The off-campus student housing market continues to grow in Tucson as three more complexes are set to open next year.
Next, built by Campus Acquisitions; Hub at Tucson, built by Core Campus; and The Junction at Iron Horse, built by Royal Properties, will house UA students by summer 2014. Three new off-campus student-housing complexes — The Retreat, Level and The Cadence — opened this summer.
Michael Yeagle, senior vice president of Campus Acquisitions, said Next and Hub at Tucson will create a destination, making the area just west of the university a new student neighborhood.
“I think [the new housing complexes] will be great for this area,” Yeagle said. “I think that with as many students that go to the University of Arizona and being immediately across the street from school this will become the new preferred student neighborhood for U of A students.”
Next began construction in January 2013 and is on schedule to be completed by the middle of July 2014 with students moving into the building in August. The building is the second high-rise student complex built by Campus Acquisitions — the first being Level — and will house 393 students, Yeagle said.
“Given the market conditions with lack of new, well-located off-campus housing options for students, we felt that we could design, build and manage two communities that would reach our occupancy targets because there wasn’t really a lot of good options immediately adjacent to campus for students,” Yeagle said. “And we believe that students and parents value new construction.”
The north tower of Next will be 12 stories tall with a penthouse story, and the south tower of the building will be nine stories tall with a pool on the tenth story.
The Junction at Iron Horse began construction in July and is on schedule to be completed in July 2014. The four-story building will house 232 students.
Level is 98 percent full for this academic year and The Retreat fully booked its 774 rooms.
Drake White, leasing consultant for The Retreat, said The Retreat feels comfortable with its leasing situation with the addition of the three new properties opening next summer.
“We always had other apartment complexes ask, ‘Hey, what did you do?’ We helped them out and told them what we did,” White said. “We just got really lucky. A lot of people were really intrigued on the whole cottage-living lifestyle, and I think that’s what really sold people on wanting to live here.”
The Ranch at Star Pass, on the west side of Tucson, has been more successful this year in leasing apartments, said Rittner Hufford, community manager at The Ranch. NorthPointe, an apartment complex on the north side of town, is a little less rented out than last year, Hufford added. Homestead U manages both properties.
The management is excited for the opening of the new student housing buildings next year because they offer a different
product, Hufford said.
“We’re off campus — a little bit further than the newer developments — so we offer luxury at a little bit lower cost,” Hufford said. “So, in the next few years, I think students are going to look for that sense of community and the opportunity to save some money while still receiving luxury, so we are kind of excited for the future to offer that to the students.”
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