EdR Starts 653-Bed Project at West Chester U

WEST CHESTER, PA-Student housing developer EdR, based in Memphis, said Wednesday it had closed on financing and begun construction on a $57.5-million third-party collegiate housing development on the campus of the West Chester University of Pennsylvania here. To be known as Commonwealth Hall, it's slated for completion in the summer of 2014. EdR worked with Raymond James-Morgan Keegan as the placement agent and underwriter to arrange the tax-exempt financing for the project with the US Department of Agriculture.

In a statement, Randy Churchey, EdR's president and CEO, notes that the 653-bed project continues the university's Housing Renewal Initiative that began in 2001 to renovate student housing on the WCU campus. “We are proud to have been selected by West Chester University Foundation to partner with them again as they continue to enhance and grow their student housing,” Churchey says. “This will be our 19th development within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and we are very pleased to continue our successful track record at WCU.”

Commonwealth Hall will include a variety of floor plans from single-occupancy apartments to shared-living suites for up to six residents, according to a release. Amenities will include a fitness center, study lounges and a full residence life program. The university's student health services, counseling center and emergency medical services will be on the lower level of this eight-story building. The hall will be owned by University Student Housing LLC, a subsidiary of the West Chester University Foundation, which has constructed and currently operates 2,311 beds in five residence halls on campus.

WCU is the second largest of the 14 public institutions in the PASSHE and the fourth-largest university in the Philadelphia area. Enrollment has grown approximately 3% over each of the past five years.