Saint Mary’s College of California (“SMC” or “College)” engaged The Scion Group to conduct a housing market study in order to inform the College’s short- and long-term planning for student housing. The primary purpose of the study was to inform the student housing master plan with data-driven solutions that respond to strategic university initiatives and provide actionable implementation strategies.
To arrive at the recommendations, Scion held meetings with key College stakeholders, conducted focus groups and intercept interviews with students, examined the off-campus rental market, administered an online survey and reviewed summaries of past housing studies conducted by the College. With that information, Scion developed demand and gap analyses to quantify students’ interest in campus housing and potential new unit types. Subsequently, Scion conducted a financial analysis to test the feasibility of several housing scenarios.
Based on typical developer requirements, Scion’s study identified that the demand numbers for SMC have the potential to attract interest from the development community.