ACRES Capital Provides $33M Construction Loan for SUNY Buffalo Student Housing Site
By Andrew Coen January 25, 2021 4:09 pm
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DMG Investments has nabbed a $32.5 million loan for the construction of a student housing project near the campus of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Commercial Observer has learned.
ACRES Capital provided financing for the Auden Buffalo development in a transaction arranged by Cooper Horowitz’s Richard Horowitz, Nicholas Barbato and Justin Horowitz.
“The strategic location of the Auden Buffalo project will be key to its appeal for SUNY Buffalo students,” Mark Fogel, ACRES’ president and CEO, said in a statement. “Enrollment at the university has increased annually since 2012, perpetuating an increase in demand for high-quality, student-housing properties in the Buffalo area. We are excited to partner with an experienced sponsor, DMG, who has successfully completed several student-housing developments and is prepared to position Auden Buffalo to accommodate this significant influx of students.”
Located around one mile from SUNY Buffalo’s North Campus at 2915-2949 North Forest Road in Amherst, N.Y., the four-story, roughly 144,000-square-foot Auden Buffalo project will consist of 481 beds across 154 units, as well as a lower-level parking garage with 92 covered and 159 surface parking spaces. Building amenities will include a fitness center, a clubroom, study lounges and a swimming pool.
The student housing development is located within close proximity to shopping centers, Downtown Buffalo and Interstates 290 and 990. Auden Buffalo is part of DMG’s Auden Living portfolio featuring a collection of apartment communities in locations, such as Albany and Ithaca, N.Y.; Houston and Spartanburg, S.C.
ACRES is off to an active start in 2021, with the Buffalo financing occurring on the heels of providing a $20.7 million construction loan for Champion Development Partners’ San Diego multifamily project in early January.
“Working with the ACRES team was a smooth process, as they understood our vision for Auden Buffalo and recognized the success we’ve had with similar student housing projects in other cities across the country,” DMG CEO Jacky He said in a statement. “We’ve already seen strong pre-leasing at the property, which is a testament to the quantity of incoming students seeking exceptional and affordable off-campus housing options.”
SUNY Buffalo is the largest public university in New York state with consistent enrollment growth creating increased demand for off-campus student housing, according to ACRES. The North Campus is the school’s largest, comprising a major portion of land use in the Amherst area.
