American Campus Announces Start of Construction of Student Housing Community at the University of Wyoming

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC), one of the largest owners, managers and developers of high-quality student housing properties in the U.S., announced today the start of construction on a third-party development project at the University of Wyoming (UW) in Laramie. The 332-bed apartment-style community was awarded through a competitive procurement process and is anticipated to open for occupancy in August 2012.

“With universities across the nation needing to update existing housing”

The University of Wyoming, with enrollment at approximately 10,600 students, has been updating and renovating existing housing in recent years. This new project is replacement housing for a recently demolished on-campus apartment complex and will add diversity to their existing product offering while increasing the number of apartment and townhome-style units available for upperclassmen.

“This is our first project with the University of Wyoming and we couldn’t be more thrilled to support their master plan to provide a new neighborhood environment with modern amenities for their students, said Bill Bayless, American Campus president and CEO.

“With universities across the nation needing to update existing housing,” Bayless added, “our third-party development services continues to be a vibrant business segment. Including this project, our total third-party projects scheduled for both 2011 and 2012 deliveries represent approximately $271.3 million in development.”

The UW student housing project features a 4,000-square-foot commons building that is located on the Southeast corner of the site and connected to the community’s main pedestrian pathway that provides pedestrian access to the University shuttle system stop adjacent to the community. The commons building, designed for student recreation and residence life programming, will also function as a visitor and administrative center for the University. Student amenities include meeting/study rooms, mail center, and social lounge with gaming area. There is also a laundry room facility included for use by residents of the adjacent existing UW apartments. Exterior community amenities include a barbeque pavilion and bike storage.

The community will contain predominantly four bedroom units that offer single occupancy bedrooms and a mix of private and shared bathrooms. The units included within the community will help the UW housing program provide their student residents a graduated product cycle and variety of price points.

American Campus serves as developer and construction manager for the project and successfully coordinated the closing of the $15.3 million finance package. The University will be the property manager.

About American Campus Communities

American Campus Communities, Inc. is one of the largest developers, owners and managers of high-quality student housing communities in the United States. The company is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered equity real estate investment trust (REIT) with expertise in the design, finance, development, construction management, and operational management of student housing properties. American Campus Communities owns 109 student housing properties containing approximately 67,600 beds. Including its owned, joint venture and third-party managed properties, ACC's total managed portfolio consists of 142 properties with approximately 92,400 beds. Visit www.americancampus.com and www.studenthousing.com.

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