The Scion Group and an Ares Real Estate fund have formed a joint venture to invest in off-campus student housing, prioritizing assets in markets with strong enrollment fundamentals and limited new supply. The partners have acquired a 12-property, 7,578-bed portfolio for $910 million from Harrison Street Asset Management (HSAM), marking the largest student housing portfolio completed this year, according to the firms.
HSAM amassed the portfolio spanning five fund vehicles over the past decade, with a focus on acquiring or developing high-quality properties. They are located across 10 states and 12 universities, including Arizona State University, Auburn University, James Madison University, Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, and the University of Florida.
“This transaction represents one of the largest student housing portfolio dispositions in recent years and underscores the continued depth of institutional demand for student housing exposure, driven by durable fundamentals, constrained new supply, and strong enrollment trends at leading universities,” said HSAM co-founder and global CEO Christopher Merrill. “Building on our decades of experience in the sector, we will continue to invest in high-quality student housing properties near leading universities while evaluating strategic portfolio sales that deliver compelling outcomes for our investors.”
Scion CEO Robert Bronstein said the transaction also represents important milestones for his firm.
“We are beginning a partnership with Ares, one of the leading asset management firms globally, at the same time Scion’s owned portfolio now totals over 105,000 beds, making Scion the world’s largest owner of student housing,” he said. “This sector continues to demonstrate resilient demand characteristics, and we are pleased to expand our platform alongside Ares.”
Since 2016, Scion has deployed approximately $10.2 billion of capital, including $3.4 billion in the past two years, reflecting its position as an active operator and manager in the sector. Its portfolio comprises 161 student housing communities in 90 markets nationwide. According to the firm, the acquisition also reflects broader trends shaping student housing, including the consolidation of a historically fragmented market and the movement of institutional capital into the sector.
“This transaction underscores Ares Real Estate’s ability to execute on large, complex opportunities through our scale, sector experience, and operating relationships,” noted Andrew Holm, head of U.S. diversified equity for Ares Real Estate. “By combining our scaled real estate platform with Scion’s strong capabilities, we believe we are well positioned to unlock value across this portfolio and capitalize on the continued institutionalization of the student housing sector.”
HSAM is a leader in the student housing market and one of the largest private owners globally. Since its inception, it has invested over $24 billion across 431 student housing properties comprising over 237,000 beds in North America and Europe. During the same time, it sold 252 student housing properties for $11 billion. This is not the first time HSAM has transacted with Scion. They previously completed multiple large-scale transactions together, including a nearly $900 million student housing portfolio sale in November 2024.
“This portfolio reflects the culmination of years of disciplined acquisition and development activity, operational enhancement and optimization by our team, and local market expertise across some of the strongest university-driven housing markets in the country,” added Ben Mohns, global head of asset management, real estate, at HSAM. “The ability to execute a transaction of this scale in today’s environment speaks to both the quality of the communities in which we’ve invested and the enduring investor appetite for institutional-grade student housing portfolios.”
Walker & Dunlop advised on the financing of the transaction, which was led by BMO.