“When I grew up, as a kid, I shared a bathroom with my sister,” he says. “Kids growing up today have their own bathroom, so they want their own bathroom. The level of expectation has gone up beyond affluence. I just think there's a rising tide about how kids grow up today, having their own closet space. Our job as developers is to do focus groups, speak to our students and find out what's important to them in those units.”

Most students don't really care about having a television in their bedrooms any more, Adelman says. Most viewing, with the exception of sporting events that become spectator events in community spaces, is done using streaming video on handheld devices or portable computers, he says.

Wireline telephones are also declassé among college students, Adelman says, laughing. “I used to have a subsidiary company that provided phone lines,” he says. “Not one kid has a wired line any more. Kids are getting cell phones at 14 or 15, so it's just an appendage at this point.”

The transformation of the work world from the tethered office environment to the highly mobile generation of workers collaborating in a local coffee shop lends itself to a greater demand for multifamily living, Adelman says. “You'll walk into a common area room, all the kids have earbuds in, on their laptops, really deep into their work, you can hear a pin drop, but they just want to feel that there are other people there,” he says.

The changing tastes in student housing mean that individual sleeping units can be smaller, but amenities are larger, and costs are somewhat higher, Adelman says. “They're not living in their bedrooms, the average square footage is going down, and it's going down in multifamily as well,” he says. “This whole generation of student housing is much more expensive than anything built before it.”

Among the newer projects designed by Campus Apartments along these lines is a mixed-use project at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, completed five years ago, that included retail on the ground floor. The recently renovated Campus Crossing at Marion Pugh in College Station, TX, includes everything from a state-of-the-art fitness center to a resort-style pool and dog park.

Adelman's biggest concern is that multifamily developers trying to design student housing who are unfamiliar with the needs of students for on-demand services may “stub their toe.”

“It's more intensive,” he says. “We furnish all of our units, which typically doesn't happen in multifamily. We inspect quarterly, so we're a little more active and hands-on. Our turnover happens in a two-week period, so you have to be a little more robust.”

As an asset-class, student housing is better able to weather economic cycles, Adelman says, noting that Campus Apartment properties' occupancy did not decline during the recession. “Mom and dad are going to make personal sacrifices to make sure their kids stay in school,” he says.

PHILADELPHIA—Simplistic, dormitory-style student housing, with cinder block walls and spartan bedrooms, has become a thing of the past, says David Adelman, CEO of Campus Apartments, a large national developer of student housing headquartered here in Philadelphia, PA.

Current college students expect a higher-quality of living than past generations, he says. They aren't looking for luxury, but they do want to live in sophisticated spaces with amenities that closely resemble traditional multifamily housing options.

“This generation of renter has certain expectations both from service to level of finishes, and most important, amenity space,” Adelman tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “I think that's where you're seeing the lines blurred the most, the ability to create amenity space, club houses, meeting rooms, exercise facilities, that parallel that of the multifamily industry.”

Campus Apartments tries to keep its finger on the pulse of the wants and needs of student residents, Adelman says.

“When I grew up, as a kid, I shared a bathroom with my sister,” he says. “Kids growing up today have their own bathroom, so they want their own bathroom. The level of expectation has gone up beyond affluence. I just think there's a rising tide about how kids grow up today, having their own closet space. Our job as developers is to do focus groups, speak to our students and find out what's important to them in those units.”

Most students don't really care about having a television in their bedrooms any more, Adelman says. Most viewing, with the exception of sporting events that become spectator events in community spaces, is done using streaming video on handheld devices or portable computers, he says.

Wireline telephones are also declassé among college students, Adelman says, laughing. “I used to have a subsidiary company that provided phone lines,” he says. “Not one kid has a wired line any more. Kids are getting cell phones at 14 or 15, so it's just an appendage at this point.”

The transformation of the work world from the tethered office environment to the highly mobile generation of workers collaborating in a local coffee shop lends itself to a greater demand for multifamily living, Adelman says. “You'll walk into a common area room, all the kids have earbuds in, on their laptops, really deep into their work, you can hear a pin drop, but they just want to feel that there are other people there,” he says.

The changing tastes in student housing mean that individual sleeping units can be smaller, but amenities are larger, and costs are somewhat higher, Adelman says. “They're not living in their bedrooms, the average square footage is going down, and it's going down in multifamily as well,” he says. “This whole generation of student housing is much more expensive than anything built before it.”

Among the newer projects designed by Campus Apartments along these lines is a mixed-use project at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, completed five years ago, that included retail on the ground floor. The recently renovated Campus Crossing at Marion Pugh in College Station, TX, includes everything from a state-of-the-art fitness center to a resort-style pool and dog park.

Adelman's biggest concern is that multifamily developers trying to design student housing who are unfamiliar with the needs of students for on-demand services may “stub their toe.”

“It's more intensive,” he says. “We furnish all of our units, which typically doesn't happen in multifamily. We inspect quarterly, so we're a little more active and hands-on. Our turnover happens in a two-week period, so you have to be a little more robust.”

As an asset-class, student housing is better able to weather economic cycles, Adelman says, noting that Campus Apartment properties' occupancy did not decline during the recession. “Mom and dad are going to make personal sacrifices to make sure their kids stay in school,” he says.