MFE Concept Community

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Welcome to the 2013 Concept Community. Over the next five months, Multifamily Executive will take a deep dive into the student housing industry with our industry partners American Campus Communities, Fountain Residential, Humphreys & Partners, KTGY and J Turner Research.

Along the way, an all-star lineup of industry thought leaders will provide insight on how best to attract and retain the largest generation in our nation’s history. We’ll dissect the topic from a variety of angles and mediums, including webinars; bi-weekly e-newsletters; a themed issue of the magazine; and a keynote at the MFE Conference in September.

Give Us a Shout

What strategies for attracting student renters is working for you? E-mail Editor-in-Chief Jerry Ascierto and the next project we profile might be yours.

LIVE

Gen Y Speaks: Off-Campus Housing

Are you listening? College students hint at what they want (and don't want) in housing as they share their most memorable off-campus housing experiences. One feature they all agree on? Hardwood floors.

Finishing Touch: Interior Design in Student Housing Evolves

As the sector grows more sophisticated, designers are placing more contemporary furniture in student housing developments to make them feel more like home.

Student Housing: Luxuries Overshadow Studying?

As developers try to outdo the amenities that their competitors offer in college towns, concern is growing about the academic and social consequences of upscale off-campus student housing.

Lesson Plan

Student housing isn’t just about providing shelter. Unlike their market-rate counterparts, this sector’s owners and operators cater to a resident population that requires extra doses of TLC.

In Facebook Friends We Trust

Apartment firms are finally turning “likes” into leases through social networks that connect closely with residents while marketing properties to all their friends.

Delivering the Generational Goods

Whether Gen Y apartment prospects are relying on a single source to inform their selection of a rental community or tapping into a variety of channels, the Millennial approach to finding an apartment is comparatively (and perhaps not surprisingly) more tech-savvy than searches conducted by other demographics.

Top 10 College Town Destinations for Gen Y

Where are Gen Y students most likely to find jobs? If you guessed New York or San Francisco, you'd be wrong.

10 States Where Demand for Student Housing is Surging

Demand for student housing continues to rise nationwide, but many states can’t produce beds fast enough.

Circle Marketing Strategy Snags Millennial Renters

A bold Gen-Y marketing strategy is being used by developer Crescent Resources at a student housing project in Austin, Texas being managed by Greystar Student Living.

WORK

Adelman: The Evolution of Student Housing

Student housing used to be looked down upon, but over the years it's transitioned into a recession-resilient gold mine.

Zeroing in on the Right Student Housing Market

Certain student housing markets may be in danger of overheating. The industry's top owners share their strategies for market and site selection here.

On-Campus Space Reserved for Select Few

The student housing boom is primarily taking place off campus; getting into the on-campus space is like a private club for developers.

Fountain Residential Brings New “Vue” to Campus

Fountain Residential Partners is building the first privately owned off-campus community at the University of Houston: The Vue on MacGregor

Spreading the Wealth: Jobsite Diversity for Multifamily Builders

Balfour Beatty Construction is part of a construction team that this month was selected to build a 146,000-square-foot, 400-bed freshman residential hall, which that team will start in December on the South Village area of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte’s campus.

A Lesson in Student Housing Financing

If you are a student housing owner and have needed to borrow money in the past 10 years, life has been pretty good.

Campus Apartments Partners with Howard for New Student Housing

In another public/private student housing partnership, Campus Apartments partners with Howard University to develop much-needed underclassmen on-campus housing.

Is Student Housing Getting Overheated?

The student housing industry has attracted the attention of many investors looking to diversify their assets over the last few years. So much so that some industry vets are wondering if the sector is starting to overheat.

Diversify: The Student Housing Hedge

The stability of the student housing market is one of the reasons more apartment companies are starting to enter the arena.

ACC Scores 19 Properties for $862 million

Already the largest owner, manager and developer of student housing, Austin-based American Campus Communities (ACC) announced last week it would purchase 19 student housing properties, good for more than 12,000 beds, from Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP.

On the Ascent

Campus Apartments’ Warren Burke is MFE’s 2012 Rising Star of the Year thanks to his leadership on some key additions to his company’s portfolio.

Widescale Privatization Could Usher in a New Era for Student Housing

In a way, the seeds planted by American Campus Communities (ACC) in 1994 blossomed late last year. The Austin, Texas–based REIT did its first of 61 on-campus deals at Langston University in Oklahoma 18 years ago, when the concept of privatized student housing was still in its infancy.

Three Drivers of Student Housing Privatization

Over the past decade, numerous universities around the country have gone to private student housing companies to fill their needs. Here are three reasons why this trend could gain even more steam.

Student Housing Privatizations Could Set the Stage for IPOs

When the University of Kentucky decided to revitalize its student housing last year, it had a number of viable contenders to perform the task. Ultimately, the school chose Memphis-based REIT Education Realty Trust (EdR) to redevelop its housing in two phases and hold the properties under a 50-year ground lease.

PLAY

Common Areas, Amenities Grow in Student Housing Design

Student housing used to chase technological and operational advances of its conventional multifamily brethren. But now, as multifamily developers focus on the housing wants and needs of Gen Y, student housing serves as the vanguard.

New UCF Housing Has Students Living in Lap of Luxury

Too many students leave college buried in debt, sweating out monthly payments and juggling multiple jobs. Rising tuition often gets the blame, but nobody ever talks about how the sweating starts in a Swedish sauna...

Extreme Amenities in Student Housing Catching On Elsewhere

Popular in student housing communities for some time, luxury items such as Wi-Fi, HD TVs, and interactive fitness facilities are starting to take hold at market-rate properties, as well. (Richard holtz, infinisys)

Real Simple

Today’s Gen Y renters still want all the coolest tech amenities—as long as they make life at your property easier.

Campus Circle Tallahassee

Bainbridge Cos.’ Bainbridge Campus Communities’ first student housing endeavor, Campus Circle Tallahassee, came to fruition in January 2012, offering environmentally conscious, resort-quality living to Florida State University students.

Phoning Home

If you’ve never heard of near field communications, and you want to reach Millennials, it may be time to put this new technology on your radar.

Top Grade

When it came time to build additional campus housing, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque gave itself a challenging assignment: Lose its reputation for having dungeon-style dorms and construct multiple apartment buildings with amenities to entice upperclassmen to remain on site.