“This is the first time in which we were not the majority partner in a joint venture,” Perry says of the partnerships, which were created when ACC acquired the GMH student housing portfolio in 2007. “We felt we could extract additional value by owning 100% of the properties in the venture. There’s no due diligence for us to do since we’ve been operating the properties for two years. And the loan assumption will be fairly easy given that we already have relationships with the lenders.”

The JV properties are located in Georgia, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas. The portfolio was 93.6% occupied, according to the company’s most recent supplemental filings.

“We feel we can achieve additional upside with this portfolio and generate higher occupancy with wholesale ownership,” Perry says, noting that the entire GMH portfolio that ACC purchased has an occupancy rate of 95.8%. He adds that ACC expects the acquisition to be accretive in both 2010 and 2011.

In addition to the JV buyout, ACC has also broken ground on two wholly-owned assets totaling more than $77 million. The first project, a $34.5 million, off-campus development that will serve students attending the University of Texas at San Antonio, is adjacent to the main campus and will consist of 14 residential buildings featuring 792 private bedroom and private bathroom accommodations in a townhome configuration.

The property will feature an 8,000-square-foot community center including a fitness center, student lounge, game room, computer lab, covered patio and resort-style swimming pool. The community is anticipated to open for occupancy fall 2011.

The second project is located on the University of New Mexico’s South Campus. Under the REIT’s American Campus Equity (ACE