Howard University Expands Student Housing P3 with Corvias

WASHINGTON, DC—Howard University has expanded its existing public-private partnership with Corvias of East Greenwich, RI to provide student housing with a deal to renovate Howard Center, into a mixed-use facility that will feature 183 student beds.

The expansion of the existing P3 between Howard University and Corvias increases the scope of the arrangement to 3,009 beds, $144 million in capital raised, a total of $1.7 billion in total economic impact and $39.5 million in debt defeasance.

“This project is a unique opportunity for Howard University to drive the re-imagination of the Georgia Avenue Corridor. It is a small, but significant initial step in furthering the DUKE Plan, which envisions the immediate environment as part of the ‘Howard Town Center Area.’”

As part of this expansion, Corvias will manage the property and work with Gilbane Building Co. to renovate the 90,157-square-foot Howard Center, which is located at 2225 Georgia Ave., N.W.

For the first time, the project will make available new housing that targets primarily professional and graduate students who make up a significant portion of the campus population. Currently, there are limited affordable housing options within close proximity to the central campus, university officials stated.

The plan for the nine-floor building calls for floors one and two to be devoted to retail that will include a Starbucks and a Howard University bookstore. Resident amenities will be housed on floors three and four. Floors five through nine will be devoted to housing for professional and graduate students, upperclassmen, and faculty and staff with 176 residential units totaling 183 beds. The units will feature a mix of studios, one-bedroom one-bath, and two-bedroom, two bath apartments. The property will also offer functional meeting and event space to be utilized by residents and Howard University.

The university reports it has collaborated with the District of Columbia and financial and development partners to invest $33 million of tax-exempt capital in the project. The Howard Center project is expected to be completed and available for occupancy in August 2019. Corvias will serve as property manager for the Howard Center upon completion

The Howard Center team includes: Corvias, The District of Columbia, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Preston Hollow Capital, Provident Resources Group, and Alvarez & Marsal. The initiative continues the strategy championed by Howard University president Wayne A. I. Frederick to innovate the campus, while improving the Georgia Avenue Corridor.

In 2016, Corvias and Howard University announced the 40-year P3 agreement as part of the university’s strategy to leverage assets in order to improve campus infrastructure and enhance the overall student experience. As part of this partnership, Corvias is financing, renovating, managing, operating, and maintaining four residential facilities on the Central Campus of Howard University including the East and West Towers, Charles R. Drew Hall and George W. Cook Hall.

In addition, in 2018, Howard University engaged Corvias in a short-term housing service operations agreement that includes residential programming, student leadership training and management of the administration of occupancy processes within housing at the university.

Recently, Corvias has announced two P3 agreements with universities in the Midwest. On Jan. 23, Corvias reported it was selected for a P3 with the University of Notre Dame to design, build, finance, operate and maintain married and parenting family-focused housing. The partnership will allow the university in South Bend, IN to offer a cost-effective housing option meeting the needs of married and parenting students and their families.

In late December, Corvias was identified as the preferred development partner, pending Board of Trustees approval, for a student housing P3 with Lake Superior State University in Michigan that encompasses all on-campus housing (1,065 total beds). Financial close is expected to be in late 2019 / early 2020, with development to begin thereafter and be completed by August 2022.