ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Development Ventures Group is moving to dramatically grow its presence in student housing, with plans to grow its student housing development portfolio to over $1 billion worth of assets in the next three years.
The national developer, known as the Deven Group, works in a wide range of niches, having developed such projects as the CNBC global headquarters in New Jersey; the AT&T Park baseball stadium in San Francisco; the Waldorf-Astoria and Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando; and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.
The Deven Group plans to increase its student housing exposure developing new projects at Tier I institutions - universities known for research that have high levels of funding and infrastructure. The company’s student housing target of $1 billion in net asset value would equate to over 8,000 beds.
“We see great opportunity for student housing development close to larger universities,” said Thom Cunningham, the Deven Group’s President and CEO. “Tier 1 institutions continue to see enrollment demand, and we take pride in delivering high-quality housing with the campus proximity and amenities students are looking for.”
Student housing has up to a 20% per-square-foot rent premium vs. traditional multifamily, which makes the niche attractive for the Deven Group, a subsidiary of Kajima USA and the Kajima Corporation, a 180-year-old publicly traded Tokyo-based construction and real estate company with annual revenues exceeding $25 billion. On-time construction delivery is key for any successful student housing project, and by leveraging the Kajima Corporation’s resources, the Deven Group has all the tools to deliver projects on time for fall occupancy.
“We are looking for underutilized student housing sites around the country that can be improved to provide students with safe and convenient housing,” Cunningham said. “We are also seeking opportunities to create student housing as part of mixed-use developments. These projects can often be done on 1- to 3-acre sites within walking distance of university campuses.”
The Deven Group is at times a long-term property owner, but is typically an opportunistic seller of properties it develops. As an example, the Deven Group and partners Intown Group and Halstatt Real Estate Partners sold The Henry, a successful student housing facility in downtown Tampa, Florida, for $128.1 million in June to Strategic Facility Partners. The buyer is a Columbus, Ohio-based not-for-profit that partners with developers, owners and institutions affiliated with student housing.
The Henry, a 440,000-square-foot student housing property near the University of Tampa’s campus, was completed by the Deven Group in advance of the 2021 fall semester, ahead of schedule and under budget.
Under the Deven Group’s stewardship, the project averaged 93% occupancy, created the market for high-end housing for University of Tampa students, and was recognized as one of the premier student housing properties in the country. The property, which has 537 beds in 188 units, has everything from a rooftop pool with a DJ booth to a 24/7 grab-and-go market and a gym with skyline views of Tampa.
The Deven Group has a strong track record of developing student housing beds, and has more than 2,200 beds in its active development pipeline at Tier 1 universities across the country. Among its other projects are two developments with student housing components in Orlando, Florida:
- The Deven Group developed the $260 million Knights Plaza in a public-private partnership with the University of Central Florida. The on-campus project, completed in 2007, included a 10,000-seat basketball arena, 2,000 beds of student housing, 2,100 parking spaces, and 170,000 square feet of retail on 23 acres. The Deven Group created a unique structure that provided private financing for a project that would have traditionally been university-funded.
- The Deven Group partnered with Ustler Development and Halstatt Real Estate Partners in 2018 to develop and co-invest in UnionWest at Creative Village, a mixed-use student housing high-rise that was the first phase of the master-planned Creative Village in downtown Orlando. Construction was completed in 2019 on the $107 million project, which includes 640 student housing beds, 105,000 square feet of education space leased to UCF and Valencia College, 12,000 square feet of commercial space and a 600-space parking garage.
About Development Ventures Group (Deven Group)
Development Ventures Group, known as the Deven Group, is a developer and owner of student housing, mixed use and hospitality projects across the United States. The Deven Group is a subsidiary of Kajima USA and the Tokyo-based Kajima Corporation, a construction and real estate company with annual revenues exceeding $25 billion. With a focus on high-quality real estate assets, a reliance on a deep analytical approach to investing, and an enduring commitment to integrity, the Deven Group’s mission is to develop, invest in, and own projects that offer superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, visit the company’s website.