Core Spaces has raised roughly $1.64 billion from its most recent flagship fund that's investing in student housing. This close marks one of the largest capital raisings to ever take place in the alternative asset class, according to the Chicago-based firm.
Commitments came from investors located across the globe.
The fund's performance reflects confidence that investors have in Core's platform, which includes a pipeline in top university regions and a development strategy that's guided by discipline, according to the company.
Since its founding in 2010, Core has focused on both the student housing and build-to-rent spaces. Its student housing approach hones in on main‑and‑main areas, hospitality offerings and designs that inspire. In the sector, where Core manages 74,440 beds with an additional roughly 53,860 beds in the pipeline, the company has emerged as a leader.
"This is a big moment for us, but it reflects how we've always thought. From the start, we saw something others didn't and pioneered urban infill student housing by placing our communities where students actually live, not miles away," said Marc Lifshin, co-founder and CEO of Core Spaces, in a statement.
"We never set out to just build housing. We set out to create experiences by understanding how people want to live and obsessing over every detail to bring that to life. We've never followed the playbook. We've rewritten it through design that resonates, operations that feel like hospitality, and a team that shows up every day with a rookie mindset."
It's unclear if Core plans to target any specific regions under its fund.
In January 2026, student preleasing improved to 52.3 percent versus 45.6 percent seen in the same month in the previous year, according to a report from Yardi Matrix. Overall, the numbers were strong, with 64 schools beating last year's numbers by at least 10%, versus 28 being behind by the same amount.
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