; besides the obvious reason of out-of-state students requiring housing, these students often have the means to pay for premium product
  • Average age of the undergraduates to ensure enrollment is a typical student body
  • Ethnicity breakdown and international student enrollment
  • Financial aid; particularly the number of students receiving Pell Grants, which are awarded based on financial need. This data can point to financial constraints and price sensitivity within the marketplace.

In Gainesville, we also focused on:

  • Population of medical students and their average age and marital status
  • Student demographics at Santa Fe Community College as a secondary source of demand
  • The percentage of students with fraternity/sorority affiliations
  • The percentage of students awarded the Bright Futures Scholarship; over 87% of incoming in-state freshman receive this award and will likely live on-campus since the scholarship will cover room and board

Step 8: Develop a realistic operating proforma

SL: I am a numbers guy at heart. Please describe the art of preparing an operating proforma for a building that does not exist yet.

MM: Every operating proforma should always include feedback from a student housing operator. Markets vary drastically in terms of needed marketing spend, staff compensation, and ancillary revenue, so a one-size-fits all approach cannot be relied on. Campus Advantage’s prior operating experience in Gainesville helped shape the operating budget projections, and additional factors were considered such as the robust pipeline, competitive pre-leasing season, and high expectations of residents. The recommended operating proforma included increasing marketing spend to combat the additional supply being delivered the same year, with a large focus on digital marketing strategies and integrated marketing campaigns. Higher compensation for the staff was also considered due to the competitive nature of the market and the need to recruit the best talent to oversee leasing and operations.

Due to its in-fill nature, the development will feature a structured parking garage and will charge for parking, a charge only the closest properties are able to do in this market.  Additionally, because of the shifting demand from media consumption via standard cable to more web based over-the-top media outlets, the proposed development will provide increased internet bandwidth and smart TVs allowing residents to access their Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu accounts, rather than pay for cable TV that would go unused.

Thank you, again, to Madison for contributing to this series. Part three of this blog will cover how to create a brand that speaks to your target demographic, how to find the right temporary leasing space, and how to start delivering leasing success.

Madison Meier, Vice President, Campus Advantage
Madison Meier joined Campus Advantage in 2007 in Manhattan, Kansas, at the first property the company acquired. Madison has played an integral part in growing and diversifying the management platform and has established numerous relationships with owners and investors throughout the student housing industry. She has also evolved the consulting division by strengthening the company’s consulting studies with her operational insight and creating deliverables that showcase the extensive industry-wide knowledge and experience within the organization.

Shawn Lubic, Director – Student Housing Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield
As a member of Cushman & Wakefield’s Student Housing Capital Markets team, Mr. Lubic is responsible for servicing the acquisition and disposition needs of local and regional owners/ developers of student housing throughout the United States. With 24 years of experience in commercial real estate, Mr. Lubic is a recognized expert in investment sales brokerage. Specializing in student housing, he has extensive experience in the disposition of investment grade real estate for private and institutional clients on a local, regional, and national level.

ALIGNVEST STUDENT HOUSING’S LASTEST ACQUISITION ESTABLISHES IT AS A CANADIAN STUDENT HOUSING LEADER

April 23, 2019

Last July, shortly after publishing a blog series that examined the state of the Canadian student housing industry and compared it to that in the U.S. (*see links below), I met with Jonathan Turnbull of the newly created Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust. Alignvest had just announced the acquisition of their first purpose-built student housing asset: a class A, 18-story, 455 bed, 100%-occupied tower located in Waterloo, Ontario.

I was impressed with Jonathan’s enthusiasm. Alignvest was going to succeed where others had failed. It would consolidate best-in-class, purpose-built student housing assets and become the largest owner-operator of student housing assets in Canada. I left the meeting wishing Jonathan well. A company like Alignvest was exactly what the Canadian industry needed. Maybe they would forge an industry like such U.S. pioneers as Dinerstein, Allen and O’Hara (EdR), Capstone, Campus Apartments, GMH, and ACC.

One problem often-cited with the Canadian student market is the lack of product available to purchase. However, in the fall of 2018, Alignvest followed up its initial purchase in Waterloo with two additional high-quality purpose-built transactions at the University of Ottawa, adding an additional 860 beds to their portfolio.

