PM Realty Breaks Ground on 137 Units

Located at 2410 Shakespeare St. and built to provide housing for Rice University graduate students, the complex will have one- and two-bedroom units. PDG Architects and SpawGlass Construction, both of Houston, are the project's architect and general contractor, respectively. The development will also undertake the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification process.

"Rice University has embraced the US Green Building Council and LEEDs certification process," explains Bruce Edwards, PM Realty Group's EVP and managing director. "They know the value of being certified, and are doing everything they can to participate."

Edwards tells GlobeSt.com that Rice Village is the first student housing project for the Houston company, though it has brought many multifamily developments out of the ground. He acknowledges that PM Realty Group would like to develop similar projects for other universities.

To that end, the company will participate in the Association of College and University Officers-International's convention in June in Orlando. "Our goal is to build relationships with colleges or universities that would allow us ultimately to do student housing and other types of buildings," Edwards notes.

Though there are many similarities between building standard multifamily housing and student housing, Edwards says there are a couple of major differences as well, one being the emphasis on LEEDs design. The other is security.

"Rice has been fantastic about this," Edwards says. "They're always concerned about the well-being of the student population, and they want to be sure there is the proper security, not only in the complex, but in the rooms themselves."