Hackberry Lane has acquired approximately 1,650 student-housing beds near the University of Florida and the University of Alabama, expanding its ownership in two major college rental markets. The purchases bring the firm’s owned portfolio to approximately 4,000 beds.
The company announced the deals Nov. 6. The newly acquired properties are in Gainesville, Florida, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, near the universities’ campuses.
Buying smaller properties near campuses
Hackberry’s strategy focuses on townhomes, single-family rentals, garden-style apartments and smaller apartment communities in walkable areas near campuses. It targets what the company calls the student-housing “shadow market,” rather than concentrating on large purpose-built towers.
These properties serve student renters but have often remained in the hands of local owner-operators, according to Hackberry. The purchases add to the firm’s in-house property management platform across its existing markets.
Bed counts are not new construction
The approximately 1,650 beds represent capacity in acquired housing, not an announcement that the company has built 1,650 new apartments. Bed counts and apartment counts measure different things in student housing, where several residents may share a home.
Hackberry described the transactions as closed acquisitions.
A young operator expands its portfolio
Founded in 2023 by Reid Marks, Nick Helfand and Cameron Koffman, Hackberry invests in and operates housing near Power 4 university campuses.
The Gainesville and Tuscaloosa deals deepen its presence in two existing markets while adding scale to its operating business. For the college neighborhoods involved, the immediate change is ownership and management of existing rental properties.
JBizNews Desk | Real Estate
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