National Park College (“College”) is a public two-year community college approximately 45 minutes southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. The College serves approximately 7,500 students per year in college courses, workforce training, and adult education classes.
After a competitive selection process in January 2019, Servitas Collegiate Real Estate Service (“Client”) engaged The Scion Group to conduct a confirmation demand study for financial close for a planned first-time student housing project (“Project”) at National Park College.
In order to properly assess demand and institutional readiness for housing, Scion first focused on learning and understanding the unique needs of the College. To do so, Scion conducted a strategic objectives workshop to identify institutional priorities, hosted student focus groups, facilitated intercept interviews, and met with key stakeholders on both campuses. In concert with the qualitative data, Scion analyzed survey data to provide quantitative data to assess student preferences and the conditions of the off-campus rental market.
After gathering and analyzing the qualitative and quantitative data, Scion’s analysis determined there was sufficient demand to support the proposed Project of 180 beds.
Informed by Scion’s analysis, the College’s strategic objectives and in concert with Servitas’ work the Project moved forward. The 180-bed facility is currently under construction and is anticipated to be completed by Fall 2020.