Harrison Street Asset Management (HSAM) has closed the $910-million sale of a 12-property U.S. student housing portfolio to affiliates of The Scion Group and an Ares Real Estate fund. It’s the largest student housing portfolio sale completed in 2026, according to HSAM.

Assembled over a 10-year period by five HSAM funds, the 7,578-bed portfolio serves leading university markets across the U.S., including those home to the University of Florida, Auburn University, the University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University and James Madison University. Scion will serve as operating partner.

“This transaction represents important milestones for Scion,” said Robert Bronstein, Scion CEO. “We are beginning a partnership with Ares, one of the leading asset management firms globally, at the same time Scion’s owned portfolio now totals over 105,000 beds, making Scion the world’s largest owner of student housing. This sector continues to demonstrate resilient demand characteristics, and we are pleased to expand our platform alongside Ares.”

Although the deal represents a first-time partnership between Scion and Ares, buyer and seller have collaborated before. HSAM and Scion have completed multiple large-scale transactions together since 2017, including a nearly $900-million student housing portfolio sale in November 2024.

Newmark facilitated the sale of 359 Allston St., a life science property in the East Cambridge submarket of Cambridge, MA. A team of Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, James Tribble, Samantha Hallowell and William Sleeper, in conjunction with Joseph Alvarado and Casey Valente, represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer, King Street Properties.

“359 Allston St. is occupied by a well-funded, fast-growing biotechnology tenant,” said Sleeper. “The asset is set on a quarter-acre lot with a highly efficient floor plate and exclusive outdoor spaces that make it an ideal Cambridge flagship for a tenant of this size.”

359 Allston was completely renovated in 2022. The building is fully leased, serving as the headquarters of Vaxess Technologies.

“Acquiring 359 Allston St. was a strategic decision that aligns with our long-term vision and we appreciate Newmark’s assistance with the transaction,” said Tyson Reynoso, managing director/partner at King Street. “This building offers dynamic space for early-stage companies in East Cambridge, the premier life science location in the country.”

High Street Residential (HSR), the residential subsidiary of Trammell Crow Company, has broken ground on the Residences at Perimeter Summit. The seven-story, 350-unit mid-rise multifamily community is located in Brookhaven, Georgia. HSR paid $11.5 million for the property at 1251 Perimeter Summit Pkwy. The project is part of Perimeter Summit, a mixed-use community consisting of 1.7 million square feet of office and retail space across four buildings, a 182-room hotel, and a condo building.

The Residences at Perimeter Summit will include units from 900 square feet to mid-1,400 square feet. Unit amenities will include private balconies in select units. The project will also boast amenities such as an elevated pool, three spacious courtyards, a 1,200-square-foot speakeasy lounge, a fitness center, a clubroom, a coworking center, private conference and study rooms, a tasting room, a pet spa, and a golf simulator.
 
Cooper Carry is leading the design of the project, and New South Construction is providing construction services for the development

Franklin Street’s Retail Services team has been selected to lead leasing for The Promenade at Town Center, a 230,000-square-foot mixed-use development in Palm Coast, Florida. The development includes 204 residential units and 57,000 square feet of commercial space, targeting a mix of retail, restaurant, and professional office users. Persimmon Capital Partners is the owner and developer of The Promenade. The project broke ground this past July and is scheduled to be delivered in early 2026.

The Promenade, located in the 2,050-acre Palm Coast Town Center neighborhood, will feature a mix of retailers, coffee shops, restaurants, service providers and working spaces on its ground floor. The project’s upper floors will offer studio, one and two-bedroom apartment residences with balconies.

Palm Coast is the largest city in Flagler County, the third fastest-growing county in Florida, which is the fastest-growing state in the country.

Boston-based King Street Properties has acquired the Esplanade, a 241,963-square-foot, multi-building life science campus in San Diego’s popular University City / University Towne Centre (UTC) submarket. The transaction for three of the buildings, including 4755 Nexus Center Dr., 4757 Nexus Center Dr. and 4796 Executive Dr., closed on Dec. 30, 2024; the transaction agreement also includes the sale of a fourth building, slated to close in December 2025. The purchase price, seller and terms were undisclosed.

King Street is planning campus-wide improvements including the addition of common amenities, the upgrade of existing lab infrastructure and an expansion of available lab space. The new common area amenities will include a conference center, a fitness center and upgrades to outdoor gathering spaces.

“We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of the Esplanade campus, which adds to our growing portfolio in the San Diego market, enabling us to expand our offerings and meet the needs of tenants of all sizes,” said Sonia Taneja, managing director overseeing the West Coast for King Street.

