An affiliate of Mosaic Real Estate Credit (MREC) has provided a Michigan-based real estate investment and development firm, Shamrock Acquisitions, LLC, with  $68.75 million in construction financing for an 885-bed student housing development in Merced, CA.

The 270-unit Merced Station is being developed to meet the shortfall of student housing at the University of California Merced (UCM), one of the fastest growing public universities in the United States.    The undergraduate enrollment at UCM, located 80 miles east of San Jose, CA, has quadrupled to more than 8,500 students since its founding in 2005 and is expected to exceed 10,000 students by the end of 2020.  Despite a $1.3 billion master planned campus expansion that will nearly double the size of the campus, significantly less student housing beds are planned than the demand that will be created by the UCM’s expansion.

UCM is an example of how college enrollment has increased across the United States as  Generation Z enters its college years.  As a result, many universities have outgrown their existing on-campus housing facilities, much of which have become functionally obsolete, according to MREC Executive Managing Director Alex Ovalle, who originated the financing.

Merced Station is located less than two miles from the UCM campus at 2980 Yosemite, which will be the nearest off-campus student housing option for the class of 2021.  The two-, three- and four-bedroom units will be housed in 15 residential buildings on a 17-acre site.  The project also will include retail space, and a state-of-the-art clubhouse. Each unit will include a full appliance package and planned common area amenities include bike storage, swimming pool and spa, basketball court, fitness room, and study lounge with high speed wireless internet access.

In addition to financing the vertical construction, a portion of the financing will be used to refinance existing debt and pay for certain sitework and soft costs.

Construction is expected to be completed in the Summer of 2021.

The financing was arranged by Scott Meredith of George Smith Partners.