Student Housing Daily - October 23, 2026 - Global City, RER and Toll Brothers sell 1,086 beds serving FIU for $168.5M

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NEWS ROUNDUP

DISPOSITION: Global City, RER and Toll Brothers sell 1,086 beds serving FIU for $168.5 million. A joint venture of Global City Development, RER Ventures and Toll Brothers has sold a 1,086-bed, 293-unit student housing community serving Florida International University in Sweetwater, Florida, to the Affordable Housing Preservation Corporation, a Florida nonprofit, for $168.5 million. The purchase was funded with $193.85 million in tax-exempt and taxable bonds issued by the Public Finance Authority, with J.P. Morgan Securities as underwriter and UMB Bank as trustee. Occupancy has stayed above 96% since the property opened. Under an agreement with FIU, the university will market the property, its students get first priority to lease, part of the net cash flow will fund free housing for eligible FIU residents, and FIU can take ownership at no cost once the bonds are repaid. Holland & Knight's Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz, Tomás Castellanos, Jorge Escobar and Aly Arencibia represented Global City Development.

FINANCING: Akara and DEVEN close financing for 305 beds near San Diego State. Akara Partners and Development Ventures Group (DEVEN), backed by its parent company Kajima USA, have closed construction financing and equity for an eight-story, 305-bed, 110-unit student housing development about 100 feet from the San Diego State University campus core. JLL Capital Markets arranged the partnership. Rajen Shastri, founder and CEO of Akara, said SDSU is growing toward 50,000 students while almost no new purpose-built housing has opened near campus in years. Thom Cunningham, president and CEO of DEVEN, said SDSU is a supply-constrained, high-growth market that fits the firm's growing U.S. student housing pipeline.

DEVELOPMENT: 908 Group breaks ground on 684 beds near University of Florida. 908 Group has broken ground on a 684-bed, 219-unit student housing development near Sorority Row and the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The project is a joint venture with Batson-Cook Development Company (BCDC) and a Fortune 100 insurance company providing limited partner equity, with construction financing from Pacific Life. Managing Director Brad Wolfe said returning partners show institutional confidence in the firm and in Gainesville, and Andy Ulsh, senior vice president at BCDC, said the site and the firms' track record let them move with confidence. ARCO/Murray is the general contractor, Humphreys & Partners Architects the architect, NV5 the civil engineer and Asset Living the property manager.

DEVELOPMENT: Coastal Carolina University advances plans for new residence halls. Coastal Carolina University's board of trustees has approved Phase I predesign for new residence halls at the south end of Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina, on land the university already owns. President James J. Winebrake said using university-owned land could speed up the project and that more housing is needed as the university grows. Vice President for Enrollment Management Amanda Craddock said total enrollment is expected to rise 2.4% to about 12,290 students, the fourth straight record year, with an incoming class of 3,610 and a record first-year retention rate of 80.4%. Board Chair Natasha Hanna credited University Advising and the Office of Undergraduate Research for the gains.

READ: Yardi Matrix: Student housing occupancy holds at 92.1% as new supply rises 20%.

STUDENT HOUSING FOR SALE

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17 Units | 17 Beds | $1,600,000 | 100% Occupied | Built 1948, Renovated 2012

11 Units | 12,787 SF | $1,750,000 | 5.0% Cap Rate | Near University at Buffalo

ONE MORE THING

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