US: Harrison Street has completed the sale of a student housing portfolio valued at $893 million to The Scion Group and an unnamed institutional investor partner.
The transaction involves 14 student housing properties with 8,724 beds across 11 states, serving the University of Arkansas, the University of Missouri, Texas A&M and 10 other major universities. The portfolio was assembled over the past decade through eight different Harrison Street fund vehicles.
Christopher Merrill, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Harrison Street, said: “Investors are increasingly seeking access to the alternative real estate sectors given strong fundamentals and demonstrated performance across varying market environments.”
Harrison Street has invested more than $22 billion in 410 student housing properties across North America and Europe, totalling more than 222,000 beds. It has sold 212 student housing properties for a combined value of more than $8.8 billion.
The firm recently announced new projects at the University of Kentucky and Texas A&M University, partnering with Greystar and The Dinerstein Companies, respectively. Harrison Street is also expanding its student housing presence internationally, recently announcing plans to develop a 345-bed facility in Galway City as part of larger project involving 1,500 purpose-built student beds across four major Irish cities by 2028 in collaboration with local investor Elkstone.
