College Station, Texas — The Texas A&M University System has selected Servitas LLC to develop 48 acres on the west side of Texas A&M University’s campus into student housing. According to school officials, the project will cost approximately $360 million to build and develop.
The land will be ground leased to NCCD-College Station Properties LLC, a Texas nonprofit corporation, which will engage Servitas to develop the property, and contract with Servitas Management Group LLC to serve as manager of the development.
Under the terms of the ground lease, NCCD-College Station will pay $18.5 million upfront to Texas A&M University, and future revenues are projected to average $20 million annually over 30 years. The facilities will revert to The Texas A&M University System upon termination of the ground lease.
Raymond James served as the underwriter for the project and managed the financing process, which included coordinating the legal, structural and approval process through the issuer, The New Hope Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corp. Once the transaction was structured, Raymond James took the bonds to the market garnering an overall cost of funds of 4.82 percent with a final maturity in 2047.
Park West, as the development is to be known, is the largest of five recent public-private projects of the Texas A&M System in College Station. Those five projects are expected to generate more than $900 million in benefits to Texas A&M over the life of the long-term projects — typically 30 years or more — and Park West will account for almost two-thirds of that total.
The 48-acre site, which is currently pasture, is adjacent to a seven-acre tract that may be developed as retail as another phase of this project. The overall 55-acre tract is bordered by George Bush Drive on the north, Penberthy/Jones-Butler Road to the west and Luther Street to the south.
At the core of the site, an eight-story high building will host more than 1,800 beds wrapped around a central parking garage, amenity deck and fitness center. Two, five-story mirrored buildings will encompass approximately 500 beds each. The remaining beds will line the perimeter of the site in unique townhome style flats with one, two and three-bedroom floor plans.
Each floor plan offers a private bedroom and most with en-suite bathroom parity. All bedrooms have walk in closets with ample storage space. The units are fully furnished and feature granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, vinyl wood plank flooring and in-unit washers/dryers. The community amenities include three resort-style pools, cabanas, outdoor grills and fire pits. The interiors will have numerous study lounges, three fitness centers, state-of-the-art technological features and a small convenience store.
When the Park West development opens in August 2017, it will provide an additional 3,402 beds in the community for students, in facilities ranging from studio apartments to three-bedroom garden-style units.