Innovative Student Housing and The Carlyle Group purchased Taylor Bend, a newly constructed luxury student housing property less than a mile from Ole Miss. Innovative COO David Neef (above, at his other job, volunteer firefighter) tells us his firm likes to enter markets through property management, and that's how it nabbed this deal off-market. Taylor Bend was struggling with operations and leasing, so Innovative came on to manage it, which evolved into an acquisition with significant upside. The firm entered the BYU Idaho market the same way and is now closing a 1,000-bed development deal there.

Here's Taylor Bend, which opened August 2012. David tells us his firm ID'd 250 campuses that fit its boxes, typically secondary schools in the 15,000 to 25,000 enrollment range. Innovative prefers opportunities that aren't nationally listed and need property management help. Its goal is to do three developments and five or six acquisitions this year. In the pipeline is the BYU Idaho development, an acquisition at Valdosta State and a development in California. Want to hear more? David was just added to the panel of Bisnow's second annual student housing event in Dallas, held next Friday. Join us!

What's the coolest thing you've seen in a student housing project? Tell Catie Dixon at catie@bisnow.com or Tonie Auer at tonie@bisnow.com.