Blog entries

New Student Housing Assignments in Philadelphia, PA and Akron, OH

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:59:33 +0100

Wannamaker Plaza is a student housing redevelopment located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 14-story community is just steps away from Temple University and will provide 832 beds for Temple students. Amenities that will be featured include: an innovative media room, fully equipped fitness center, interactive game room, stand up tanning bed, multiple study rooms, an interior bicycle storage area and a picturesque view of the Temple campus from tower’s 14th floor clubhouse. Retail shopping will also be available on the first floor of the community to all residents and the public.

401 Lofts is a new student housing development located in Akron, Ohio. The community will provide 328 beds in a variety of one– and two bedroom loft style floor plans to students attending The University of Akron. Residents of 401 Lofts will enjoy a beautifully landscaped outdoor pool with a fire pit, an exclusive yoga and pilates room with a floor to ceiling mirror wall, a large clubroom with a game room and multiple study rooms, a 10-person conference room and a fully equipped fitness center.

ACH adds new student housing management assignment to their College Station portfolio

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:03:37 +0100

Campus Village has 1,071 beds and offers students a variety of floor plans including: efficiency, two-, three-, four-, and five bedroom apartment homes. All units come with Direct TV, RocketNET High Speed Wireless Internet and full size washers, dryers and refrigerators. This community hosts the city’s only onsite Lazy River along with a sand volleyball court, basketball court, tetherball court, large outdoor HD movie screen, tanning salon and multiple study rooms.

Student Housing Properties Nationwide Raise Over $11,000 for Charity:Water

Audrey Nardecchia — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:56:22 +0100

Over the past 90 days, Asset Campus Housing team members, residents, friends and family joined together in raising over $11,000 for the company’s selected 2012 non-profit, Charity:Water! This successful completion of the 2012 ACH Spring Campaign for Charity:Water would not have been possible without the contributions of time, effort and funds from many Asset team members.

What began as a challenge to see which ACH property would raise the most money for Charity:Water, turned into a campaign that revealed the strong passion and dedication that each of our ACH employees and residents have for serving others. Upon introduction of the campaign at the 2012 ACH training seminar, ACH onsite employees (majority age 18-23 year olds) instantly donated an overwhelming total of $800 in spare change from their own pockets.

From there, our employees met the challenge by returning to their properties to host resident events and work with their local communities in order to raise maximum funds. Some of the top fundraising resident events included: staff members selling and delivering Candy Grams to residents on Valentine’s Day, BINGO tournaments where residents paid an entry fee and won items that were donated by local vendors, Casino Nights where residents bid on donated silent auction items, and water themed carnivals hosted on March 22nd—National Water Day.

Outside of hosting big events to raise funds for Charity:Water, our properties did an extraordinary job of creating publicity for the campaign and educating their community on why our company supports this cause. The properties used social media to post weekly “Water Wednesday” updates that informed residents on what Charity:Water is, what they can do to help and why we want their support!

Some of our properties went above and beyond and even made the local news. The Domain at Town Centre, a new student housing development in Morgantown, West Virginia, had 10 different local restaurants participate in raising funds to the campaign by charging their customers $.25 for a glass of water on National Water Day. This creativity and community involvement that the team at The Domain at Town Centre demonstrated is what assisted them in being named the top fundraiser amongst all of our student housing properties nationwide. This property alone raised $985!

After 90 days of this campaign, we are proud to donate a total of $11,049.57 to Charity: Water. 100% of our donations will be donated to providing clean drinking water to 552 people in a developing nation for an entire year. In 18 months we will have GPS coordinates, photos and information about the community that we have impacted.

Congratulations and Thank You to everyone who supported this cause; we are extremely blessed to work with and for such extraordinary individuals.

Domain at Town Centre Makes Local News Coverage with Charity:Water Fundraising Efforts

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:58:39 +0100

The Domain at Town Centre, a new student housing development in Morgantown, West Virginia, was recently featured on their local news station for their fundraising efforts with the 2012 ACH Charity: Water campaign. As many of you know, last Thursday, March 22nd, was National Water Day, below is the article and video link that features The Domain's story.

