Aspire 2 Student Housing Site Sets New Record Land Value, $470 PSF, near UA Campus

TUCSON, Arizona – After three years being under construction, Sterling University the developer of Aspire Student Housing, is back acquiring the adjoining Chase Bank site, 947 N Park Ave., at the southwest corner of Park and 1st Street, for second phase, or Aspire 2. The developer, an affiliate of Dinerstein Companies of Houston, paid $16.675 million ($470 PSF) to the seller, JPMorgan Chase Bank, for the site in Main Gate District within two blocks of the University of Arizona. This sets a new record high for land value previously set when Sterling and Dinerstein bought the first site for Aspire Tucson.

This is the buyer’s third student housing acquisition and development in Tucson. It also constructed and later sold Sterling University Villas at 2550 W Ironwood Hill in Tucson.

Approved for a new, 130-unit / 482 bed high-rise just two blocks from campus, Aspire Tucson 2 will be an eight-story building, directly west of Aspire Tucson, a 10-story community set to open this fall, with 149 units / 503 beds being added to the University of Arizona off-campus student housing inventory.

Located in the heart of the Main Gate Overlay District, Aspire Tucson 1 and 2 are more than just a step up from a dormitory – from the underground parking garage to the rooftop pools, residents will find first-class modern amenities and a sense of community within the shared living spaces.

Aspire 2 unit mix will have thirteen studios (10%), 26 two-bedroom (20%), six three-bedroom (4.6%), 46 four-bedroom (35.4%), 19 five-bedroom (14.6%) and 20 six-bedroom units (15.4%) will be  available, with each student signing individual leases.

With 228,000-square-feet of living space and 5,700-square-feet retail, Aspire Tucson 2 will offer students the ability to live, study and recreate on-site. Amenities like a social lounge, tanning room, fitness center, indoor/outdoor bike room, private study rooms and study café, fenced-in pet park and outdoor gaming courtyard will make sure students only need to leave to attend classes.

When students do choose to venture out, the site will encourage multi-modal transportation, within walking distance of the University and two streetcar stops. A ride-share pick-up zone will provide access to ride-share vehicles while not blocking traffic along Park Avenue or 1st Street. Aspire Tucson 2 will also meet the environmentally conscious design requirements of the Main Gate Overlay District (MGO), and the developer’s goal for the project is a Silver LEED certification.

The project is to be developed and managed by the Dinerstein Companies Team; Gensler of Austin, TX is Project Architect; Landscape architect, The Planning Center of Tucson; SCA Consulting Engineers of Sugar Land TX, Structural Engineering; Rick Engineering Company of Tucson, Civil Engineering; and Blum Consulting Engineers of Dallas, TX the Mechanical Engineers.

According to the developer’s application, “While both this project and Aspire I share similar design elements, materials and colors, the project has a unique design that is illustrated in the design package. The project uses a variety of materials, colors, bulk reductions and fenestrations to create an interesting design that complies with MGO. Of significance is the project’s east side facing the University, where the design incorporates a series of vertical and horizontal articulations different from any other MGO project.”

John Ash with CBRE Tucson and Jaclyn Fitts, Director of Student Housing at CBRE in Dallas represented the seller, JPMorgan Chase Bank, in both transactions.

For more information on Aspire Tucson read here.

Ash can be reached at 520.323.5177 and Fitts should be contacted at 214.979.6524.

To learn more on these projects see RED Comp #4341 and #7073.