The University of Georgia, a public research university founded in 1785, is the oldest of the state's institutions of higher learning. With approximately 10,000 employees and a student enrollment of 35,000, the university attracts the young and talented, generating $2.2 billion of economic activity in the region.

River Club Apartments was constructed in 1996 on a 93-acre site at 1005 Macon Highway, just outside the Athens Perimeter Highway. The community comprises 266 units with 792 beds located in 17 two- and three-story garden-style apartment buildings.

Constructed in 1998 on a 32-acre site at 400 Timothy Road, River Walk Townhomes comprises 100 units with 336 beds configured in 20 two-story, townhouse-style buildings.

Both communities offer amenities including fitness center, computer center, basketball court, tennis court, sand volleyball court, swimming pool, car wash station, free tanning salon and barbecue grills. Each property is located on the shuttle bus route to campus.

Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II acquired this student housing portfolio through a joint venture with The Scion Group, a dedicated student housing owner and operator based in Chicago that has been engaged in more than $2 billion of real estate projects on more than 90 campuses in the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK.

Samuel Gillespie, COO of Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, said: “This portfolio presented an attractive opportunity to acquire, at well below replacement cost, two fully stabilized apartment communities with strong historic occupancy levels and institutional ownership.

“To accelerate rent growth at these already desirable properties, we intend to rebrand and reposition them through a program of approximately $2.1m in capital improvements including upgraded appliances, finishes and technology.”

Will the acquisition benefit Behringer Harvard?

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