Chicago — The Scion Group and PGIM Real Estate have formed a joint venture partnership and completed the acquisition of two student housing communities totaling 1,244 beds.
Acquisitions include Verve, a community located near the Rutgers University campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Aero on 24th, a property serving students attending the University of Florida in Gainesville. TSB Realty provided advisory services to the sellers in connection with the transaction.
Verve offers a mix of studio, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom, fully furnished units. Shared amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, study lounge, individual and group study rooms, a cafe and gaming space, outdoor lounge, electronic package lockers and ground-level retail.
Aero on 24th was designed by Childs Dreyfus Group and offers one-, two- and four-bedroom, fully furnished units with bed-to-bath parity. Property amenities include a resort-style swimming pool with cabanas, an outdoor kitchen and grill, a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center and cardio theater, yoga and pilates studio, clubroom, coffee bar, business lounge and gaming center. Both communities delivered in fall 2020.
“We are very excited about our new venture with PGIM Real Estate and the opportunity to partner with another world-class institutional investor,” says Robert Bronstein, president of Scion.
“The addition of these newly developed, well-situated properties in highly sought-after university markets expands our reach to a leading northeast U.S. campus market at Rutgers and marks our fourth investment at the University of Florida, further augmenting Scion’s leading industry footprint,” says Avi Lewittes, Scion’s chief investment officer.
—Katie Sloan