Villanova University: Student Housing Study

Villanova University, the oldest and largest Catholic university in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with an enrollment of 10,000 undergraduate, graduate, and law students, extensively updated its campus Master Plan in January 2009. The Master Plan calls for the development of a portion of its existing campus to include, among other uses, two student housing buildings, with over 650 beds.

Villanova University engaged Aegis Property Group to assist it in evaluating its options with regard to development of such student housing, including a possible partnership with a student housing developer. The study involved a research phase where Aegis met with other universities and developers to assess their experience with privately developed student housing, identifying the issues involved for the University, and the transactional structures available for such development. The second phase included preparation of a Request for Proposal and solicitation of specific proposals from a number of developers. The information in the Study was summarized and presented to the Trustee committees. The University is now moving forward with predevelopment functions necessary to develop the new student housing project.