The European hotel operator, developer and investor expects to have invested around €1 bn in Italy by 2025, representing a significant portion of its total European forward development pipeline.
Pan-European hotel operator, developer and investor, The Student Hotel (TSH) has acquired a 30,000m2 site on the northern edge of the centre of Turin, from the Metropolitan City of Turin, and said it plans to deliver a new urban campus scheduled to open in 2023. TSH will invest an estimated €65 mln in the development, one of the company’s largest-scale urban regeneration projects in Europe and the first to incorporate a purpose-built educational facility, for the IAAD Design University.
Turin, Italy’s fourth largest city, will be TSH’s sixth project in the Italian market, bringing its total development pipeline there to around €400 mln. With further Italian cities in its sights, TSH expects to invest around €1 bn in Italy by 2025, representing a significant portion of its total European forward development pipeline.
The project marks TSH’s entry into a fourth Italian metropolis. TSH Florence opened in June 2018 and it has two additional developments in the city. TSH Bologna is to open in September 2020 and the company also has a project underway in Rome. By 2023, TSH will have opened 2,500 rooms and redeveloped more than 190,000 m2 of urban regeneration across Italy.
Charlie McGregor, TSH’s CEO and Founder, said: 'TSH has become the leading international investor in the rapidly expanding coliving and coworking market across Italy, in a remarkably short space of time, because of the successful partnerships forged with local municipalities to deliver its award-winning mixed-use model that connects local and international communities. Our blended business model, which brings together an investor, developer and operator, allows us to take a long-term view, adopt new approaches to development as well as offer best-in-class services to all our guests and become a thriving community hub for cities.'
The Mayor of Turin, said: 'We welcome TSH’s plans for the development of a new ‘The Student Hotel’ campus in Turin. It is an important step towards the regeneration of the Ponte Mosca site near the historic city centre and will materially increase the quality and quantity of the services on offer for students, tourists and people coming to Turin to work for short periods of time.'
The new campus will be anchored by TSH Turin, which will encompass some 525 rooms, a 2,000m2 Collab, TSH’s co-working hub and extensive public spaces. The plans include an auditorium with the potential to become a cinema at night and a rooftop bar with swimming pool and stunning views of the Alps, open to the neighbouring community. The project will also see the creation of a new urban park for the city and include a state-of-the-art 3,000 m2 building for the IAAD Design University.
Edoardo Volpi, TSH head of Investments Italy, added: 'Following this major step for our growth in Italy, we are now targeting other key cities such as Milan, where we have been active recently and where we aim to secure our next site soon, thanks to the advanced discussions currently underway.'
TSH has appointed Milan-based Studio Tectoo as architects for the project and was advised on the transaction by Dentons, Italsocotec, Studio Bossolono and Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati.
