CHICAGO — The Scion Group, along with sovereign wealth fund partners GIC and Canada Public Pension Investment Board (CPPIB), has acquired a portfolio of 11 student housing properties throughout the United States for $640 million.
Harrison Street Real Estate owned nine of the properties in partnerships with Trinitas, Opus, CA Ventures and Vertex Nine. In addition, Scion, GIC and CPPIB acquired another asset from Trinitas and another property in Chicago from an undisclosed entity. The properties in the transaction total more than 6,300 beds, and include:
- University Trails Tallahassee, a 936-bed community located near Florida State University
- Alpha, a 698-bed community located near the University of Alabama
- VAMP, a 668-bed community located near the University of Indiana
- The Foundation, a 725-bed community located near CSU Sacramento
- NXNW, a 648-bed community located near Western Washington University
- Varsity Quarters, a 162-bed community located near the University of Wisconsin
- Uncommon Madison, a 408-bed community located near the University of Wisconsin
- Uncommon Tampa, a 516-bed community located near the University of South Florida
- Uncommon Charlottesville, a 342-bed community located near the University of Virginia
- LUX at Central Park, a 608-bed community located near the University of North Carolina
- 1237 West Fullerton, a 592-bed community located near DePaul University
Previously, the joint venture closed a $385 million acquisition of student housing properties developed by Athens, Ga.-based Dovetail Companies located primarily in the South. The venture also closed on $550 million in recapitalizations of 12 Scion-owned and -operated communities in various university markets.
Since its inception in January 2016, the Scion-CPPIB-GIC joint venture has completed $2.9 billion of investments, including the $1.3 billion acquisition of the 19-property portfolio of University House Communities in mid-2016.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with two of the world’s premier real estate investors in the ongoing consolidation of the student housing sector,” says Robert Bronstein, president of Scion. “We especially appreciate the confidence and support of GIC and CPPIB implicit in the volume of investment activity completed by the joint venture during its first year of operation, as well as the significant commitment of additional growth capital to the partnership.”
Based in Chicago, Scion owns and operates over 48,000 beds at 69 student housing communities, serving 47 major university campus markets across 21 states.
— Katie Sloan