From The Magazine

The push to create affordable housing is creeping into student housing properties, further blurring the line that distinguishes the category from conventional multifamily assets. Municipal policies are largely driving the movement. Although the programs differ from one city to the next, they typically offer private developers density bonuses, fee waivers and other incentives to build the housing and secure long-term commitments to affordability with deed restrictions or other agreements. Some cities allow developers to contribute to a public housing fund to either opt out of providing on-site affordable units or …

In a way, the dynamics of public-private partnerships (P3s) are the same as they’ve always been.  “The reasons why universities elect to go the P3 route haven’t changed much,” says Michael Baird, managing director of municipal finance for RBC Capital Markets. “For many, the decision is made based on speed to market. This happens when other alternatives can take years — resulting in an opportunity cost of not being able to provide housing to students that need housing now, in addition to increased development expenses as construction costs continue to increase year …

It would be impossible to write a development or design article without mentioning the elephant in the room — the state of the capital markets and the current hurdles in securing financing of any sort, but especially for new development projects. While demand for new communities exists in many markets, getting projects to pencil is the tricky part. For those developments that can move forward, innovative architecture and design are being employed to make the projects as functional and efficient as possible. Out are some of the flashier amenities from …