Renaissance School Fund's Phyllis Lockett  and Roosevelt U's Miroslava Krug kicked it off, with Phyllis explaining how the 88 charter schools in Chicago have no funding for facilities. They often borrow space from the Archdiocese of Chicago, but many are looking for inexpensive leasable space. Miroslava talked about Roosevelt's new 32-story tower in the South Loop. The $190 million project will include student services facilities, classrooms, and residences. Roosevelt is also evaluating changes at its Schaumburg campus because of increasing enrollment.

Kaplan Higher Education's Steve Altschul and Campus Advantage Inc.'s Dan Oltersdorf see changes in their companies' real estate, as well. Kaplan University which used to be all online, has recently built campuses in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and northwest Indiana for adult students to have a place to meet advisors, teachers and take introductory courses. Dan's company creates student housing and says he's seeing Millennial students demand more, from lazy rivers (as in, winding pools and inner tubes) to business centers. Dan sees student housing growth in the southern states, but Chicago will lead the Midwest, with a projected 2.3% increase in students this decade.