CEV Morgantown

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has been exclusively retained to offer qualified investors the opportunity to purchase Campus Evolution Villages at Morgantown (CEV Morgantown), a 280-unit, 924-bed student housing community at West Virginia University. With enrollment nearing 27,000 for the 2020/2021 Academic Year, West Virginia University is a tier one university, the largest University in West Virginia and a part of the Big Twelve Conference. Built in 2006, CEV Morgantown recently changed management companies in March 2019, infused capital into the property’s exterior, and added back a campus shuttle which helped it lease up to 83% occupancy for the 2020/2021 Academic Year versus 67% for the 2018/2019 Academic Year. The property offers numerous additional value-add opportunities including renovating unit interiors, rebranding it and upgrading community amenities. As of August 2020, and per the Axiometrics University Report, CEV Morgantown’s rents are more than $130 below market, and occupancy trails other student properties by approximately 4%. This equates to a more than $1,450,000 in annual income to be realized by future owners.

Located on District Drive in the popular North campus area, CEV Morgantown is less than half a mile away from Campus and provides students direct access while undercutting on-campus product by a significant margin. Additionally, there are zero proposed student housing projects, yet there is still only capacity for just over 25% of enrollment based on current inventory.  CEV Morgantown gives potential buyers the opportunity to purchase a property that should continue to benefit going forward from improved management, concession burn-off as well as unit and amenity upgrades in a strengthening student housing market. 

• Occupancy has benefitted from recent change in management but still lags behind market by ~4%
• In-place rents are significantly below market average
• The property features an impressive amenity package and one of the most coveted in the market
• Located in the North Campus area with a direct bus route to West Virginia University with enrollment in excess of 26,500 students