7 student housing properties opening for the new school year

Many colleges and universities across the country welcomed students back to dorms and off-campus housing this week — some of them in brand-new units. Student housing deliveries have sprung back to near historical levels this fall, up from a relatively low 30,000 new beds in 2022 to almost 40,000 for the upcoming semester.

Carl Whitaker, director of research and analysis for market analytics at RealPage, attributes this jump to the disruption in permitting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given a typical 24-month development window, many of the properties that delivered in 2022 would have been permitted in 2020, while properties delivering now would have been permitted in 2021.

“The delivery increase versus 2022 was just that, in 2021, you were able to get [more] permits submitted,” Whitaker told Multifamily Dive. “And that was before we saw the interest rate hikes… I think you'll see the construction pipeline fall once again [in 2024-2025], simply because construction financing is harder to come by.”

Here is a sample of the new student housing properties coming online right now, including new on-campus dormitories and off-campus student housing properties.

The Metropolitan at Gainesville

A modern-style building with "The Metropolitan" written on the side. — A rendering of The Metropolitan at Gainesville, which recently opened near the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Amenities include a game lounge and pool with a poolside Jumbotron.

Courtesy of Landmark Properties

School: University of Florida
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Property type: Off-campus
Developer: Landmark Properties
Beds: 464

The Metropolitan at Gainesville is the latest addition to Landmark Properties’ Metropolitan brand, and is located a short distance to the University of Florida’s main campus. Units range from studios to five-bedroom apartments, and amenities include covered garage parking, a two-story fitness center, a game lounge, study rooms and a pool and poolside Jumbotron screen, according to the property website.

Hub College Park

School: University of Maryland at College Park
Location: College Park, Maryland
Property type: Off-campus
Developer: Core Spaces
Beds: 480

Hub College Park, located across from the University Commons at the University of Maryland, offers a rooftop pool — the only one of its kind in the city, according to the property website — and an on-site coffee shop, as well as a fitness center and lounge spaces. Units in the property’s “Hub+” upgrade packages include private terraces and smart home features.

Whistler

A tall grey apartment building. — Whistler, developed by LV Collective at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. The property's rooftop features a glass-walled pool.

Permission granted by LV Collective

School: Georgia Tech
Location: Atlanta
Property type: Off-campus
Developer: LV Collective
Beds: 565

Located within a five-minute walk from the Georgia Tech campus, Whistler stands 24 stories tall, with a glass-walled rooftop pool overlooking the school and the city of Atlanta. Amenities include a two-level lobby that doubles as a lounge space, an on-site coffee shop, pet services and a fitness package with spin machines, a yoga room and a sauna.

Orchard Park

A large, modern-style building surrounded by trees. — Karin Higgins/UC Davis

School: University of California, Davis
Location: Davis, California
Property type: On-campus
Developer: The Michaels Organization
Beds: 1,500

The Orchard Park Apartments replace a previous apartment complex of the same name, built in 1964, that accommodated UC Davis students with families until its closure in 2015. The new property includes 189 two-bedroom apartments for lease to students with families, as well as 1,100 bed leases in single, two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments for single students.

Park Place Tampa

School: University of South Florida
Location: Tampa, Florida
Property type: Off-campus
Developer: Park7 Group
Beds: 758

The mid-rise property, located near the University of South Florida, features a color palette that mixes wood accents with varied shades of muted blue. The amenities showcase an eclectic mix of design aesthetics, including a screening room adorned with skulls on the walls, a lounge room with colorful artwork and waterfalls on the rooftop pool. A tanning bed and golf simulator are also available to residents.

Shipping container dorms at Fisk University

A white sidewalk with grass lawns and stacks of blue and yellow shipping container apartments on either side. — The shipping container dormitories at Fisk University, which opened for student move-ins earlier this month. A total of 98 students live in the 40-foot-long units, which include contemporary finishes and stainless steel appliances.

Permission granted by Fisk University

School: Fisk University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Property type: On-campus
Developer: Fisk University, The Bradley Projects
Beds: 98

To accommodate a student body that has more than doubled over the last five years, Fisk — a historically black liberal arts college in Nashville — partnered with Nashville-based developer The Bradley Projects and Archie, Missouri-based Custom Container Living to build a block of modular student apartments out of decommissioned shipping containers. Each furnished unit houses two students, for a total of 98 beds, and includes stainless steel appliances and wood-look flooring.

The Legacy at Centennial

School: Georgia State University
Location: Atlanta
Property type: Off-campus
Developer: Landmark Properties
Beds: 835

At 32 stories, The Legacy at Centennial is the second-tallest student housing property tracked by RealPage, according to Whittaker. While the tower is located closest to the GSU campus, it also offers access to other schools in the Atlanta University Center consortium, including Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. Amenities include a zero-edge pool, heated spa, multi-sport simulator and rooftop lounge.