Student AccommodationHudson FarrFri 11 Sep 26
The Living Co Snaps Up $72.5m Sydney Asset
The Living Co has expanded its portfolio with the off-market acquisition of the Boston University Sydney Academic Centre at Chippendale.
The living sector devleoper and operator reportedly paid $72.5 million for the 165-bed asset as investor appetite for purpose built student accommodation continues to run hot.
The eight-storey building at 15-25 Regent Street has operated as Boston University’s Sydney base for its Study Abroad Program since 2011, and was sold by Knight Frank’s Tim Holtsbaum and Luke Shackleton, on behalf of vendor TJAC.
The deal equates to roughly $440,000 per bed, underscoring the premium investors are prepared to pay for stabilised assets in tightly held inner-city education precincts.
In 2026, the sector recorded about $1.2 billion in transaction volume across five major deals, according to Knight Frank.
The purchase is the third Sydney acquisition in a year for The Living Co, the parent of the Scape brand.
The company paid $32 million for an industrial site at Waterloo in mid-2025, where it plans about 300 student rooms, and in March secured a development site at Blackwattle Bay as part of Mirvac’s harbourside precinct next to the new Sydney Fish Market.
The Living Co’s founder and joint chief executive Stephen Gaitanos said the acquisition gave the group a rare foothold in a supply constrained precinct, with plans already under way to reposition the asset.
“We plan to undertake a refurbishment of the building including refreshing the accommodation and communal spaces, and activating the ground floor with retail tenancies,” Gaitanos said.
Once repositioned, the beds will be brought to market under the group’s Scape brand, lifting its total owned and managed PBSA portfolio past 5000 beds. It is a move the group says is aimed at inner Sydney’s student accommodation shortfalls.
The cluster-style building comprises a mix of three and four-bedroom apartments, complemented by a rooftop terrace, communal kitchen, library, lecture theatres and secure bicycle parking.
Knight Frank’s Tim Holtsbaum said the transaction indicated strong investor demand for premium student housing assets backed by reliable income streams and robust sector fundamentals.
“Investors are increasingly targeting the student accommodation sector due to its strong fundamentals, including ongoing student population growth, chronic accommodation undersupply and the prospect of attractive risk-adjusted returns,” Holtsbaum said.
Shackleton pointed to the building’s operating history and location as the key drivers of buyer competition.
“With the Australian student accommodation sector continuing to experience strong occupancy levels and rental growth, we expect investor demand for quality PBSA assets to remain robust,” Shackleton said.
