MEMPHIS, TN - EdR, one of the nation’s largest developers, owners and managers of collegiate housing, today announced a $3 million mezzanine investment and an option-to-purchase agreement with Landmark Properties for The Retreat at State College, a 587-bed, cottage-style community to be built 1.2 miles from The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) campus.
“This option agreement is consistent with our strategy to acquire high-quality assets close to top-tier universities with growing enrollments,” said Randy Churchey, president and chief executive officer of EdR. “We are excited to work on our second cottage community with Landmark.”
The Retreat at State College gives Landmark more than 4,000 beds currently under construction and represents Landmark’s second 2013 delivery with EdR. Landmark, in a joint venture with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, will be providing all the equity for the project.
“We’ve been working on entitling this site for two years now,” said Wes Rogers, president and chief executive officer of Landmark Properties. “It will be impossible to replicate what we’re building here.”
Scheduled for a summer 2013 opening, The Retreat at State College will offer 138 two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom cottages on 24 acres on the bus transit route for the Penn State campus. Each cottage will feature a private bathroom for each bedroom, large closets, a full-size washer and dryer, 9-foot ceilings, carpet, ceramic tile, hardwood-style vinyl floors and high-speed internet/cable. All appliances are included in the spacious gourmet kitchens.
The outdoor living area will include a resort-style pool with raised hot tub, large green space, sand volleyball court, bocce ball courts and an outdoor fire pit and grilling area. A jogging path will encircle the property. The clubhouse will offer indoor basketball and racquetball courts, golf simulator, fitness center, group-study rooms, computer lab, game room, video gaming pods, a fully equipped community kitchen and a spa suite complete with sauna, tanning bed and domes, massage room and a manicure/pedicure station.
EdR has considerable market experience in the Penn State area. Since 2005 EdR has owned and managed The Pointe, a collegiate housing community approximately one mile north of the campus. The Pointe is one of the most consistent performers in the EdR portfolio with respect to occupancy, rate growth and customer satisfaction. It has been 100% occupied for the past six years and has achieved an average rate growth of 5.4% during the last two years.
“While the university has experienced steady growth in recent years, there have not been many new off-campus collegiate housing developments because of this market’s high barriers to entry,” said Tom Trubiana, executive vice president and chief investment officer for EdR.
“Because of our success in this market, the need for new off-campus housing and our knowledge of Penn State’s student leasing preferences, we are confident this option-to-purchase agreement for The Retreat at State College will be a successful investment for EdR and our shareholders,” said Trubiana.
EdR and Landmark also are developing a $37.6 million cottage community at the University of Mississippi, scheduled to open in fall 2013. The Retreat at Oxford comprises 668 beds and amenities similar to those of the Penn State project.
EdR (NYSE:EDR) is one of America's largest owners, developers and managers of collegiate housing. A self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, EdR owns or manages 62 communities in 23 states with more than 34,900 beds within more than 11,400 units.