Around the end of last year, I got word that there was a large student housing portfolio available for sale. Sure enough, on March 28, I received a press release from Alignvest that they were successful in acquiring the portfolio.

Alignvest’s press release (Press Release) summarizes the acquired portfolio as follows:

  • King Street Tower I, Waterloo, ON: 126 units, 536 beds; 100% occupied
  • King Street Tower II, Waterloo, ON: 80 units, 419 beds; 100% occupied
  • West Village Suites, Hamilton, ON: 107 units, 449 beds, 12,000 sf retail; 100% occupied
  • Village Suites, Oshawa, ON: 133 units, 588 beds; 95% occupied

This acquisition makes Alignvest the most active player in the Canadian market in the past 12 months and brings its total portfolio to seven properties, over 3,300 beds, and approximately $400 million in value. In the past year, Alignvest completed the largest single-asset purchase ever in the Canadian market and now it can claim the largest portfolio deal as well.

Alignvest Pushes Forward

I reached out to Jonathan and asked him to comment on this past year’s success and what’s next. The following is a summary (lightly edited) of what Jonathan told me:

“We are amazed with our progress over the past 12 months. We are excited about the first steps we took towards the much needed consolidation in the industry and the steps we have taken in bringing a level of professionalism into ownership and operations.

“When we launched our fund, we knew there was a good deal of pent-up interest among the developers to sell their buildings and recycle their capital into new projects; we just underestimated the scale of interest and the quality of the product that would be made available to us. We were forced to be selective with our capital, which is a great discipline when launching a consolidation play into the market.

“The deals have given us great insight into much-needed ‘best practices’ that we have already started to roll-out to additional properties with great initial success. The sector is poised for consolidation and improved underlying operations given the fragmented ownership to date.

“Going forward, you could say we are focused on more of the same. We remain in active discussions with owners of buildings worth over $500 million and hope to close on multiple high-quality acquisitions to increase our asset base to $1 billion within 24 months.

“We are committed to rolling out our best practices across the portfolio and plan to share with our investors some of our exciting initiatives that highlight our ability to improve long-term cash flows of acquired assets and realize local economies of scale with in-market acquisitions.

We have had an amazing first 12 months and want to maintain our momentum and continue growing our high-quality platform. “

About Alignvest Student Housing REIT

Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust is an open-ended real estate investment trust formed under the laws of Ontario to own income-producing purpose-built student accommodations located in Canada. The REIT is offering an unlimited number of units on a continuous basis pursuant to an offering memorandum on a private placement basis to accredited investors.

Visit Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust at www.alignveststudenthousing.com or email Jonathan Turnbull at jturnbull@alignvest.com

 Shawn Lubic, Director – Student Housing Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield

With 24 years of commercial real estate experience, Shawn is a recognized expert in investment sales brokerage and financial analysis/valuation across all commercial property types. With a specialty in student housing, Shawn has extensive experience in the disposition of investment grade real estate for private and institutional clients on a local, regional and national level.

*Links to previous U.S. vs. Canadian Student Housing blogs

https://lubiccre.com/2018/05/09/part-one-student-housing-solving-the-mystery-of-the-missing-industry-in-canada-complete-qa-with-gary-holloway/

https://lubiccre.com/2018/06/07/part-two-student-housing-the-great-cultural-divide-between-canada-and-the-u-s/

https://lubiccre.com/2018/07/09/student-housing-in-canada-is-there-room-for-u-s-investors/

THE CAMPUS ADVANTAGE ROADMAP TO STUDENT HOUSING SITE SELECTION, LEASE-UP AND STABILIZATION – PART 1

March 28, 2019

Campus Advantage’s “Ten Steps to Prepare for Your Next Student Housing Development,” serves as an excellent road map for developers who are new to the student housing sector. The article explores everything from identifying feasible development sites to leasing up and stabilizing a newly constructed asset.

Cushman & Wakefield recently spoke to Madison Meier, Vice President at Campus Advantage, about how the 10-step process applies to one of the student housing developer and operator’s newest assets in Gainesville, Florida. The 235-unit, 618-bed property is within walking distance to the University of Florida, and is scheduled to open fall 2020.

Below is part one of our discussion with Ms. Meier, which has been edited for length.

