Student Housing Management Goes International

HOUSTON—Asset Campus Housing has been operating internationally for three years. After several successful lease-ups abroad, the company has continued to expand its expertise in several other parts of the world and is taking its first steps into the Canadian student housing market. Canada is the seventh international market into which Asset Campus has entered.

Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors and Campus Suites have tapped the student housing company to manage Montreal's Parc Cité. Asset Campus manages 10 other Kayne Anderson properties as part of a five-year relationship between the two companies.

“We are always looking for opportunities to expand our international presence,” said Ryan McGrath, president of Asset Campus Housing. “Parc Cité gives us a chance to build on our partnership with Kayne Anderson and Campus Suites. We are extremely excited to expand our relationship with Kayne Anderson in Canada and for the chance to bring our expertise to that market while working alongside some of the industry's best operators and developers.”

Vice president Patrick Flaherty of Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors said Canada features its own set of challenges for student housing companies doing business there. That is especially true of the French-speaking Quebec province of Montreal. Asset Campus has bridged those gaps before, he said, so the company's team knew exactly what to do in terms of understanding local housing laws, communicating with the Parc Cité staff properly and using an onsite coordinator to handle the transition. In addition, institutional property management can present some unique challenges in Canada, particularly Parc Cité, which is a converted hotel.

When the decision was made to start consolidating some of Kayne Anderson's properties with a trusted partner, Asset Campus Housing was the first company that came to mind, says Henry Morton, president of Campus Suites.

“Bringing Asset Campus Housing onboard with Parc Cité was an easy discussion to have with the team,” says Morton. “We knew what Asset Campus brought to the table and about its depth of experience and success in the States and abroad.”

The 280-bed Parc Cité serves students attending McGill University, as well as other nearby schools such as Concordia University. The property opened in 2014 and features fully furnished units, a fitness center, study rooms and an onsite Tim Horton's coffee shop. The property also includes its own chefs on call location that provides students and young professionals with a wide range of competitively priced foods.

“We are proud to be a family-owned Houston business that has expanded to include a portfolio of managed properties across the globe,” McGrath tells GlobeSt.com. “By assuming management of Montreal's Parc Cité, we can expand our international presence to include Canada and bring our expertise to that market while working alongside some of the industry's best operators and developers.” 

HOUSTON—Asset Campus Housing has been operating internationally for three years. After several successful lease-ups abroad, the company has continued to expand its expertise in several other parts of the world and is taking its first steps into the Canadian student housing market. Canada is the seventh international market into which Asset Campus has entered.

Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors and Campus Suites have tapped the student housing company to manage Montreal's Parc Cité. Asset Campus manages 10 other Kayne Anderson properties as part of a five-year relationship between the two companies.

“We are always looking for opportunities to expand our international presence,” said Ryan McGrath, president of Asset Campus Housing. “Parc Cité gives us a chance to build on our partnership with Kayne Anderson and Campus Suites. We are extremely excited to expand our relationship with Kayne Anderson in Canada and for the chance to bring our expertise to that market while working alongside some of the industry's best operators and developers.”

Vice president Patrick Flaherty of Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors said Canada features its own set of challenges for student housing companies doing business there. That is especially true of the French-speaking Quebec province of Montreal. Asset Campus has bridged those gaps before, he said, so the company's team knew exactly what to do in terms of understanding local housing laws, communicating with the Parc Cité staff properly and using an onsite coordinator to handle the transition. In addition, institutional property management can present some unique challenges in Canada, particularly Parc Cité, which is a converted hotel.

When the decision was made to start consolidating some of Kayne Anderson's properties with a trusted partner, Asset Campus Housing was the first company that came to mind, says Henry Morton, president of Campus Suites.

“Bringing Asset Campus Housing onboard with Parc Cité was an easy discussion to have with the team,” says Morton. “We knew what Asset Campus brought to the table and about its depth of experience and success in the States and abroad.”

The 280-bed Parc Cité serves students attending McGill University, as well as other nearby schools such as Concordia University. The property opened in 2014 and features fully furnished units, a fitness center, study rooms and an onsite Tim Horton's coffee shop. The property also includes its own chefs on call location that provides students and young professionals with a wide range of competitively priced foods.

“We are proud to be a family-owned Houston business that has expanded to include a portfolio of managed properties across the globe,” McGrath tells GlobeSt.com. “By assuming management of Montreal's Parc Cité, we can expand our international presence to include Canada and bring our expertise to that market while working alongside some of the industry's best operators and developers.”