Kennedy Wilson, a global real estate investment company and active student housing lender, has closed senior construction loans totaling $184 million for three student housing projects near the University of Wisconsin – Madison, University of North Texas, and University of California, Berkeley. These transactions, made through Kennedy Wilson’s debt investment platform, expand its student housing loan portfolio to $850 million, supporting the development of approximately 8,800 beds. The company is also evaluating $1 billion in additional student housing loans for 8,200 more beds.
Currently under construction, the three new projects are located near university campuses and feature high-end amenities such as resort-style pools, fitness centers, private study rooms, meditation spaces, and controlled garage access. Thomas Whitesell, Head of the Debt Investment Group at Kennedy Wilson, commented on the strong performance of student housing compared to other asset classes, citing robust operating fundamentals and a limited supply of new developments in high-demand areas near universities with growing enrollments.
These new loans are part of a broader expansion of Kennedy Wilson’s debt investment platform, which marked the one-year anniversary of the company’s acquisition of a $4.1 billion construction loan portfolio in Q3 2024. Since then, the platform has originated over $2.3 billion in multifamily and student housing loans across the U.S. The company typically holds a 2.5% ownership stake in the loans it closes and earns management fees in its role as asset manager.
About Kennedy Wilson
Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) is a leading real estate investment company with over $27 billion of assets under management in high growth markets across the United States, the UK, and Ireland. Drawing on decades of experience, our relationship-oriented team excels at identifying opportunities and building value through market cycles, closing more than $50 billion in total transactions across the property spectrum since going public in 2009. Kennedy Wilson owns, operates, and builds real estate within our high-quality, core real estate portfolio and through our investment management platform, where we target opportunistic equity and debt investments alongside our partners.
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