Step 1: Engage a student housing operator to perform a market analysis and feasibility study.

SL: Since Campus Advantage is a student housing operator, I assume this function was performed in-house. Can you elaborate on why this is the essential first step of the process and what market dynamics convinced Campus Advantage to build in Gainesville?

MM: The Market Analysis & Feasibility Study is the essential first step as it allows us to determine the depth of the market. Then we can evaluate what students are looking for in the market, and uncover what the market is lacking, so the development can differentiate itself. In Gainesville, the strong enrollment and projected enrollment growth, along with the current market occupancies and leasing velocity, revealed demand for additional student housing near the university. Newer supply close to campus was preleasing at a rapid rate with minimal concessions, an indicator of the strong demand for new product type in a premier location. Campus Advantage also had prior operating experience in the Gainesville market, which further strengthened our desire to re-enter with a new development.

Step 2: Study the pipeline for future development

SL: What did your research uncover in relation to Gainesville’s on- and off-campus pipeline, and how did this information affect your decision to build a new project?

MM: Like many student housing markets throughout the U.S., Gainesville has a robust off-campus housing pipeline, and it is likely that three other developments will also deliver in 2020. However, the proposed development’s extremely low capture ratio of 1.4%, the university’s projected enrollment growth, and the development’s proximity to campus helped mitigate supply concerns. Plus, there is a secondary source of demand within the market from Santa Fe Community College, so it’s likely the project will attract these full-time students as well. As development supply increases throughout the U.S., our consulting team has evolved from relying on supply/demand metrics to assess project feasibility to instead focus on recommendations to differentiate developments within the marketplace to mitigate lease-up risk.

Step 3: Solicit feedback on your unit mix

SL: What market research was performed to determine the property’s unit mix, and why do you think this unit mix will be successful?

MM: While in Gainesville, the team spoke with undergraduates, graduates and medical students since the development is located near the residency hospital. It was confirmed that a majority of the graduate and medical students were seeking smaller units, either studios, one bedrooms, or two bedrooms. Due to the prime location of the development in relation to classrooms and the Greek houses, it was determined that all student demographics would be targeted, therefore a diverse unit mix ranging from studios to six bedrooms was proposed.

Step 4: Incorporate the operator’s preferred unit layouts

SL: What unit-mix experience in your other complexes helped shape the unit mix in Gainesville?

MM: Campus Advantage has seen success with a mix of 10% one bedrooms, 30% two bedrooms, and 60% four bedrooms. If three, five, or six bedrooms are included, the four-bedroom percentage is typically decreased. When we determined that the Gainesville development would attract all demographics due to the location and amenities, this standard mix was implemented, except for the larger unit percentage was increased slightly due to the high undergraduate population and the lack of five and six bedrooms in the market.

Step 5: Design your amenity space with your operator

SL: What are your overall thoughts on which amenities appeal to today’s students, and are they incorporated into the Gainesville project?

MM: Amenity trends have shifted, and students are now more drawn to amenities that promote socialization, health and wellness, and academic success. Feedback from students in Gainesville indicated an interest in:

  • A fitness wing that features a cardio room, free weight room and boxing equipment
  • A mini market with fresh snack and drink options
  • A coffee bar / lounge for studying
  • Study rooms on each floor for private/ small group study sessions
  • A pool and courtyard where students can relax or use the furniture to study outdoors
  • A pet-friendly environment with a dog park

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, which will explore Campus Advantage’s steps 5-10 on how to prepare for you next student housing development.

Madison Meier, Vice President, Campus Advantage

Madison Meier joined Campus Advantage in 2007 in Manhattan, Kansas, at the first property the company acquired. Madison has played an integral part in growing and diversifying the management platform and has established numerous relationships with owners and investors throughout the student housing industry. She has also evolved the consulting division by strengthening the company’s consulting studies with her operational insight and creating deliverables that showcase the extensive industry-wide knowledge and experience within the organization.

Shawn Lubic, Director – Student Housing Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield

With 24 years of commercial real estate experience, Shawn is a recognized expert in investment sales brokerage and financial analysis/valuation across all commercial property types. With a specialty in student housing, Shawn has extensive experience in the disposition of investment grade real estate for private and institutional clients on a local, regional and national level.

