Two Baton Rouge student apartment complexes near LSU to be sold

Aspen Heights and the Cottages of Baton Rouge, two of the newer, upscale, student apartment complexes near the LSU campus, are among 19 student housing properties nationwide that will be purchased by American Campus Communities, the Texas-based company announced this morning. Located at the corner of River Road and Brightside Drive, Aspen Heights has a total of 105 apartments in the gated community. The Cottages is a gated community on Ben Hur Road with approximately 392 apartments. Financial terms of the deal specific to the two Baton Rouge properties were not disclosed. However, American Campus Communities says its deal for the 19 total properties, which it will buy from New York investment firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, is valued at $862.8 million—with $466.6 million in cash and $396.2 million in assumed mortgage debt. Kayne Anderson had reportedly just acquired Aspen Heights in June, and in October 2011 had acquired the Cottages. American Campus Communities says it’s “the largest owner, manager and developer of high-quality student housing properties in the U.S.” Other properties included in the purchase deal announced today are located in Michigan, New York, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, Florida, California, Virginia and Ohio. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The company owns 141 student housing properties containing approximately 85,500 beds across the country.