Harrison Street, Alta to develop 260-bed student housing in Spain

A joint venture between Harrison Street and Alta Real Estate is developing a 260-bed student accommodation asset in Spain.

The four-story purpose-built student accommodation asset in Salamanca, which is expected to deliver in July, will be managed by Global Student Accommodation’s (GSA) Nexo Residences, the companies said in a joint statement.

The property will offer 260 studio apartments and amenities including a gym, study lounges, cinema room, outdoor seating and terraced garden and parking. Financial details were undisclosed.

The Salamanca property is part of a pipeline of over 1,000 beds that the Harrison Street and Alta Real Estate joint venture currently has across select leading university cities in Spain, including Barcelona, Oviedo and Salamanca.

GSA and Harrison Street began their partnership in December 2015 and have since acquired 27 properties accounting for over 8,600 beds across the UK, Ireland and Spain.

Paul Bashir, CEO of Harrison Street’s European business, said: “Salamanca is home to nearly 30,000 full-time students yet only has accommodation for less than 10% of that student population, with most of those options being severely outdated.

“Alta Real Estate has a highly successful track record delivering top tier purpose-built student accommodations across Spain and we are pleased to continue our partnership with them to deliver much-needed modern housing options to students attending Salamanca’s prestigious universities.”

Juan Francisco Díaz Bermejo, managing partner at Alta Real Estate, said: “Due to its long and prestigious university tradition, the wonderful city of Salamanca was always a primary objective for our successful JV with Harrison Street, who is a leader with a global presence in the markets in which it operates.

“After two years of dedicated work, we can finally announce the upcoming opening of our residence in Salamanca, a first-class project, as the excellent and professional team at Harrison Street always demands of us, which we are sure will have a great reception among the students of Salamanca.”

Christopher Holloway, business Development director of GSA said: “Partnering with Harrison Street to manage another of their projects is an important step for GSA, strengthening our credentials as the third-party operator of choice across Europe and the USA, and we look forward to serving the students of this vibrant university city.”

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