Cities across the country, including Morgantown, are celebrating World Water Day. The Domain at Town Centre sponsored a Charity Water Drive at 15 area businesses.

Instead of receiving a free cup of water the stores asked patrons to donate 50 cents to the cause. "We are raising money for an international organization that drills wells in developing countries for those who don't have water," said Courtney Jurasko of the Domain at Town Centre.

"So what we like about the company is that for ever dollar that we donate, they are able to take that and track it online. Which is really notable for a charity. Its really cool." The Domain has offices across the country and hopes to raise $50,000 for the water charity.

Click here to watch the Local News coverage

We are so proud of the new development team out in West Virginia for going above and beyond and including their entire community at large in this fundraiser. We also want to thank the 15 restaurants that partnered with The Domain to help raise money: Coach's Bar and Grill, TCBY, Kenyan Cafe, Tudor's Biscuit World, Oliverio's, Tutto Gelato, Lira, Chico's Fat Burrito's, Cold Stone, Boston Beanery, Rosa Pizaa, Ali Baba, Zenclay, Wild Mountain Bakey and Cafe Mojo.

*ACH student housing properties all across the nation have joined together in hopes of raising over $50,000 for the non-profit Charity:Water. Charity:Water is a non-profit that assists in providing clean drinking water to people in developing nations while tracking every dollar that is donated to the cause.*

Follow this link: www.mycharitywater.org/achspring to learn more or make a donation today!

Student Housing Property Mascots

Audrey Nardecchia — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:45:49 +0100

With all the different means of communication available to residents on our student housing properties, YouTube continues to be a popular way to connect with the targeted demographic.

The Pointe at 3636, an ACH student housing property located in East Lansing, MI, recently used YouTube to invite residents to their upcoming Block Party. Not only did they inform residents about the event details (time, location, food, prizes, etc.) but they also used their property mascot, Pointy the Penguin, to help promote the event.

ACH student housing properties nationwide have different property mascots that are used to draw attention to their respective properties. Whether the mascots are walking around campus passing out flyers, being seen on the jumbotron at the university football games or making appearances on YouTube videos like such, they are extremely helpful during the leasing season and add much laughter to everyone !

We will share more photos and videos of different property mascots in the near future - stay tuned!

The Lorenzo: a 3, 648 bed Student Housing Community in LA

Audrey Nardecchia — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0100

HOUSTON, February 28 -- GHP Management, a subsidiary of G.H. Palmer Associates, recently awarded Asset Campus Housing with the management of their most recent student housing development.

The Lorenzo is a 2013-2014 mixed use student housing development located in Los Angeles, California. The property will be built in two phases: Phase 1 will be completed in fall 2013 with just under 2,000 beds, while Phase 2 will be completed in fall 2014 with an additional 1,658 beds. Upon completion, The Lorenzo will have a total of 913 units and 3,648 beds available to students in the greater Los Angeles area.

The site is located less than one mile away from the University of Southern California, St. Mary’s College, LA Trade Tech, Exposition Park and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Further entertainment near The Lorenzo includes the renowned Staples Center, LA Live, the Music Center and the Disney Concert Hall. In addition, the site is directly adjacent to one of the 19 stations on the future Expo Line, which will be the first mass transit line to connect Downtown Los Angeles with the Westside.

Paving the way for all future student housing developments, The Lorenzo will offer an unparalleled variety of amenities available to residents. Community amenities will include: five libraries with computers and break out study rooms, a fully amenitized virtual gaming and arcade room featuring XBOX 360 and Wii, a theatre room with stadium seating and karaoke features, a three story fitness facility complete with a climbing wall, a running track and an aerobic/dance fitness room. Outdoor features will include five rooftop sundecks with views of downtown, four resort style swimming pools with cabanas, three heated outdoor Jacuzzis, two indoor basketball courts with elevated joggings tracks circling each court, and a pro-style sand volleyball court. All apartments will be fully furnished with granite counter tops, brushed nickel hardware, stainless steel Whirlpool appliances, wood plank flooring in living and kitchen area and plush cut pile Berber carpet in bedrooms.

