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AUSTIN, TX-In their third joint venture deal of the year, the Preiss Co. of Raleigh, NC and Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital have acquired the five-year-old, 1,152-bed Crossing Place student housing project near the University of Texas-Austin. The 348-unit property was in foreclosure when it was sold.

Principals at both firms declined to disclose the purchase price. However, area brokers familiar with comparable projects in the Southwest tell GlobeSt.com the estimated per-bed-price was in the $30,000 range. That would make the estimated aggregate price of the asset $35 million. Officials at Preiss and Harrison declined to comment on the estimated price.

In less than 12 months, Preiss and Harrison have started development or have acquired three student housing properties totaling over 2,300 beds. In January, the firms bought the 130-unit, 520-bed University Club complex at Charlotte, NC for an estimated $23,000 per bed or an estimated aggregate price of $12 million. The property is about 100% occupied for the 2006-07 school year, according to Donna Preiss, founder and CEO of the Preiss Co. The second JV project is the 660-bed University Village, under construction adjacent to the University Club, less than a half mile from the University of North Carolina campus at Charlotte.