Peak Campus and Blue Vista Break Ground On New Student Housing Development Near University Of Washington In Seattle’s University District

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Peak Campus (“Peak”) and Blue Vista Capital Management (“Blue Vista”) recently broke ground and closed construction financing on Theory U District, a purpose-built student housing community in the University District of Seattle, near the University of Washington.

The project represents a continued expansion of Peak/Blue Vista’s Theory-branded development portfolio in major university markets. Construction financing will be provided by the Bank of Oklahoma (“BOK”). This marks the third time BOK, Blue Vista and Peak have partnered together on a student housing project.

Upon completion, Theory U District will be a seven-story, 441-bed mid-rise property offering a variety of unit layouts from studio up to five-bedrooms. The property is in a premier location near University Way Northeast (“The Ave”), Greek Village, and a new light rail station. The fully furnished units will include a mix of standard and premium offerings, with market leading features and finishes. The leasing and amenity spaces will showcase a two-story entry with abundant light, a well-appointed fitness center, business center, active ground-level courtyard, rooftop amenity deck with astounding Seattle views, gathering/grilling areas and an outdoor kitchen. The community will provide touchless/keyless entry throughout and parking in an adjacent garage.

“We are very excited to be under construction in the vibrant University District market with a well-conceived and differentiated project,” commented Jeff Githens, President of Development.

“The Theory U District development represents our commitment to bringing high-quality, purpose-built student living accommodations to university areas with limited options,” said Jason Schwartz, Managing Principal of Student Housing at Blue Vista. “At completion, Theory U District will offer students a modern, amenity-rich housing option that is walkable to campus.”

Theory U District will open in Fall 2022.

About PeakMade Real Estate

PeakMade Real Estate, based in Atlanta, GA, is a diversified real estate services company, operating multiple brands for management, development, and advisory services for conventional multifamily and student apartments. PeakMade Real Estate provides support and infrastructure to its subsidiary companies, Peak Campus, one of the leading private developers and operators of student housing apartments in the U.S., and PeakMade Communities, a boutique conventional multifamily development and management company. The PeakMade Real Estate family of brands was built to execute on strategies consistent with the goals and long-term investment strategies of its partners.

About Blue Vista

Blue Vista is a Chicago-based leading real estate investment management firm dedicated to developing long-term relationships, serving investor interests, and delivering consistent performance through a rigorous academic and research-driven investment process. Blue Vista’s value-creating platform offers a national footprint in the U.S. and Canada, local operating expertise, and best-in-class investment strategies focused exclusively on student housing, middle market real estate and lending. Since the firm’s inception in 2002, Blue Vista has invested over $10.5 billion in total capitalized value through institutional real estate vehicles. For more information, please visit https://bluevistallc.com.

PeakMade Real Estate Hires Chief Technology Officer And Announces Key Promotions

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PeakMade Real Estate, one of the nation’s leading apartment operators, announced today the hiring of Jeff Eckard as Chief Technology Officer and the promotion of several key team members.

 

A veteran in the real estate industry for more than 32 years, Jeff Eckard began his career working in a hotel as a front desk and night audit associate. Prior to joining Peak Made Real Estate, Jeff held senior technology leadership positions at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) for 22 years. Prior to IHG, Jeff was with Marriott International where he held roles of increasing responsibility in technology with extended-stay and limited-service brands. As Chief Technology Officer for PeakMade, Jeff will have responsibility for overseeing the successful delivery of property, corporate and business intelligence technology solutions, initiatives, and infrastructure services across all PeakMade businesses. He brings an emphasis on customer service experience, maximizing client/operations value related to their investments and enabling innovative improvements for Peak, Clients and Customer stakeholders.

Ashly Poyer has been promoted to Vice President of Sales. She joined the Company in 2010 as a part-time leasing consultant in Huntsville, TX and quickly became the first regional marketing and leasing specialist for the Company. After relocating to Atlanta, GA, she has led Peak’s national Sales team since 2016 in both Director and Senior Director capacities. She is the architect and visionary behind the Company’s Sales department and is an active leader in other areas of the Company and the broader multifamily and student housing industries.

Opal Cox has been promoted to Senior Director of Operations. Having joined the Company in 2007, Opal has held roles of increasing responsibilities, including the oversight of the national operations support teams and overseeing policies and procedures for the Company. She has also led numerous company initiatives, most recently the portfolio-wide migration to a new Property Management System. In her expanded role, Opal will have oversight of National Facilities and Learning and Development teams in addition to operations support.

Maria Filippone has been promoted to Senior Director of Marketing. In her five years with the Company, Maria has been instrumental in evolving Peak’s property marketing platform, specifically expanding the Company’s digital strategy, and recently led a portfolio-wide website migration. Her new role will allow her to support and advise on corporate marketing strategy while continuing to lead property marketing support functions. Prior to joining the Company, Maria served in regional marketing support roles for Greystar.