Asset Campus Housing is proud to work with GHP Management in the lease-up of this new development and looks forward to introducing The Lorenzo as the premier student housing community in Los Angeles, California.

About Asset Campus Housing

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ACH is an affiliate of Houston-based Asset Plus Companies, a third party property management firm specializing in real estate services for investors, developers, and owners. Asset Campus Housing manages a student housing portfolio of 65+ properties, exceeding 42,000 beds located throughout the United States. For additional information, please visit: www.assetcampus.com.

About G.H. Palmer Associates

G. H. Palmer Associates, established in 1975, is a diversified real estate company with an aggressive commitment to the future of high-quality, investment grade real estate. The firm has been involved in a variety of properties as a general partner for acquisition of residential, commercial and industrial properties. To these partnerships, the company has contributed the creative and administrative leadership as well as the financial depth to assure each property’s successful operation and performance.

We Are Proud to Welcome Geoff Eisenacher as the VP of Business Development

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:49:41 +0100

Mr. Eisenacher is Vice President of Business Development and is responsible for establishing relationships, seeking new management opportunities and forming future business opportunities for Asset Campus Housing.

Prior to joining the team, Mr. Eisenacher served as Assistant Vice President at Campus Living Villages, a national provider of privatized management and development of on-campus student housing, part of a global student housing network spanning the United States, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. In this role, he was responsible for various duties that included Portfolio Operations, Business Development and Special Projects.

Mr. Eisenacher started his career as a Resident Advisor for Allen & O’Hara, Inc. (EDR) and also worked for the Bromley Companies in various roles including General Manager and Director of Housing. Mr. Eisenacher holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration from Ohio University. He is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the state of Texas.

Property Management in 2011

Audrey Nardecchia — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:25:23 +0100

Be sure to check out our January 2012 Asset Report that features the latest news here at Asset Campus Housing. The report features our upcoming student housing developments at Morgantown, West Virginia, Fayetteville, Arkansas and Lubbock, Texas.

With a tremendous growth in 2011 we had the opportunity to bring on board a number of talented individuals. With the new individuals in place, we began a new training and development program that focuses on the A+ standard of property management. The program teaches onsite employees the core values of our company and how to effectively manage and maximize the value of their property.

The Report also mentions our company's most recent involvement with Charity Water, a non profit organization that focuses on bringing clean drinking water to those in developing nations. Our company goal is to raise over $50,000 for the non-profit by mid April. We believe in our staff members and residents to work together in achieving this goal!

Click the image below to read the entire report:

Stress relief at student housing communities

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:03:55 +0100

It's that time of the year again, the time when students fall asleep on their keyboards in order to try and cram one more hour of studying in before that final exam.

With all the anxiety and stress that goes along with the final preparation for these end of the semester exams, students sometimes forget to eat. We have noticed at many student housing properties that students will wake up very early and head of to school with an apple in hand and not return home until 2 in the morning with a bag of Whataburger, or whatever fast food place is open past normal business hours.

At our Asset Campus Housing properties, we like to help students stay cool, calm and collected during finals week by hosting resident events that relieve stress - most of these involve food. For example, Knight's Circle hosted a Breakfast Bar that had over 20 different items for students to choose from, and also passed out stress balls for students to hold onto and play with. Other properties host pizza nights and bbq nights so that residents can walk down the hall to grab a quickl dinner instead of taking away precious study time to go pick up food.

Needless to say, students love free food... and it tastes even better when it comes during finals week!

YouTube for educating student housing residents

Audrey Nardecchia — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:18:06 +0100

This week's video features the staff at Knight's Circle in Orlando, Florida teaching residents how-to turn off their water.

Some people may think an overflowing toilet is a quick-fix, however, the staff at Knight's Circle shared with us that many of their residents call in panic mode when their toilets overflow. Therefore, Orlando student housing management team created an educational how-to video on YouTube to help students out in case of an emergency!

Check out this two minute video on "How-to turn off your water in case of emergency."

Asset Campus Housing student housing property near KU is recognized as "Best Apartment"

Audrey Nardecchia — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:13:19 +0100

Congratulations to the team at The Connection at Lawrence for being recognized as the "Best Apartment" by students at the University of Kansas!

