AUSTIN, TX – Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has arranged $92 million in financing for a three-property, 1,653-bed student housing portfolio in Iowa, Texas and South Carolina.
HFF worked on behalf of Aspen Heights and Safanad to secure the three-year, floating-rate loan through a large institutional lender. Loan proceeds were used to refinance existing construction financing.
Built between 2017 and 2018, the three geographically diverse communities are well-constructed with bed/bath parity, best-in-class student amenity offerings and finishes tailored to their respective markets. Aspen Ames is a 422-bed, garden-style property located at 3306 Lincoln Way in Ames, Iowa, which serves Iowa State University. Aspen Houston consists of 717 beds within two four-story, wrap-style buildings located at 4971 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Houston, Texas, which serves the University of Houston. Aspen Conway is a 514-bed property totaling 116 cottage-style buildings located at 2251 US-501 East in Conway, South Carolina, which serves Coastal Carolina University.
The HFF debt placement team was led by senior managing director Doug Opalka, senior director Casey Wenzel and director Michael Johnson.
“Aspen Heights and Safanad are one of the premier student housing owner/developers in the United States, and this portfolio presents a significant opportunity for value creation for the partnership,” Opalka said. “This was a phenomenal result for all involved.”
About Aspen Heights: Founded in 2006, Austin-based Aspen Heights has developed 36 conventional multifamily, student housing and assisted living properties, totaling more than $1.5 billion in value. The company builds, leases and manages its own projects and also provides third-party leasing and management services. It is a mainstay in the top 10 lists of student housing development companies. The firm’s best-known project is arguably The Independent, a 685-foot-tall, 363-unit condo tower that’s both the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi River as well as the tallest structure in Austin. For more information, visit: ahpliving.com
About Safanad: Safanad is a global principal investment firm founded in 2009 with its main presence in New York and offices in London and Dubai. The firm creates sustainable value by pursuing opportunities underpinned by long-term social and economic insights and clear public sector policies and plans. As a principal investor, Safanad utilizes its capital, expertise and exceptional management partners to preserve and grow wealth for the firm and its global private and institutional clients. To date, Safanad has successfully executed $10 billion of total acquisition value in the U.S. and Europe across sectors, including healthcare, education, student housing, suburban offices, automotive supply chain and data centers. For more information, visit safanad.com
About HFF: HFF and its affiliates operate out of 26 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment advisory, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing. HFF, HFF Real Estate Limited, HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). For more information, please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF