American Campus Readies to Close on 12,000-Bed Portfolio

AUSTIN-Less than 48 hours after citing acquisition opportunities during its Q3 earnings conference call, locally based American Campus Communities Inc. has completed its due diligence on a 12,049-bed student housing portfolio. ACC will pay $862.8 million for the portfolio, which is currently owned by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP.

The portfolio consists of 19 student housing properties, including a 366-bed project currently under development. The sale is anticipated to close during Q4 of this year.

The portfolio consists of:

• The Lofts of Kennesaw, 795 beds, Kennesaw State University
• Aspen Heights, 308 beds, Louisiana State University
• The Cottages of Baton Rouge, 1,290 beds, Louisiana State University
• The Lodges of East Lansing, Phases I and II, 1,049 beds, Michigan State University
• The Province - Rochester, 816 beds, Rochester Institute of Technology
• 25Twenty, 562 beds, Texas Tech University
• 5 Twenty Five Angliana, 320 beds, University of Kentucky
• 5 Twenty Four Angliana, 740 beds, University of Kentucky
• The Province - Louisville, 858 beds, University of Louisville
• Grindstone Canyon, 384 beds, University of Missouri
• The Cottages of Columbia, 513 beds, University of Missouri
• Forest Village/Woodlake, 704 beds, University of Missouri
• The Cottages of Durham, 619 beds, University of New Hampshire
• The Province - Greensboro, 696 beds, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• West 27th Place, 475 beds, University of Southern California
• The Province - Tampa, 947 beds, University of South Florida
• The Lofts at Capital Garage, 144 beds, Virginia Commonwealth University
• RAMZ Apartments on Broad, 172 beds, Virginia Commonwealth University
• The Province - Dayton, 657 beds, Wright State University

The assets will offer upside with a current occupancy of 92.3 percent for the 2012-2013 academic year. The company also expects to bring efficiencies with its proven operating platform that will replace six different third-party managers. ACC plans to invest an additional $12.3 million in amenity upgrades and capital improvements to drive future rental rate and revenue growth.

"We believe these 19 select assets offer high-quality products and locations in Tier 1 markets," says Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus Communities in a press release. "Furthermore, approximately 75% of the select portfolio is an average of 0.3 miles from campus in submarkets with barriers to entry. We are excited about this opportunity to create substantial value by overlaying our operating platform on this portfolio."