Orlando, FL approves $90M student housing project

Dive Brief:

Orlando, FL, officials this week approved the master plan for a $90 million student-housing development for the University of Central Florida and Valencia College's shared downtown campus, which will anchor the city’s planned $1 billion, 68-acre downtown Creative Village, according to the Orlando Business Journal.
Led by Ustler Development and KUD International, the 15-story, mixed-use project will feature 600 beds, a parking garage, retail and dining, as well dedicated education space.
Construction on the building is expected to begin this fall, though developers broke ground on the Creative Village project, which includes non-academic private development, in May.

Dive Insight:

Orlando's addition of a new student housing development comes amid reports suggesting that construction in the segment is expected to hold steady over the coming months, according to TH Real Estate. Student housing projects produced $9 billion in investment in 2016 alone, and the segment is poised for growth as millennials pursue higher education in greater numbers than did generations before them, though the recovering economy suggests that many would-be students will funnel into the job market instead.

While the UCF/Valencia project is driven by the university, state-level budget cuts nationwide could stand to boost the market, as investors seek to deliver the housing stock institutions lack the funding to produce themselves.

Developer Landmark Properties is considering a 750-room student apartment project near the University of Central Florida’s main campus, in Oviedo, FL. In South Carolina, Armada Hoffler Properties announced plans in March to join Spandrel Development Partners in designing and building two $100 million residential buildings for students 1 mile from the state's College of Charleston. And in Portland, OR, nonprofit developer College Housing Northwest is underway with a 141-unit student housing project near Portland State University, slated to open this fall.

Activity in the sector has caught the eye of international investors looking to stake their claim. In a joint effort, real estate private equity firm Beijing–based Grand China Fund, alongside Austin, TX, developer Aspen Heights Partners, broke ground on a $60 million, 17-story student housing project near the University of Texas at Austin late last year.