Construction financing and equity have been secured for 5077 College Ave., a Class A, purpose-built student housing project planned next to San Diego State University. The capital stack details and specific terms were not disclosed, but the funding allows the development team to move directly into the construction phase.
The project is being executed as a joint venture between Akara Partners and Deven Group, which are serving as co-general partners and co-developers. According to the sponsors, they pursued and entitled the site over a period of more than two years, positioning the development to proceed once capital was arranged.
The planned community will rise eight stories on an infill parcel at the corner of College Avenue and Montezuma Road, approximately 100 feet from the core of the SDSU campus. The proximity to the university and the infill nature of the location align the project closely with the surrounding academic environment and nearby amenities.
At full build-out, the student housing property is designed to include 110 residential units and a total of 305 beds. The program will be delivered across approximately 98,500 square feet, reflecting a higher-density configuration typical of purpose-built student housing close to major universities. The scheme is characterized as Class A, indicating a focus on contemporary product targeted to the student renter base.
The development is described as a transit-oriented infill site, highlighting access to transit infrastructure in addition to its walkable adjacency to campus. This combination of transit access and immediate campus proximity is central to the location strategy cited by the joint venture sponsors.
Akara Partners founder and CEO Rajen Shastri noted that the firm targets locations in markets that pair strong long-term growth with high barriers to entry, and he identified the SDSU area as fitting that profile. He also emphasized the multi-year effort required to source and entitle the site and underscored the collaborative nature of the venture with Deven Group.
With financing and equity in place, construction is scheduled to commence immediately. Project delivery is targeted for the 2028–29 academic year, aligning completion with a specific university leasing cycle. The timeline suggests a multi-year construction and lease-up period before the property is fully operational as a student housing option for SDSU.
The post from Connect CRE notes that this transit-oriented, purpose-built student housing development combines a joint venture structure, newly assembled construction capital, and an entitled infill site next to a major public university, but it does not provide further detail on the financing structure, lender participants, or ownership beyond the co-developers.
