UC Hastings College of the Law and Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (“Greystar”), a global leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality rental housing properties, announced on 14 October the groundbreaking of a mixed-use complex that will provide essential student housing including academic, community, and retail space on the UC Hastings campus in San Francisco.
“Great law schools contribute positively to the environment and communities surrounding them,” says David Faigman, Chancellor and Dean at UC Hastings Law. “We are excited to be moving forward with Greystar to further develop our vibrant Academic Village in the heart of San Francisco, a hub of innovation commingling professional and graduate students in law, medicine, and business.”
Designed by architect Perkins & Will, the 14-story building at 198 McAllister Street will include a mix of residential units with 667 beds; 50,000 square feet (4,645 square meters) of collegiate office and academic space including classrooms, an auditorium, and trial and appellate courtrooms; and 8,000 square feet (743 square meters) of retail. Total square footage is 356,000 (33,073 square meters).
Slated for occupancy in June 2023, the building will provide housing for some 670 professional and graduate students from UC Hastings Law, UC San Francisco, and other public and private not-for-profit institutions of higher education. The residential units—available in efficiency, studio, one- and two-bedroom configurations—were conceived by Greystar and designed by Perkins & Will to reflect an urban sensibility and lifestyle suited to the San Francisco setting. Residential amenities include a fitness center, shared study rooms, community kitchens, and social lounges.
UC Hastings, Greystar, and underwriter Raymond James were able to orchestrate the sale of tax-exempt, project-revenue bonds to fund the project. Under the tax-exempt bond structure—which Greystar has utilized to finance and deliver over US$2 billion in on-campus housing—the project will be owned by a non-profit entity. UC Hastings will lease the academic and office spaces, and all excess project revenue from ground lease payments will flow to UC Hastings and other participating institutions.
While Greystar operates in 200 markets globally, execution of this project will be managed by its regional office in San Francisco, which covers Northern California and the Pacific Northwest markets.
Including the project at 198 McAllister Street, Greystar has six on-campus community projects on track to deliver in the next three years. Together, they will provide Greystar’s higher education partners with more than 4,750 beds and nearly US$830 million in new development. Greystar’s Northern California regional office has over US$1 billion of projects currently in development.
The 198 McAllister Street project represents Phase 2 in UC Hastings’ ambitious plan to create a multi-institutional Academic Village on its two-block campus in the heart of San Francisco. Phase 1 concluded in March 2020 with completion of the College’s first academic building in 40 years, the six-story Cotchett Law Center at 333 Golden Gate Avenue. Phase 3, scheduled for 2023 to 2025, involves the renovation of UC Hastings’ iconic 28-story tower at 100 McAllister Street. When work is complete, the Tower and the new 198 McAllister building will house almost 1,000 students without displacing any residents of the adjoining neighborhoods. The anticipated fourth and final component of the Academic Village is the redevelopment of the properties at 201-247 Golden Gate Avenue, owned by UNITE HERE Local 2. The replacement building is expected to include a new union hall and Local 2 offices, along with academic and residential facilities for UC Hastings and, potentially, other higher education institutions.
“We are excited to partner with UC Hastings to execute the law school’s vision to create a vibrant, multi-disciplinary academic village in the heart of downtown San Francisco,” said Jared Everett, Managing Director of Greystar University Partnerships. “This transformational partnership not only helps renew part of the College’s campus, but it also helps provide much needed more affordable housing. Many universities, especially those in high cost-of-living markets, struggle to provide more affordable housing options for their students and employees. It is great to see leading institutions like UC Hastings tackle this challenge through public-private partnerships.”
The partnership with UC Hastings adds to Greystar University Partnerships’ growing footprint in California and is part of a global development pipeline of over US$9.2 billion in collegiate and conventional housing.
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