CapitaLand’s lodging business unit, Ascott, and its hospitality trust, Ascott Residence Trust (ART), will jointly invest and develop a $109.9m (€90.6m) student accommodation asset in South Carolina, US.
Initially, Ascott and Ascott Residence Trust will jointly own a 45% stake each in the project. An unnamed third-party partner will own the remaining 10% stake for alignment of interest.
The partner is a joint venture between one of the largest student housing developers in the US and a large national real estate developer and contractor based in the US, according to CapitaLand.
When the property’s performance has stabilised, the CapitaLand subsidiaries are to acquire the remaining share from the third-party partner.
The 678-bed student accommodation complex is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.
The company said Ascott had separately formed a partnership with the student housing developer to invest and develop more student accommodation properties in the US.
These properties could become a potential pipeline for ART, which would also have the right to fully acquire the student accommodation asset from Ascott in future.
Kevin Goh, CapitaLand’s chief executive officer for lodging and Ascott’s chief executive officer, said: “Through our partnership with the leading local student housing developer, Ascott will gain immediate access to prime student accommodation assets in the USA.”
Goh said Ascott would continue to work with reputable partners to enlarge the group’s student accommodation and rental housing portfolios in its target markets.
The latest transaction was the second student accommodation asset for ART, said Beh Siew Kim, ART’s chief executive officer, adding that the trust first entered the US market with an acquisition in Georgia.
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