US: Fairlawn Capital has purchased more than 50 student housing properties in Champaign, Illinois, near the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, for $150 million.
The firm acquired the portfolio from Campus Property Management. The transaction represented the highest-ever portfolio sale price in Champaign County, as well as the largest number of units, bedrooms and buildings in a single portfolio sale in the area.
The portfolio comprises nearly 1,100 units and totals 863,961 square feet. The buildings range from single-family rental homes to traditional student housing apartments. The portfolio’s newest property was constructed three years ago and the oldest property was built more than 50 years ago.
The transaction closed in four tranches. Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale. The firm’s senior managing director of investments Scott Harris and senior associate Bryan Kunze represented the longtime owner and procured the buyer for the deal.
“During our marketing process, we received substantial interest despite the pandemic and uncertainty in the marketplace, and the end result was a win-win for both buyer and seller,” said Harris. “The seller had owned many of the student housing properties for decades and was ready to divest while the investment group wanted to expand its footprint in the Champaign-Urbana market and recognised the value-add opportunity to reposition a number of the assets through unit upgrades and reconfigurations, as well as the addition of select amenities.”
“We are pleased to acquire this sizeable and well-located portfolio on the UIUC campus and are excited for the long-term potential as we reposition these assets with our best-in-class management team,” said Fairlawn Capital’s managing partner Will Thompson.
