Italian asset managers InvestiRE and CDP Real Asset have set up the iGeneration Fund to create 1,800 beds in innovative university residences throughout Italy.
The new type of hybrid housing for students and young workers foresee the integration of the residential component and services such as co-working spaces, start-up incubators, technological and research hubs also in collaboration with university universities.
The platform includes an initial investment of €130 mln, which will be covered by the National Fund for Social Housing (FNAS) up to a maximum share of 50%.
Managed by CDP Real Asset, FNAS promotes real estate interventions featuring a high social impact on the territory and focused on the ‘3 S's’ of sustainable housing: social, student and senior housing.
A number of institutional investors, such as credit institutions, territorial foundations of banking origin, and national pension institutions and funds, take part in FNAS, including Intesa Sanpaolo.
The iGeneration Fund is a financial product whose investment strategy is socially responsible and sustainable within the meaning of Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), as it contributes to positive social and environmental spillovers.
The real estate initiatives will be built throughout Italy in areas with high potential for the presence of excellent universities.
They will represent virtuous local urban regeneration models, complementing the development of universities, hubs and innovation districts.
The Fund's objective is to help bridge the gap between demand and supply of accommodation in the university and professional housing sector, working with both territorial foundations of banking origin and relevant universities.
The management of the facilities will be entrusted to leading national and local operators in the sector.
The platform's first investment will be a 15,000 m2 property in Naples, located near the Central Station, part of a broader urban regeneration project in the eastern part of the city, while the management will be entrusted to CampusX.
InvestiRE SGR is part of Banca Finnat Group, while CDP Real Asset SGR is 70% owned by CDP and 30% in equivalent shares by ACRI and ABI, respectively.
