Nick Falker of Cambridge Realty Partners | The Elm in New Haven | Living in a College Town
Courtesy of Cambridge Realty Partners
Living in a College Town
With Zoom school largely a thing of the past, college students are back to living on or near campus again. Between dormitories, apartments, and multifamily homes, there are an estimated 8.5 million student housing beds across the US with an projected increase to 9.2 million this decade.
In this episode, I’m unpacking the factors contributing to the boom in student housing and the pros and cons this housing type poses to the surrounding communities. I’m also revisiting a conversation with Nick Falker of Cambridge Realty Partners to discuss The Elm, the firm’s multifamily build in New Haven, Connecticut.
Designed for Yale students and young professionals, The Elm is a six-story building with studios to four-bedroom options. It features bright, modern colors, a robust fitness center, conference rooms equipped with TVs and projectors, and a roof deck overlooking downtown and the Yale campus.
New Haven appeals to many people for its walkability, foodie scene, and relief from overpopulation. Nick dives into who he thought would be the ideal renter for his build versus who currently occupies it, as well as the decisions he made that allow his build to compete with others in the city.
Nick and I also discuss how to raise capital when just starting out, estimating renovation costs, and the effect the pandemic had on major US cities.
“If you’re in a city there are so many options at your disposal if you have a well-located multi-quality, multifamily building. There are many options available for you to generate income in a challenging environment such as if there’s a recession or a pandemic. You can switch to Airbnb, you can do all sorts of things to generate income. People always need places to live so you can be flexible with how you lease your building.”
Courtesy of Cambridge Realty Partners
About Nick Falker
Nick is the managing partner at Cambridge Realty Partners based in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm has been investing and developing in real estate opportunistically since 1978. Over that time, they have focused on office assets in the Northeast US, Texas, Mexico, and most recently, in multifamily in Connecticut. Nick previously worked at Cigna Realty Investors and Bristol Group.
Courtesy of Cambridge Realty Partners
Episode Timestamps
2:26 – An overview of the current state of student housing.
7:49 – As you were starting up the second iteration of Cambridge Realty Partners, what were some of the challenges and some of the learnings that you had?
9:54 – What were the things that you mentioned when you were raising capital for your first deal?
14:31 – The Elm is located in downtown New Haven. What is special about the city for you and what drew you to this particular site?
19:42 – Tell us about the development strategy in more detail and who else is working on this project with you.
25:11 – Walk listeners through what they would experience if they were to walk through The Elm when it’s done.
29:57 – Talk to us more about who you thought your renters were going to be as you were underwriting this deal, how that changed over the course of the project, and who actually is renting at the property.
32:25 – Could you give us a look at what the residential market was like in New Haven before and after COVID?
35:03 – Tell us more about the popular neighborhoods that are in New Haven and what you think makes them great places to live.
37:42 – What does New Haven have going for it in terms of getting there and getting around?
Additional Resources
Connect with Nick Falker:
LinkedIn (Nick Falker)
LinkedIn (Cambridge Realty Partners)
Cambridge Realty Partners
Courtesy of Cambridge Realty Partners
About your host:
Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of Commonplace, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Commonplace
Commonplace is a founding sponsor of American Building. It is a 100% minority-owned, real estate technology company founded in 2020 to make financing social impact development projects across the US easier. It is funded by venture capital investors Hometeam Ventures, Park West Asset Management, New York Ventures and Shadow Ventures.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
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