The Creation of a Student Housing Platform

February 27, 2019

An entrepreneur at heart, Travis Prince made his foray into investment real estate in 1999 buying and renting out houses throughout Nashville, Tennessee. Travis sold his holdings and moved to Tampa with aspirations of becoming the next South Florida real estate tycoon. In 2006, it became clear his path in real estate would look a bit different than planned— he transitioned to commercial real estate brokerage, joining Marcus & Millichap as a multifamily specialist. Eventually, a trip to Gainesville, Florida to inspect a student housing property would change the trajectory of his career. He has been selling student housing assets ever since.

Fast forward to April 2018. Since the beginning of my career, I have been interested in the Student Housing sector. Therefore, I was thrilled when I saw the internal announcement come over the wire that Travis had been hired to create a national student housing platform at our firm. I emailed him a note of congratulations and told him of my interest in student housing and my past experience in the space. We have gotten to know each other over the past year and I see why C&W has chosen Travis to create the student platform.

Travis was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to elaborate on his background, why he chose Cushman & Wakefield and what the future holds. Please find my Q&A with Executive Managing Director Travis Prince below:

SL: How did the Opportunity to create Cushman & Wakefield’s national student platform evolve?

TP: In 2010 I started a very small Real Estate Private Equity shop and have done numerous direct and joint-venture investments in multifamily, senior housing and recently launched a company developing self-storage from the ground up. In the initial years, I was buying exclusively conventional multifamily with a partner in Nashville. Through that, I met a number of brokers at a company called MHA, founded by Marc Robinson and Josh Goldfarb. Three years ago, Cushman acquired MHA, and Marc reached out to me and told me how great the firm’s platform was and that I needed to come over and run the student housing business. I was focused on other projects at the time and, candidly, wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to stay in brokerage, so I didn’t jump at the opportunity. Fast forward a couple years and I met Larry Richey (Florida Managing Principal for Cushman & Wakefield). Circumstances had evolved and Larry and I really connected, so I did my due diligence and was thoroughly impressed with everyone I met and made the move.

SL: What about Cushman & Wakefield drew you to the opportunity?

TP: When I started to meet the people at Cushman, I was most impressed by the professionalism, talent and drive. What sealed the deal for me, was the entrepreneurial approach of a massive global operation and a culture of collaboration I’d never seen in the industry.

SL: How is your team at Cushman & Wakefield unique when compared to your competitors?

TP: As I mentioned, we’re a huge global organization that’s still very entrepreneurial. We have tremendous teams with resources that can help clients execute on any phase of their business plan. The level of collaboration here is truly a radical concept in our business. Other firms promote collaboration but they do not achieve it the way Cushman does. I have helped recruit a few groups to the firm since I have been here and it’s been very satisfying to witness their level of excitement about what’s possible here at Cushman. Executing on the clients’ mission is 100% the priority without regard to who gets the fee or the accolades. It’s impressive and it’s given me a renewed excitement for the brokerage business.

SL: What were the growing pains in 2018 associated with kicking off the new platform?

TP: There is no great time to make a move, but I transitioned in early April and it was just me initially, so I had to rebuild the entire team. After I settled in, I brought over my lead analyst, Victoria Marks, who has been with me for almost 6 years. After Victoria, it took a few months to find an exceptional Brokerage Coordinator, Erica Groom, to lead the marketing efforts. It wasn’t until July that we could execute on a BOV, so we missed the important window of spring / summer prospecting to drive listing assignments in August.

SL: Were you able to overcome the delay? Any success stories for 2018?

TP: Despite missing the spring / summer prospecting season, we had respectable first year. While we were more focused on building our team and creating a solid foundation at Cushman & Wakefield, we still closed seven deals totaling 2,900 beds and have an additional eight properties with 3,910 beds under contract. The momentum is building, and we currently have several properties on the market and are working on a handful of off-market deals.

SL:  What are your goals for 2019?

TP: We are excited to be promoting Victoria to a brokerage role with deal execution responsibilities. We are in the process of interviewing analysts to backfill her position, and we also plan to add one additional broker with production responsibilities. We expect big things this year.

Travis’s contact information can be found below. Please reach out with any of your student housing disposition needs.

