| Last Updated ( 06/08/2010 11:35 ) | |
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| ACC to Buy Portfolio, Begins Development for New Communities |
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Austin, Texas — American Campus Communities (ACC) has been very active lately, which is evident in its recent announcement that it will acquire full ownership interests in two of its student housing portfolio joint ventures. The portfolios comprise 14 properties with a total of 8,534 beds. ACC previously held a 10 percent interest in each joint venture and will be acquiring the remaining interest from two separate institutional funds managed by Fidelity Real Estate Group. Two properties held by the joint ventures will not be included in the sale. The estimated value of the deal is approximately $348.9 million, which includes $252.2 million in mortgage loan debt that has a weighted average interest rate of 5.85 percent and a weighted average remaining term of 3.5 years. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. ACC is also active on the development front. Construction has commenced for four new student housing communities. The first will be an off-campus project serving students at the University of Texas - San Antonio. The $35.4 million project, which is located adjacent to the school's main campus, will consist of 14 townhome-style buildings containing 792 beds. Amenities will include an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse with fitness center, a student lounge, a game room, a computer lab, a resort-style swimming pool and a covered patio. In Albuquerque, N.M., ACC recently completed a ground lease with the University of New Mexico to develop an 864-bed community on the school's South Campus. The apartment-style buildings will contain private bedrooms and bathrooms with a shared living area. Amenities include a 12,000-square-foot community center with management offices, a computer center, study rooms, a game room, a fitness center and a resort-style swimming pool. The project is being developed under ACC's America Campus Equity program, in which the developer invests its equity in the project and will own the on-campus housing, taking the debt burden off the university. The developer recently closed on $60.8 million in tax-exempt bond financing that will help it develop an 856-bed community on the campus of Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa. Construction has already begun. Completion for it, and the other two projects, is expected in fall 2011. Finally, in a story that was first reported in The Oregonian, ACC is developing an on-campus, multi-use building at Portland State University in Portland, Ore. The ground floor of the 16-story building will contain an auditorium classroom, retail space and an office for TriMet, Portland's public transportation service. The upper 15 floors of the building will contain 283 apartments that will house approximately 900 students. The building plan for the project was approved by the Portland Design Commission on May 20, but a groundbreaking date has not been released.
— Coleman Wood 
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