GREA is pleased to announce the sale of a large off-campus student housing portfolio serving the students at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The portfolio consists of 45 modern apartment units (117 bedrooms), 62 single-family houses (266 bedrooms), and one street-level commercial space. Each property in the portfolio is located within a short walk of Lehigh University, one of the nation’s most distinguished private research universities. The University’s strategic plan for the next decade calls for increasing enrollment, attracting new faculty, expanding research, and constructing new facilities.
Ken Wellar, Founding Partner of GREA, noted, “Over the past few years there has been tremendous growth in the Lehigh Valley which continues to attract out-of-town investors.” The buyer in this transaction is a national student housing operator with off-campus housing communities in Georgia, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
Luke DeLuca, Managing Director of GREA, stated “All of the properties are situated in the South Side section of Bethlehem in some of the most sought-after locations by students living off campus and are within close proximity to one another for ease of management.” DeLuca added that “The geography of the area poses significant barriers to entry for any new development projects. In addition, city ordinances make it challenging to convert properties into student housing unless they are within a certain zone or have already been grandfathered into the system.”