The University Daily Kansan annually polls students on their opinion of the "Best of ... Apartments, Restaurants, Grocery Stores, etc." and for the second year in a row, The Connection at Lawrence has received the most votes for KU's "Best Apartments."

With a list of amenities including two swimming pools, a heated spa, a game Room with Buck Hunter, Golden Tee, billiards, ping pong, and 70" TV - what more could a KU student want?

YouTube used as an online marketing brochure

Audrey Nardecchia — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:04:13 +0100

Thank you to the ACH team at Legends at SFA for contributing this week's student housing YouTube video. Legends at SFA recently hosted a Grand Opening event where they signed over 100 leases! Part of the success was due to tremendous outreach marketing as well as a powerful social media campaign that attracted a large following.

Last week we showed the video of Knight's Circle and the CAs using YouTube to promote their resident events, this week we are going to show you how one of our properties used YouTube as an online marketing brochure.

The Legends at SFA is a new development that will be completed in fall of 2012, so the current leasing team had no physical unit to walk through and show students. Some may have seen this as an obstacle, however the ACH team created an engaging one minute video that serves as an online brochure. Most college students are visually stimulated, and when you add a pretty catchy theme song in the background, you are able to keep them engaged for at least a minute.

Even though every prospective resident was handed a brochure with images and floor plans when they walked in, each of them still stopped to watch the video displayed on the flat screen TV! YouTube is a great way to capture the student housing resident's attention, and it is also a FREE way to have one more online marketing brochure!

ACH Student Housing Developer featured in 'Student Housing has a strong foundation' article

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:13:40 +0100

AUSTIN – There is little doubt that multifamily is the “it” sector in real estate these days – developers and investors alike are finding a lot to like with this particular product. And experts tell GlobeSt.com that one multifamily sub-sector – student housing – is also attractive to investment and developers, though for different reasons.

“There are more kids turning 18 than ever before,” comments Patton K. Jones, principal with Apartment Realty Advisors’ student housing division in Austin. As a result, while the other sectors struggled through the Great Recession and the sub-prime mortgage fall-out, “student housing held up very well because the sheer number of kids coming to school has increased steadily,” Jones says.

Not only is enrollment at major universities hitting outrageous markets, mid-size universities and schools are starting to see that same increase. “The major schools like University of Texas (in Austin) are capped and can’t handle any more kids,” Jones notes. “So they’re sending kids to feeder schools.” The “feeder schools” in Texas are in a great number of secondary cities, such as San Antonio, Lubbock and Arlington.

While many of these colleges and universities have student housing on campus (and near campus), much of that is not enough or old. “We all know universities are facing budget issues,” says Barrett O. Kirk, senior vice president – development with Houston-based Asset Plus Cos. “Raising capital to renovate existing facilities, much less finding capital for new facilities is difficult.”

As a result, these institutions of higher learning are trying a variety of solutions such as public-private partnerships between developers, and turning to off-campus housing that’s close by to house students. Kirk and Jones agree on one thing – and that’s developers are starting to become more aware of that demand and are starting to take action. “We’re seeing developers build in urban and suburban environments,” Jones remarks. Kirk, whose company builds off-campus multihousing, agrees: “When enrollment is growing and the market’s improving we often see a light switch and two, three, four developers coming in and building in a given market.”

Kirk goes on to say that developing a multihousing complex for students as opposed to conventional multihousing. Designing conventional multihousing requires that more money be put into unit amenities such as hardwood floors and granite countertops. When it comes to student housing, however, “we take the money we’d normally spend on multifamily units and spend it on amenities,” Kirk says. “Larger pools, game rooms, simulators and study lounges.”

The good news for this sector, both experts note, is that there is still enough demand to justify more supply. But both experts also point out that student housing isn’t something that any operator or developer just jumps into. Kirk says student housing is a full-time leasing operation: Almost the minute students move in, renewals are rolled out for the next fall.

Jones says the recession has done a pretty good job of weeding out the chaff from the student housing wheat, though. “We’re not seeing amateurs building student housing,” he comments. “We’re seeing strong players with pedigrees who have been in the business for awhile.”