GFP Real Estate, LLC has signed four new office leases totaling 15,400 square feet at 40 Worth St. in TriBeCa. The new leases bring the historic office building to 100% leased. Roy Lapidus of GFP Real Estate represented ownership in all four leases.

The leases included the following:

• Jani Real Estate signed a three-year lease extension and expansion for 8,442 square feet, adding 3,768 square feet to its existing space. Lapidus also represented the tenant.

• Visual artist Emily Christine Velez Nelms leased1,500 square feet for four years. Jonathan Bock of Olmstead Properties, Inc. represented the tenant.

• Construction services company P & T Construction Company LLC leased 1,500 square feet for three years. Lapidus also represented the tenant.

• Mighty Minds and Muscles, a pediatric therapy and coaching organization, signed a short-term lease for 3,958 square feet. Lapidus also represented the tenant.

“Reaching 100% leased at 40 Worth St. is a testament to the resilience of TriBeCa and the enduring appeal of well-positioned, high-quality office space in today’s market,” said Lapidus.

Harrison Street has announced the $893 million sale of 14 student housing assets to affiliates of The Scion Group and a major institutional investor. 

The portfolio includes assets at 13 universities and 11 states across the U.S., and comprises 8,724 beds located near universities, including the University of Arkansas, Texas A&M and the University of Missouri.

“Investors are increasingly seeking access to the alternative real estate sectors given strong fundamentals and demonstrated performance across varying market environments,” said Christopher Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harrison Street. “Harrison Street remains poised to capitalize on the growing demand for alternative real estate and deliver exceptional value to our investors.”

Chicago-based Harrison Street also recently sold three senior living properties to Inland Group. “We continue to see growing interest in alternative real estate and are on pace to close over $4 billion of dispositions this year from 9 distinct funds and over 80 assets across our student, senior, healthcare, storage, digital and infrastructure verticals,” said Ben Mohns, Head of Asset Management – North America.

Harrison Street has sold three senior living properties, Clarendale of St. Peters, Clarendale of Chandler and Clarendale at Indian Lake, to Inland Real Estate Group. Chicago-based Harrison Street developed the three high-end senior living communities located in St. Peters, MO; Chandler, AZ; and Hendersonville, TN in a joint venture with Ryan Companies and Life Care Services.

The properties comprise 635 senior living units and are 92% leased. Although the sale price was not disclosed, published reports last year said Harrison Street sold another Clarendale-branded property in Algonquin, IL to Inland for $63 million, or roughly $338,000 per unit.

“The successful sale of these properties highlights the ongoing investor interest in gaining exposure to high-quality senior living assets at a time when there are few institutional quality portfolios in the market and new construction is at a 10-year low,” said Ben Mohns, head of asset management – North America at Harrison Street. “We are committed to working with partners to develop top-tier senior housing communities that address the evolving needs of our aging population, and then identify the optimal time to engage in portfolio sales to generate liquidity on behalf of our investors.”

Pictured: Clarendale of St. Peters.

Franklin Street Properties Corp. REIT sold Pershing Park Plaza for $34 million, a loss of more than $11 million. In 2016, Franklin Street bought the 160,000-square-foot building for $45.5 million. 28th Street Ventures was the buyer. Will Yowell, Ryan Reethof, Jay O’Meara and Justin Parsonnet with CBRE’s Institutional Office Properties team in Atlanta represented the seller. The nine-story building at 1420 Peachtree Street is where Peachtree and West Peachtree streets meet.

Franklin Street announced the sale in its third-quarter earnings report, saying since December 2020 the company said it has sold select office properties to pay down debt. It allocated $27.4 million from the Pershing Park sale to repay debt.

In it’s quarterly report, Franklin’s George Carter said, “Our directly-owned real estate portfolio of 15 owned properties, totaling approximately 5.0 million square feet, was approximately 70.4% leased as of September 30, 2024, compared to approximately 74.0% leased as of December 31, 2023.”

King Street Properties said its first building at The Landing in the mid-Peninsula town of Burlingame is substantially complete and has opened its marketing center for prospective life science tenants. The seven-story, 300,000 square-foot 1699 Bayshore anchors the 4.5-acre campus, devised as a hub for growing life science companies.

“The Landing creates opportunity for life sciences companies to plant roots in Burlingame and fulfills the city’s vision for the Bayfront neighborhood as a home for science,” said Sonia Taneja, managing director overseeing the West Coast for King Street. “The Landing is leading the change in life science real estate opportunities in the Mid-Peninsula, raising the bar for purpose-built lab space.”

Currently under construction is The Landing’s second building, 1701 Bayshore. It will feature six stories and 203,500 square feet next door to 1699 Bayshore. 

Leasing for The Landing is handled by JLL’s Grant Yeatman, Cole Smith, Mark Bodie, and Toss Vallentine.