American real estate investment trust
American Campus Communities, Inc. (ACC) is the largest developer, owner and manager of student housing communities in the United States.[2] It is headquartered in Bee Cave, Texas, with an Austin postal address.[3]
Co-founded in 1993 by CEO Bill Bayless, the company works with universities to develop, manage and finance on-campus and near-campus communities. As of March 31, 2021, the company owned 166 student housing properties with approximately 111,900 beds, including its owned and third-party managed properties. ACC's total managed portfolio consists of 207 properties with approximately 142,400 beds. [1]
History
From 1993 to 2003, the company partnered with SUNY system, the University of California System, and the Texas A&M University System to develop and manage student housing.
In 1996, Prairie View A&M University became the company's first university partner with the development of on campus, University Village. ACC developed housing for more than 2,000 students over the next two years.[4]
In 1997, Bayless bought out his partners and in 1999, ACC developed its first off-campus residence, the Callaway House College Station at Texas A&M University for first‑year students.[5]
In 2004, ACC became a public company via an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first publicly traded student housing company in the United States.[6]
In 2005, the company worked with Arizona State University (ASU) on the Vista del Sol community, to pioneer the American Campus Equity program, an ownership model for on-campus student housing. With ACE, ACC brings equity to a project and serves as the university's financial, development and operating partner.[7] In 2008, the company acquired the student housing division of GMH Communities Trust in a $1.4 billion transaction, doubling the size of the company.[8]
In 2011, the company received $132 million contract to build a 1,008-bed student housing complex at Northern Illinois University.[9] In 2013, ACC entered the Ivy League with Princeton's Merwick Stanworth faculty and staff housing community was its first project at an Ivy League university.[10] It later expanded its partnership to develop and manage Princeton graduate student housing.[11]
ASU's Manzanita Hall, became ACC's first redevelopment, reconfiguring the dilapidated 1960s high rise into a modern layout that promotes academic performance, collaboration and community.[12] In 2016, ACC broke ground on its 100th development, U Club Sunnyside at WVU, CEO Bill Bayless’ alma mater.[13] In 2017, ASU opened the Tooker House, the largest engineering residential college. This marked the sixth phase of the ASU partnership and 33rd LEED certified building.[14]
In 2018, ACC began construction on an approximately $615 million residential community for participants of the Disney College program, now known as Disney Internships & Programs, through an American Campus Equity translation.[15] In 2019, American Campus Communities joined Northeastern University and the city of Boston to open the 20-story residential tower, LightView,[16] as part of the “Housing A Changing City: Boston 2030” initiative to improve the quality and quantity of housing for students attending Boston institutions of higher education.[17]
In 2020, ACC collaborated with RB, the makers of Lysol, to set a formalized approach to cleanliness and disinfection at its student housing communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
On April 19, 2022, ACC announced that it was acquired by The Blackstone Group for $12.8 billion and would be going private (shareholders will be paid $65.47 cash per share). The acquisition was completed in August 2022.[19]
Partnerships
American Campus Communities and the mental health non profit, Hi, How Are You Project, aim to tackle issues of mental health among U.S. college students through a residence life training and awareness program at more than 70 universities across the country.[35]
US$942 million (2021)
US$35 million (2021)