Is YouTube the new Evite for resident events?

Audrey Nardecchia — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:44:44 +0100

Asset Campus Housing thrives on increasing attendance at resident events in order to enhance the overall living experience at their student housing communities. Some unique ways that the properties are reaching their residents is by posting videos on YouTube.

We love how Knights Circle, a student housing property near the University of Central Florida, used a YouTube video to invite residents to an upcoming Fall Carnival.

Could YouTube be the new Evite for resident events?

Great job Knights Circle - wish we could come!

ACH brings on New Regional Marketing Director

Audrey Nardecchia — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:21:30 +0100

ACH focuses on recruiting the industry's top talent to oversee our portfolio, therefore we are excited to announce our most recent addition to the ACH team, Emily Thron!

Emily Thron joins Asset Campus Housing’s student housing division as a Regional Marketing Director based out of Orlando, Florida.

Emily serves as a direct aide to management and on-site personnel while overseeing all leasing and marketing activities at the property and surrounding community.

Emily is a graduate from the University of Maryland and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing.

A Special Dedication to Asset Plus Companies and 25 Years

Audrey Nardecchia — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 02:21:09 +0100

ACH receives management of The Reserve at College Station

Audrey Nardecchia — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:11:24 +0100

Asset Campus Housing is currently the largest student housing operator in the College Station market, and is pleased to announce they will now be managing another property in the familiar market.

The Reserve at College Station, formerly known as Aspen Heights, is a community full of four bedroom cottages with over 476 beds. The community serves students attending both Texas A&M University and Blinn College.

ACH has a successful track record for leasing properties in College Station, Texas, with a leasing average of 99% and a renewal average of 40%. The team looks forward to another leasing success story at The Reserve at College Station this leasing season!

Asset Campus Housing Participates in Houston Walk Now for Autism Speaks

Audrey Nardecchia — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:46:57 +0100

Asset Campus Housing team members participated in last Saturday's annual Walk Now for Autism Speaks event. Based on the success of the company’s 2010-2011 campaign to raise funds and awareness for Autism Speaks, our company was featured as one of the walk’s largest corporate sponsors.

Over 30 Asset team members showed up at the walk with the support of their friends and family members. The team alone raised over $3,000 for the walk and combined with all of the other teams raised a total of over $300,000 for Autism Speaks.

Autism Speaks estimates that autism affects one child out of every 110, “making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism.”

Autism Speaks is a non-profit that is near and dear to the hearts of many of our Asset employees and the annual walk is an opportunity for all of us to take a step in the right direction for advancing the research into the causes, treatments and a cure for autism.

Congratulations to Asset Plus Companies for being recognized on the Inc. 500|5000 List

Audrey Nardecchia — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:18:26 +0100

Congratulations to Asset Plus Companies for being recognized on Inc. Magazine's 500|5000 list as one of the nation's fastest growing companies!

Asset Plus Companies was the only Houston real estate firm to make the list and is excited to share the recognition with all who have been involved with the company's growth over the past 3 years.

“We are honored to be recognized on such a prestigious list of America’s fastest growing companies and share this recognition with all who have played a pivotal role in the company’s growth including our customers, clients and employees” said Michael S. McGrath, President and Chairman of Asset Plus Companies.

Today, the company oversees a portfolio of close to 200 properties located across the nation. This portfolio contains approximately 32 million square feet of space representing property values of over $1.5 billion in multifamily, student housing, office, industrial, retail, and other property types.

ACH is assigned management of two student housing communities in Orlando, Florida

Audrey Nardecchia — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:15:41 +0100

Asset Campus Housing is proud to manage two new student housing communities; Knight’s Circle and The Pointe at Central located in Orlando, Florida.

Knight’s Circle has 2,532 beds in fully furnished two-, three-, and four bedroom room units. The community is less than a mile away from the University of Central Florida and is conveniently located on the UCF shuttle route.

The Pointe at Central has 1,224 beds and is within walking distance of the University of Central Florida. Amenities at the community include a 24 hour clubhouse complete with a state-of-the-art fitness center, game room, business center, two resort-style pools, basketball court and sand volleyball court.