GREENWICH, CT—Starwood Capital Group said Wednesday it had made its first investments in the student housing sector via its Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X. Totaling 10 communities with 2,301 units and 6,855 beds, the properties serve nine public universities with an average enrollment of more than 30,000.

Starwood Capital did not identify the sellers, a pair of institutional investors, nor did it disclose the price it paid in the two concurrent transactions. However, industry sources show that the company has closed on acquisitions of Chapel Ridge and Chapel View in Chapel Hill, NC; University Place in Charlottesville, VA; The View in Lincoln, NE; and University Greens in Norman, OK.

All five properties serve state universities and all are in the portfolio of American Campus Communities, with pricing ranging between $75,000 and $168,000 per unit, according to industry data. The Chapel Hill properties sold for a combined $47.3 million, and represent slightly more than one-sixth of the portfolio's total unit count.

“We have been tracking the student housing sector for years and are excited to capitalize on a rare opportunity to gain critical mass on Tier 1 campuses with growing enrollment,” says Ethan Bing, VP at Starwood Capital. The company says the campuses served by its new acquisitions include the University of North Carolina, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and the University of Virginia. 

Houston-based Asset Campus Housing will manage the communities acquired through the two transactions. Long an active multifamily investor, Starwood Capital said Wednesday it plans to continue making acquisitions in that category as well as student housing.