American Campus Communities

American Campus Communities is a real estate investment trust that manages high-quality student housing apartment communities. American Campus Communities, Inc. (ACC) is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company specialises in the acquisition, design, financing, development, construction management, leasing and management of student housing properties. 

It operates in four segments: Wholly-Owned Properties, On-Campus Participating Properties, Development Services and Property Management Services. As of December 31, 2012, its property portfolio contained 160 properties with approximately 98,800 beds in approximately 31,800 apartment units. Of the 160 properties, nine were under development as well as an additional phase under development at an existing property. In September 2012, it acquired Campus Acquisitions’ 15 student housing properties with 6,579 beds. On November 30, 2012, the Company acquired student housing properties with 12,049 beds, including 366 beds at an additional phase from affiliates of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisers, L.P.

1993: Beginning his career as a Resident Assistant at West Virginia University, Bill went on to co-found American Campus Communities in 1993. American Campus Communities was founded in Austin, Texas, in 1993 as American Campus Lifestyles Companies (ACLC) by Bill Bayless, who had been a resident dormitory adviser at West Virginia University; Joseph Domberger, a student housing owner; and Wayne Senecal, an entrepreneur.

1996: ACLC wins a contract to manage student housing at the new Texas A&M International University in Laredo. Prairie View A&M University became the company's first university partner with the development of the on-campus, University Village, opening with 100 percent occupancy and 400 students on the waitlist.

1997: In the summer, the firm sold a 76 percent ownership stake for $15 million to Reckson Opportunity Partners, L.P., an affiliate of Reckson Associates Realty Corp.

1998: ACC won contracts worth $52.5 million to build three new housing projects at Texas A&M, Iona College, and Prairie View, and began construction of an $18 million, a 620-bed apartment complex at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

1999: In the spring, the firm acquired a 444-bed complex at Arizona State University in Tempe, and in the summer it added townhouses and apartments at the University of Georgia in Athens, which could accommodate more than 1,100.

2000: In July, an apartment complex called The Village at Alafaya Club, in Orlando, Florida, was acquired.

2001: ACC bought a 288-unit facility in Blacksburg, Virginia, for $25.7 million, as well as a 732-bed one in Orlando, Florida.

2002: The firm recorded revenues of $55 million and a loss of $2.1 million.

2003: ACC was also building a housing complex near the University of Colorado in Boulder, which would open in the fall with 495 beds and add 499 more a year later.

2005: Sechler, Bob, "American Campus CEO Sees Growth Opportunity, 4Q on Track," Dow Jones News Service. 

2006: ACC would subsequently manage the facility, which was slated to open in the fall.

2007: In January, construction began on a $138 million, 1,866-bed complex at Arizona State University, which was the first part of a three-phase project that would eventually encompass 5,100 beds and a student centre, classrooms, faculty offices, and a dining hall.

2008: Slated to open in the fall, it was the most ambitious partnership between a college and ACC to date. The company acquired the student housing division of GMH Communities Trust in a $1.4 billion transaction that doubled the size of the company.

2013: ACC entered the Ivy League with Princeton's Merwick Stanworth faculty and staff housing community was its first project at an Ivy League university.

2016: ACC broke ground on its 100th development, U Club Sunnyside at WVU, CEO Bill Bayless’ alma mater.

2017: ASU opened the Tooker House, the largest engineering residential college.

2018: ACC began construction on an approximately $615 million residential community for participants of the Disney College program, now known as Disney Internships & Programs, through an American Campus Equity translation.

2020: ACC collaborated with RB, the makers of Lysol, to set a formalized approach to cleanliness and disinfection at its student housing communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022: ACC Earns MHN Excellence Award for Best Property Management Company.

Our mission consistently provide every resident with an environment conducive to healthy living, personal growth, academic achievement and professional success.

American Campus Communities, Inc. (ACC) is the largest developer, owner and manager of student housing communities in the United States.