Keystone Financial Provides $39M Loan for Georgia Tech Student Housing Project
The 300-bed, 100-unit project will help alleviate congestion for a growing student body
By Brian Pascus September 5, 2023 2:39 pm
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DEZHU, an Atlanta-based real estate development firm, has secured $39 million in construction financing to build a Class-A student housing development just south of Georgia Tech University, Commercial Observer can first report.
Keystone Financial provided the loan, while Baybridge Real Estate Capital’s A.J. Felberbaum, Jay Miller, and Spencer Miller negotiated the transaction, sources said.
Located at 564 Centennial Olympic Park Drive in downtown Atlanta, the DZ Tech Community, as the development is currently named, is expected to add more than 300 beds and 100 units in Class-A student housing. The building footprint is close to campus and near the 55,000-seat Bobby Dodd football stadium.
“It’s a really special project,” said a source close to the transaction, who requested anonymity. “The site is super primo. How this hasn’t been developed yet is really mind blowing. This is the last piece of land that hasn’t been developed there and the school dramatically needs housing.”
Georgia Tech’s student population stands at 43,865, with more than 26,000 graduates and 17,400 undergraduates. This stands in sharp contrast to the student body population ten years ago, which stood at 19,000 graduate and undergraduate students combined, according to the school’s 2012 fact book.
“The school has become a super-coveted academic institution to go to, and the student body population has grown significantly,” the source said. “The school really needs this. It’s on a beautiful corridor where things are redbrick.”
The DZ Tech Community project will stand adjacent to the recently built Inspire Atlanta apartment site, which is one of the top-ranked student housing projects in the state of Georgia. Built in 2021, Inspire Atlanta includes 235 rental units that have been used for student housing and regular rental housing, and have created a popular live-work-play environment around the neighborhood.
Founded in 2012, DEZHU’s portfolio includes apartments, condominiums, townhouses and hotels. Notable developments the firm has spearheaded include Castleberry Park, a mixed-use urban complex built adjacent to the $1.6 billion Mercedes Benz football stadium; and 126 Renaissance, a 200-unit, seven story, multi-family development in Atlanta’s midtown neighborhood.
Officials at DEZHU and Baybridge couldn’t be reached for comment.
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com
