Student Housing Moving Up
College towns have been getting lots of investor interest from the big cities. The latest, Husky Korners Plaza in Bloomsburg, was purchased by Sunrise Properties for $3.6M. The seller was a family partnership out of New York that had owned the property for 20 years. The new owners are local, but RRA managing partners Corey Lonberger and Ken Wellar, who brokered the deal, say that the low rents combined with more potential buyers looking at student housing markets will make it a superb asset for repositioning. The 50-unit property sits adjacent to the Bloomsburg University campus and historically boasts full occupancy, both in its residential units and 12k SF of retail spaces.
RRA’s other deals of late include the 52-unit Cloverly Park Apartments (pictured) in East Falls, which sold to Castellan Real Estate Partners; and a mixed-use portfolio of 33 apartments and 10 retail/office spaces at 45th & Chestnut in University City bought by King of Prussia-based Prime TI for $5.4M. In Delaware, the 320-unit Lancaster Court in Elsmere sold for $13.8M to Berger Rental Communities. Corey and Ken say the deal was unique for involving an HOA, with 25 different owner entities signing on as sellers. The owner plans $7M in renovations to make the units upscale for working professionals.
