Student Housing Daily - October 27, 2026 - Michaels acquires 540 beds near VCU in Richmond

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NEWS ROUNDUP

ACQUISITION: Michaels acquires 540 beds near VCU in Richmond. The Michaels Organization has acquired a 160-unit, 540-bed student housing community within walking distance of Virginia Commonwealth University's Monroe Park Campus in Richmond, Virginia, and Michaels Management will manage the property. The furnished one- through four-bedroom units have private bedrooms and bathrooms, and amenities include a 24-hour academic success center, a fitness center and yoga studio, a recreation center, courtyard lounges, a half-court basketball area, a community kitchen and coffee bar, and two levels of secure covered parking. Kevin Gates, senior vice president of capital and transactions management at Michaels, said the property gives VCU's growing enrollment an off-campus housing option.

FINANCING: CSCDA issues $191.4 million in bonds for 1,067 beds at UC Irvine. The California Statewide Communities Development Authority has issued $191.38 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds to build about 1,067 new beds for undergraduate and graduate students on the University of California, Irvine campus. The bonds fund the fifth phase of UC Irvine's East Campus Apartments, which already has more than 7,600 beds built over four earlier phases. The project is owned by CHF-Irvine, whose sole member is the nonprofit Collegiate Housing Foundation, and American Campus Communities operates the property. Barclays and the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe also worked on the financing.

DEVELOPMENT: Johns Hopkins and Maslow's seek approval for 925 beds in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins University and its development partner, Austin-based Maslow's Campus Communities, are seeking Baltimore City Council approval for a 12-story, 925-bed student housing building on North Charles Street. The 264 semi-suite units would house second-year students, and the building would replace four vacant Hopkins-owned buildings that the university bought for about $9.4 million; the project cost has not been disclosed. Council member Odette Ramos introduced a bill to add two of the parcels to the North Charles Village planned unit development and said she supports the project because of the need for housing and because its height matches nearby buildings, and the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the change. Solomon Cordwell Buenz is the architect, with associate principal Monica Willemsen as lead designer, and Mahan Rykiel Associates is the landscape architect.

DEVELOPMENT: UT Knoxville, Provident and RISE advance $98.27 million third housing phase. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville has extended its public-private partnership with Provident Resources Group and RISE Development for a $98.27 million third phase of campus housing, which includes a new eight-story residence hall with nearly 600 beds on Caledonia Avenue next to Presidential Court and the demolition of several older residence halls. The State Building Commission approved the extension and the UT Board of Trustees approved the phase, and Provident will finance and own the building on UT land under a 40-year ground lease, with UT Knoxville holding an option to buy it after a few years.

READ: Lexington planners vote against rezoning for 10-story, 225-unit student housing project.

STUDENT HOUSING FOR SALE

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180 Units | 600 Beds | 100% Occupied | Built 2013 | Near James Madison University

264 Units | 828 Beds | 88% Leased | Built 2001 | Near Texas Tech University

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