Development Ventures Group’s growth plans featured in Student Housing Business magazine

Feature story details how the Deven Group plans to expand its student housing development portfolio to over $1billion worth of assets, while working with financial and development partners

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Development Ventures Group’s plans to dramatically expand its U.S. student housing business was detailed in a feature story in Student Housing Business’ November/December issue.

Development Ventures Group, known as the Deven Group, expects to grow its student housing development portfolio to over $1 billion worth of assets in the next three years, and is finding that a key to its success is working with quality financial and development partners.

“Student housing continues to be a winner for us, as properties stabilize much faster than multifamily and hospitality, allowing us to quickly cycle capital,” said Brad Caldwell, Director of Development with the Deven Group, in the Student Housing Business story. “So we are allocating significant capital to the space.”

The Deven Group is the U.S. development arm of Kajima Corporation, a 180-year-old Japanese construction company. With this powerful backing, the Deven Group has focused on building student housing projects ranging from 500 to 700 beds located near Power-4 universities.

Over the past year, the Deven Group has exited two of its completed projects - The Henry, near the University of Tampa, and UnionWest at Creative Village, near the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Both purchases were funded using creative bond-financing strategies to achieve above-market valuations despite challenging economic conditions.

“We work very well with other developers, who may be local sole proprietors or larger regional and institutional development firms looking to mitigate risk,” said Caldwell in the Student Housing Business story. “We help them navigate complex projects and enable them to pursue deals larger than what they would typically execute on their own. We combine Kajima’s balance sheet strength with our capital markets relationships and best-in-class development management while leveraging our partners’ respective expertise.”

The story also detailed how the Deven Group looks to acquire sites in markets with strong fundamentals but aren’t saturated in terms of student housing supply. This allows the company to beat others to promising opportunities.

The Deven Group is planning $400 to $500 million of annual development starts for its student housing business. The company has approximately $300 million of projects starting construction in 2025 – in Oxford, Mississippi (near the University of Mississippi), Charlottesville, Virginia (near the University of Virginia), and Orlando (near the University of Central Florida).

As the Student Housing Business story describes, the Deven Group is extremely optimistic about its prospects in student housing, thanks to the financial strength of parent company Kajima Corporation, its ability to find high-quality sites, source creative funding strategies and work with expert partners, while leveraging its core skill of delivering projects on time and on budget.

“We remain bullish on the student housing market over the foreseeable future, and plan to make that our primary focus,” said Caldwell in the Student Housing Business story.

About Development Ventures Group (Deven Group)

Development Ventures Group, known as the Deven Group, is a developer and owner of student housing, mixed use and hospitality projects across the United States. The Deven Group is a subsidiary of Kajima USA and the Tokyo-based Kajima Corporation, a construction and real estate company with annual revenues exceeding $25 billion. With a focus on high-quality real estate assets, a reliance on a deep analytical approach to investing, and an enduring commitment to integrity, the Deven Group’s mission is to develop, invest in, and own projects that offer superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, visit the company’s website.