Amber Beat: Student Accommodation Market News - November 2024, Week 04

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Missed keeping track of all the latest happenings in the student accommodation market?

Amber Beat is a weekly snapshot of the key developments in top student accommodation markets.  This newsletter provides you with all the information you need to know, from new upcoming projects to current trends, news affecting students to government policies, we’ve got you covered!

Amber Beat | News from November 22-28

United Kingdom

• University of Calgary faces $11 million loss in revenue as international student enrolment drops 9% (Source)
• Unite Students completes £32M refurbishments across 11 PBSA schemes, providing accommodation for 5,239 residents (Source)
• Sama Investment's 301-bed PBSA in Birmingham recommended for approval, boosting the city’s student housing supply (Source)
• Flemington accommodation submits plans to transform A-listed Glasgow building into 410-bed PBSA with 88-bed annexe and public spaces (Source)
• MDPL Group submits plans for a 17-storey PBSA in Woolwich, South London with 300+ student rooms, hotel, and public amenities (Source)
• Wembley approves two major developments including 318-room ‘Aparthotel’ and 759-unit student accommodation across 7 towers (Source)
• Torsion Group tops out Burley Studios PBSA in Leeds, adding 189 student beds to city's accommodation market (Source)
• Southampton Council reconsiders new 61-studio student accommodation on St Denys Road after initial rejection (Source)
• Nottingham’s Stanley House expands with 45 new student units, set for completion by 2025 (Source)

United States of America

• International students voice concerns over visa policies following Trump's re-election, with Yale's Office of International Students and Scholars offering support (Source)
• Wesleyan urges international students to return before Trump’s inauguration on January 20 to avoid possible travel disruptions (Source)
• Rising tuition, visa hurdles, and ineligibility for aid create funding challenges for international students in the U.S., while no-cosigner loans offer new access solutions (Source)
• GFH Partners acquires $300M student housing portfolio, adding 5,500 beds near top universities including University of North Texas and University of Kentucky (Source)
• $162M housing project underway at University of Idaho, adding family, grad student apartments and updating dorms, ready by 2026-2027 (Source)
• Paul Quinn College receives $1.5M grant for new student housing and mixed-use development in Highland Hills, Dallas (Source)
• AMCAL Equities secures $150M loan for 260-unit, 1,002-bed student housing tower, ‘The Grad’, near San Jose State University, California (Source)
• $40M student housing project for international students in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to house 1,572 students, with first building ready by April 2025 (Source)
• Vic Village South adds 130+ units and 741 beds for University of Michigan students on South University Avenue, opening in 2025-2026 academic year (Source)
• Dartmouth College breaks ground on 285-bed apartment-style residential hall at 25 West Wheelock Street, Hanover, NH, with completion expected in summer 2026 (Source)
• Lamar Johnson Collaborative completes 550-bed Chapter Madison student housing at 832 Regent St. near University of Wisconsin-Madison (Source)
• New five-story student housing project to rise on Olympia Drive in Amherst, offering 230 beds in 68 units (Source)

Australia

• Australian universities push for urgent resolution of ESOS Amendment Bill as year-end uncertainty threatens Australia’s international education system (Source)
• Australia’s student housing sector rebounds with rising investment and rental growth, but policy shifts and looming 2025 student cap pose demand-side challenges (Source)
• Purpose-built student accommodation set to expand despite potential 2025 international student cap and 31% dip in student visa approvals in second half of 2023 (Source)
• University of Melbourne’s Dookie campus enhances completion of $21M student accommodation project in Dookie, Victoria (Source)

Canada

• Canada’s immigration reform may push more international students and skilled workers to the U.S., benefiting companies and universities (Source)
• Sheridan College in Ontario suspends 40 programs and cuts staff, facing $112 million revenue loss due to 30% drop in international student enrolment (Source)
• UBC secures $300M from BC government for 1,500-bed student housing project, with a total cost of $559.9M in Vancouver (Source)
• FAÉCUM invests $2M in student housing project for 150 UdeM students in Montreal, with construction by UTILE (Source)
• UBC completes Theory building in Wesbrook Place with 136 units for faculty and staff, part of long-term Campus Vision 2050 project (Source)
• Availability of 120 beds for Memorial University students at Paton College residence in St. John's unveiled, despite housing crunch (Source)

Europe

• Germany reaches record high of 307,900 international students in AY 2023-24, a 3% increase from previous year, potentially worsening student housing crisis (Source)
• LaSalle and Urbania JV to deliver over 850 PBSA beds in Barcelona, with first development featuring 610 single en-suite rooms, slated for opening in September 2025, receiving a BREEAM “Very Good” rating (Source)
• Yugo & Merkel Asset Management begin construction of 496-room student residence in Cartuja, Seville with Jarquil, to be completed in Summer 2025 (Source)
• CampusX inaugurates ‘CX Trieste-Giulia’ student residence in Trieste, Italy with 290 student rooms, 24 hotel-type rooms and 2 hostel-type dormitories (Source)
• Student residence ‘Milestone Vienna Erdberg’ opens doors, as a part of Stadtquartier@WienArena concept, featuring 418 rooms available to students (Source)
• Crous Normandie unveils new university residence in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, consisting 120 housing units, planned to open in 2028, a part of reaching 5,000 students by 2035 (Source)
• Sozialbau to build 68 apartments in Kempten, Germany with 18 apartments for students, to be operational by Autumn 2025 (Source)
• University of Geneva (UNIGE) plans 100 rooms for students in Étoile district for 2028, Switzerland, in partnership with Foundation for Student Housing (Source)
• University Outreach, Heritage and Institutional Relations of Universidad de Granada, Ceuta explore possibility of a student residence, amidst high student demand (Source)