Harrison Street and Toll Brothers Sell Arizona Student Housing Asset
3 min read
Canvas Tempe is located near Arizona State University.
After nearly two years of completing Canvas Tempe in Tempe, Ariz., a student housing community with 826 beds near Arizona State University, Toll Brother Campus Living, and Harrison Street sold the asset to University Partners.
The 3-acre property, located at 1028 E. Orange St. is just a short walk from ASU. Nearly 100 of the 3 acres are preleased for 2023-2024. It was not possible to determine the purchase price immediately.
University Partners of Dallas, a Portfolio Company for KKR, owns 17 properties in major university markets throughout the United States. This includes two Tempe properties, Apollo Tempe and Vertex. Other assets of the firm are located in Virginia and Georgia. They also have properties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho. Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Student housing is in high demand
Ben Mohns of Harrison Street’s asset management North America said in a statement prepared that the student housing industry is gaining from record-breaking growths in enrollment, occupancy, and rent. He said that these statistics demonstrate the resilience of student accommodation in an uncertain macroeconomic climate.
In January 2021, the joint venture announced that it would develop Canvas Tempe into a luxury student housing community with 263 units and 826 beds. MidFirst Bank, Fifth Third Bank, and Trustmark Bank all provided construction loans for the project. This partnership was formed in December 2020 and is the first joint venture of Harrison Street with Toll Brothers.
Apartments feature washers and tumble dryers, as well as walk-in wardrobes, smart access and central air conditioning. The amenities include a rooftop swimming pool, saunas, a business center, lounges, fire pits, grilling stations and study rooms.
Yardi Matrix reported that Arizona State University was the university with the highest investment transaction volume for 2022, with $335.6 millions in student housing deals. The campus, which is one of the nation’s largest public universities based on enrollment, is located about 8 miles from downtown Phoenix. Harrison Street formed a partnership in early 2022 with American Campus Communities to own an eight-property portfolio of student housing properties in Tempe and Glendale (Ariz.), serving ASU. Harrison Street paid $551.3 for a 45-percent stake in the 8,187 bed portfolio. ACC maintained the majority stake, and managed the properties. ACC originally developed six assets, and redeveloped two others through a public/private partnership with ASU.
In December 2022 Harrison Street and Radnor Property Group will partner with Duquesne University to create a new student apartment community in Pittsburgh. The 11-story property with 216 apartments will begin leasing in the fall of 2024. In October 2022, Harrison Street had partnered with Trinitas Ventures two months earlier to develop four new class A student housing facilities in the Midwest and Southeast U.S.
Harrison Street sold 197 properties to students for an $8 billion gross value. Toll Brothers Campus Living has built nearly 1,000 units in the U.S. and has a pipeline of over 1,000. Toll Brothers broke the ground in November on a low-rise luxury student accommodation property with 355 units at South Bend, Ind.. This is home to Notre Dame University.