About PeakMade Real Estate

PeakMade Real Estate, based in Atlanta, GA, is a diversified real estate services company, operating multiple brands for management, development, and advisory services for conventional multifamily and student apartments. PeakMade Real Estate provides support and infrastructure to its subsidiary companies, Peak Campus, one of the leading private developers and operators of student housing apartments in the U.S., and PeakMade Communities, a boutique conventional multifamily development and management company. The PeakMade Real Estate family of brands was built to execute on strategies consistent with the goals and long-term investment strategies of its partners.

Peak Campus Debuts New Brands PeakMade Real Estate & PeakMade Communities

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For the past decade, the team at Peak Campus has been singularly focused on providing best-in-class property management, development and consulting services to our clients in student housing by bringing together the best people in the business, and then giving them the platform, culture and resources to thrive. To that end, Peak Campus has developed over 15,000 beds of purpose-built student housing, and currently manages nearly 50,000 beds, with a combined valuation of more than $3 billion for investors nationwide.

“Over the years, as our relationships with our partners have expanded, we’ve been continually asked whether we would consider venturing into other non-student housing management and development services.” said PeakMade Real Estate’s CEO Bob Clark. “As those requests continued, we began resource planning and making investments in both systems and personnel. We decided last year to take on a few assignments which will take place under the PeakMade Communities brand.”

Peak Campus will remain highly focused on student housing. PeakMade Real Estate will be the new home of all executive oversight, support functions and shared services. The PeakMade Real Estate team will continue to provide the same high level of support to Peak Campus, as well as PeakMade Communities, and the new structure will provide the ability to explore new opportunities in the future.

”As we continue to grow our student apartment development platform, we see other residential and multi-family development opportunities in the markets that we serve. Having the PeakMade Real Estate master brand allows us to more effectively pursue these other asset classes and establish new real estate verticals under a single master brand,” said PeakMade Real Estate’s President of Development, Jeff Githens.

About PeakMade Real Estate

PeakMade Real Estate, based in Atlanta, GA, is a diversified real estate services company, operating multiple brands for management, development, and advisory services for conventional multifamily and student apartments. PeakMade Real Estate provides support and infrastructure to its subsidiary companies, Peak Campus, one of the leading private developers and operators of student housing apartments in the U.S., and PeakMade Communities, a boutique conventional multifamily development and management company. The PeakMade Real Estate family of brands was built to execute on strategies consistent with the goals and long-term investment strategies of its partners.

Announcing VP of Client Services, Mark Winkelmann

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Peak Campus, one of the nation’s leading student housing operators, announced today that Mark Winkelmann has been promoted to Vice President.

The promotion is in recognition of his continued expansion of responsibilities, his many contributions to the organization, and his ability to build strong relationships.

In his new role, Mark will oversee Peak’s recently established Client Services team. Client Services will provide support to future and current clients by performing market research, project consulting, architecture review, underwriting guidance, rate analysis, asset strategy reviews, and additional services as needed. Additionally, the team will manage the on-boarding of new projects and remain heavily involved in the early stages of the company’s portfolio of new development lease-ups.

“I’m thrilled to be leading a team committed to and focused on the success of our clients and partners. We’re looking forward to leveraging our vast industry and market experience to expand our relationships with our current clients, build relationships with new partners, and ultimately deliver high quality property operations and investor returns,” said Winkelmann.

Casey Petersen, Chief Operating Officer for Peak Campus, commented “I’m very excited to have Mark in his new role. In his seven years with the organization, Mark has continually proven that he can be relied upon to take on more, build strong teams and deliver high quality service to his customers – both internal and external. He and his team will be great partners to our clients as they grow their businesses.”

Mark has been active in student housing for over 12 years. He joined Peak in 2013 and has served in a multitude of on-site and corporate positions, most recently serving as the Director of Portfolio Integration where he was responsible for the creation of the dedicated New Development team. He was honored internally with the Peak Campus Pacesetter Award. Prior to joining the company, he held management positions with a real estate development company out of St. Louis. Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in Leadership and Change Management from Saint Louis University.

If you are interested in learning more about Peak Campus’ Client Services team, please reach out to Mark Winkelmann at mwinkelmann@peakmadere.com or 404.920.5385.

About PeakMade Real Estate

PeakMade Real Estate, based in Atlanta, GA, is a diversified real estate services company, operating multiple brands for management, development, and advisory services for conventional multifamily and student apartments. PeakMade Real Estate provides support and infrastructure to its subsidiary companies, Peak Campus, one of the leading private developers and operators of student housing apartments in the U.S., and PeakMade Communities, a boutique conventional multifamily development and management company. The PeakMade Real Estate family of brands was built to execute on strategies consistent with the goals and long-term investment strategies of its partners.