CHICAGO — A partnership between The Scion Group and funds managed by Ares Real Estate has acquired a portfolio of four student housing properties in Sun Belt markets. The aggregate purchase price for the 2,315-bed portfolio was approximately $435 million.
The seller, Chicago-based SCHENK+, developed three of the properties and acquired and repositioned the fourth.
The portfolio includes two communities serving students attending Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas: The Parlor and Hillside San Marcos. The other two properties are Tenn near University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Georgia Heights near the University of Georgia in Athens.
Chicago-based Scion currently operates in all three student housing markets. The company says this acquisition represents a “comprehensive exit” for SCHENK+’s founder, Jared Schenk.
“Jared Schenk is one of the true pioneers of off-campus student housing, and he has built an incredible portfolio of high-quality communities,” says Robert Bronstein, CEO of Scion. “Scion is pleased to add another successful portfolio execution to our track record, and we are even more excited to welcome these communities to our portfolio.”
Founded in 1999, Scion is the world’s largest owner of off-campus student housing. Following this transaction, Scion will operate nearly 117,000 beds across 187 communities in 92 U.S. markets.
Founded in 1998, SCHENK+ and its joint venture partners have initiated more than $1 billion in new student housing development over the past four years, including 2,700 beds currently under construction at three projects at the University of Tennessee (2027 delivery) and the University of Michigan (2027 and 2028 deliveries).
As of June 30, 2026, Ares Management Corp. (NYSE: ARES) had more than $671 billion of assets under management globally, including more than $121 billion under the Ares Real Estate platform. The firm’s stock price closed on Monday, Aug. 31 at $143.17 per share, down from $179.78 a year ago, a decline of more than 20 percent.
— John Nelson