UNIVERSITY INITIATIVES
You handle the classes - We'll cover the extracurriculars
FAIRMOUNT PROPERTIES UNDERSTANDS RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
In today’s competitive higher education environment, colleges and universities can no longer solely rely upon their own academic programs and amenities to market their particular institution. They understand the important role the adjacent environment plays in attracting and retaining students, staff, and faculty by giving them great places to shop, dine, work, live and recreate.
Unfortunately, budgetary constraints, limited funding, shrinking endowments, and the need to invest in academic and research facilities make it difficult for these institutions to enhance the retail and housing choices adjacent to campus or within their local submarket. Recognizing the need to create these vibrant and engaging places for the nation’s institutions of higher education, Fairmount Properties, in 2003, created a specialized practice in this collegiate niche that has brought a series of successful developments to a range of campus communities across the country.
“We were pleased that we had the opportunity to work with Fairmount. They were great listeners, excellent private partners and intuitively understood what was important to the University. Most importantly, they created a project that we were proud to have at the front entrance to our campus.”
A PLATFORM FOR PROMOTING COLLEGIATE COMMUNITIES
The driving mission of Fairmount Properties’ University Initiative is to acquire, construct, develop, lease, finance, own and operate real estate assets either on, adjacent to, or affiliated with colleges and universities. The neighboring institutions benefit greatly from Fairmount Properties’ depth of experience in mixed-use development. These projects serve as meaningful gateways into the campus and engaging districts for the broader community, often playing a key role in part of the revitalization of a downtown area or contribute toward efforts to spark broader growth in a community. Fairmount Properties invests it own capital into these projects, and often these developments can provide a new source of revenue for the institutions around which they are built.
aCTIVE COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY PROJECTS
COMPLETED COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY PROJECTS
UNIVERSITY CIRCLE / CASE WESTERN / CLEVELAND,OH
Fairmount Properties, in partnership with University Circle Inc. and Case Western Reserve University, led the renovation and re-merchandising of the University East building. Completed in Spring 2004, the new revitalized development is a mix of retail and residential space. The project added a number of specialty tenants and new restaurants — all with outdoor dining — at the front door of the Case campus.
COLLEGE TOWN BLACKSBURG / BLACKSBURG, VA
In 2008, Fairmount Properties celebrated the opening of this 225,000 sq ft. town center within walking distance of Virginia Tech University. This $35 million development featured a spectrum of regional and national retailers. College Town Blacksburg has redefined the retail experience for the more than 40,000 members of the Virginia Tech campus community.
KENT STATE REGIONAL ACADEMIC CENTER / TWINSBURG,OH
This new 44,000-square-foot facility, completed in 2010, is part of a regional campus initiative aimed at the more than one million people within a 30-minute drive of Twinsburg, OH. This new campus was a true public-private partnership: the Fairmount Properties team was able to achieve $1.4 million in cost savings for KSU through creative financing with the Build America Bonds program.
“This brand new regional campus is a centerpiece of the community and provides a high-quality KSU education to both traditional and nontraditional students. Fairmount Properties has been an excellent private partner in ensuring that the design, development, financing and construction process went as smoothly as it did”