PEP Purchases Property at Ball State University in Muncie

Pierce Education Properties today announces the purchase of Windermere Place - a premier off-campus student housing community serving Ball State University students - for $16.75 million. The acquisition was completed in late September, 2015. Debt financing of $8.48 million was provided by KeyBank.

Windermere Place is a 672-bed, 216-unit community located just west of the Ball State campus in Muncie, IN. This state-of-the-art, garden-style, brick exterior, fully-furnished community features spacious two, three, and four bedroom units, each with bed-to-bath parity, full-size washer and dryer in every unit, private balconies, and beautiful green space. Beginning this fall, PEP will add large, flat screen TVs in every unit and introduce a property-operated shuttle service to and from campus. Community amenities include a giant resort-style pool, 24-hour state-of-the-art fitness center, outdoor basketball courts, free tanning salon, and high speed internet.

The Ball State Cardinals compete in the NCAA FBS Division and the Mid-American Conference, and have won over 100 Mid-American Conference titles to date. Ball State recently earned the Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is known for its "entrepreneurial learning," including capstone projects and extensive hands on community work. Ball State's total enrollment is 21,000. The university currently has 7,200 beds of student housing on campus.

"PEP is excited to expand its growing footprint in the Midwest with this second purchase of a student apartment community in Indiana in 2015," said PEP President and CEO Frederick W. Pierce. "We are also pleased to have completed this purchase from a group of Tenant-in-Common (TIC) owners, a structure which often adds significant complexity to purchase transaction. Windermere Place is one of nine student apartment communities representing $200 million acquired by PEP in the last 22 months, adding more than 5,400 new beds to our portfolio. We are among the most active national buyers in the market, and are seeking to invest another $600 million through acquisitions in the student housing sector over the next two to three years, including core, core-plus, and value-added opportunities.