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Student Housing Daily - May 13, 2026 - Vesper acquires 500-bed asset in Iowa

Student Housing Daily - May 13, 2026 - Vesper acquires 500-bed asset in Iowa

L3 Campus and Aureon refinance 636-bed asset. Oberlin College to expand housing. UMass Amherst selects ACC-led team. Student housing is changing fast; public-private partnerships are key. Four new student housing deals.

Aid Sopjani & Matt H
May 13, 2026

Good morning. Welcome to Student Housing Daily! In each issue, we cover the top stories, trends, and listings in student housing.

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NEWS ROUNDUP

ACQUISITION: Vesper acquires 500-bed asset in Iowa. Vesper Holdings has acquired The Hive, a newly built student housing community within walking distance of the University of Iowa. Isaac Sitt, co-founder and co-CEO of Vesper Holdings, said the property fits the company’s strategy of acquiring newly built, best-in-class assets in walkable locations near flagship public universities. Christopher Epp of Walker & Dunlop represented the seller, while Will Baker and William Shell of Walker & Dunlop arranged acquisition debt for Vesper.

FINANCING: L3 Campus and Aureon refinance 636-bed community. L3 Campus and Aureon Partners have secured a $53.7 million refinancing for a 210-unit, 636-bed student housing community near Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. Walker & Dunlop’s team of Will Baker, Mike Shropshire, William Shell, and Doug McDaniel arranged the seven-year floating-rate Freddie Mac loan, which includes a four-year interest-only period, while Austin Kinn of TSB Capital Advisors advised the borrower.

DEVELOPMENT: Oberlin College to expand housing. Oberlin College is developing plans for a new building next to Wilder Hall that could combine dining options with apartment-style student housing, as part of its long-running Dining Master Plan. Mark Zeno, assistant vice president and dean of residence life and auxiliary services, said the project could create more autonomous on-campus housing, including apartments with kitchen.

DEVELOPMENT: UMass Amherst selects ACC-led team for modernization plan. The University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Massachusetts Building Authority have selected a development team led by American Campus Communities to help create a long-range, phased plan to modernize campus housing while maintaining affordability and exploring additional non-residential amenities.

READ: Student housing is changing fast. Public-private partnerships are key.