Kalamazoo, Mich. and West Lafayette, Ind. — Each property was developed in 2001.
College Station at West LafayetteKalamazoo, Mich., and West Lafayette, Ind. — In transactions closing in December 2013 and March 2014, affiliates of The Scion Group have acquired the former Pointe at Western, an 876-bed student housing community serving Western Michigan University, and College Station at West Lafayette, a 960-bed student housing community serving Purdue University.
Although a direct sales price was not disclosed, EdR announced in its first quarter 2014 conference call that along with The Reserve on West 31st at the University of Kansas, College Station at West Lafayette was sold for a combined sales price of $41.9 million.
Each property was originally developed in 2001. The two communities have similar unit mixes of 4-bedroom, 3-bedroom, 2-bedroom and studio/suite apartments. The Scion Group plans to upgrade and rebrand each property, with the Western Michigan property already being rebranded as 58 West.
58 West (formerly The Pointe at Western) is situated on 45 acres two miles west of the Western Michigan University campus. The property includes 21 buildings containing 876 private bedrooms in 324 units. Amenities include a pool and hot tub, large clubhouse and indoor basketball court. Scion purchased the community in a joint venture with a publicly-held real estate investment trust. Western Michigan University, founded in 1903, offers more than 240 academic programs and enrolls over 24,000 students and is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the United States.
College Station at West Lafayette is a 20-acre development sitting 2.7 miles north of the Purdue University campus, among a cluster of other student communities including the nearby Campus Suites on the Lake, which is also operated by Scion and owned by a Scion affiliate. The College Station community includes 21 buildings containing 960 private bedrooms in 336 units. Notable amenities include an indoor basketball court, on-site movie theater and ample study and lounge spaces. Scion purchased the community with private investment capital. Purdue University enrolls nearly 39,000 students in more than 200 majors and is known for its engineering and sciences programs.