Travis Prince
Executive Managing Director
Student Housing Capital Markets
813.204.5315
travis.prince@cushwake.com

Student Housing In Canada: In Search of a Market Leader

December 5, 2018

Can CHC Student Housing rise from the ashes to become one of Canada’s premier student housing owners?

Founded in 2012 by Craig Smith, CHC Student Housing is one of Canada’s early purpose-built student housing firms. Through two investment vehicles, CHC acquisitions included stakes in eight, high-quality student housing assets in major university markets throughout Ontario. In November 2013, CHC became the first student housing public company listed on the TSXV.

Unfortunately, sometimes being ahead of the curve has its consequences. In 2014 and 2016, two separate public offerings to raise additional capital failed, which threw CHC into a period of turmoil. In early 2018, Simon Nyilassy of Marigold and Associates was hired by CHC to stabilize the company and evaluate future options. To date, CHC has been able to refinance debt obligations and dispose of smaller assets, which has helped to stabilize the portfolio’s cash flow.

Nyilassy, who now serves as CHC’s President & CEO, attributes the company’s growing pains to a persistent view that student housing in Canada remains an emerging real estate sector.

Today, CHC is beginning to explore new opportunities which may include raising additional capital and/or teaming with a strategic partner who shares the company’s vision of becoming Canada’s preeminent purpose-built student housing owner and developer.

To further explore CHC’s experience and goals moving forward, Simon Nyilassy agreed to answer the following questions:

SL: What’s behind CHC’s desire to build a student housing platform?

SN: Canada lacks a market leader in purpose-built student housing. This is in stark contrast to other international markets such as the United States and United Kingdom, where an explosion of development has taken place over the past few years. Our board member Craig Smith saw the potential of this nascent sector in Canada. He laid the groundwork to capitalize on it through the creation of two investment vehicles, which have invested in high-quality assets in Southern Ontario.

SL: Can you provide a brief history of CHC’s ups and downs? ​

SN: CHC got off to a strong start in the early part of this decade. Of the two entities mentioned, CHC LP, a private limited partnership, was formed in April 2012 and acquired a 50% interest in four high-quality purpose-built student housing assets in three markets in Southern Ontario. Subsequently, CHC Student Housing Corp, the other entity, was incorporated In April 2013, and by early October, it had acquired four assets in major university markets. On November 23, 2013, CHC became the first public company in the student housing sector by listing their shares on the TSXV.

To further its expansion strategy, CHC filed a follow-on Public Offering in 2014 to raise $92.5 million for the purchase of several properties in Southern Ontario and Quebec. These properties included the 50% ownership of the CHC LP assets. However, this transaction proved to be too ambitious for the Canadian capital markets at that time and the offering was pulled when the underwriters failed to raise sufficient funds to complete the acquisitions.

In spite of these initial setbacks, CHC and others continued to have confidence in the sector. In 2016, Dundee Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle created a new public company, called Canadian Student Living, to buy the assets of CHC LP, CHC Student Housing Corp and various other assets. They filed an Initial Public Offering to raise $112.3 million to fund this purchase. When Dundee was unable to convince the principals and investors to convert their ownership stake into shares of Canadian Student Living, the transaction fell through after a year.

SL: Where does CHC stand today?

SN: In early 2018, CHC hired Marigold and Associates to implement a strategy to stabilize the company and evaluate future options. To date, Marigold has helped CHC to refinance all of its debt obligations and complete a disposition of a smaller property. These moves have allowed the company to stabilize cash flows and provide a base from which to implement future options for CHC Student Housing Corp.

SL: Are rumors true that you’re planning an upcoming roadshow to raise funds for CHC?

SN: Raising additional capital and/or finding new partners are definitely options. The exact nature and timing of any capital raise will be subject to many factors and any details will need to be announced in the appropriate manner for a public company.

SL: Is the timing right now?

SN: CHC owns high-quality assets and also enjoys a strong operating team. Also, the interest in the sector appears to have intensified in the last few months

SL: Who is your ideal partner to grow CHC? 

SN: To fully capitalize on the potential for the sector requires a well-capitalized investor who shares our vision for the opportunity to create the market leader in Canadian purpose-built student housing and who has the longer-term time horizon necessary to achieve that goal.