CHICAGO—Student housing has become a big business in the US, mostly because both students and their families have created demand for amenity-rich communities located near top universities. And now CA Ventures, a Chicago-based developer, says it's ready to launch a $500 million effort that will bring similar housing to students throughout much of Europe.
“This is a really ripe opportunity for an American developer to introduce a product type that is lacking in many European markets,” JJ Smith, president of CA Student Living, tells GlobeSt.com. Several US investors are already active in Europe, but his firm has bigger plans. “They're really just writing checks, for lack of a better description. We plan to be more hands-on.”
The company has expertise in the entire life cycle of student housing communities. It will partner with local European firms and handle land acquisition, development, construction management, and leasing. Such partnerships are “how we built our business. Essentially, we are going to replicate what we did in the US.”
“There is a huge influx of international students in Europe,” he adds, and that will provide one of the engines of growth in the continent's student housing market. The continent has about 20 million students, roughly the same amount as the US. Currently, about four million are students from overseas, but that number that will increase to around eight million by 2025.
Many of the new international students are Chinese, Korean, or other Asians. They are flocking to Europe primarily to attend the growing number of schools that provide English-language programs. “That's where the growth is happening,” Smith says, and the firm will concentrate its efforts in such areas. “We believe we can get out ahead of some of these trends.”
It is in active negotiations to acquire properties and development sites in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. It is also currently developing two student housing projects in Poland – 700 beds in Krakow and 400 beds in Warsaw.
CA Ventures has a $6.7 billion portfolio comprising student housing, multifamily and senior living communities throughout the US. It also has considerable experience developing properties overseas. Over the last eight years, CA Student Living has amassed a $3 billion portfolio serving over 40 universities in the US, Canada, Latin America and, now, Europe. During that same period, CA successfully sold over $2.5 billion of student accommodation assets.
The firm's strategy is to deliver highly amenitized, best-in-class near-campus properties in leading university markets, both nationally and internationally, where enrollments have increased and the housing supply has not kept pace. That's the European plan as well. However, in addition to near-campus properties, the firm may also partner with European schools that will sign master leases for new housing.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
