Cardinal Group Development and PGIM Break Ground on Three Heyday Student Housing Projects Totaling 1,500+ Beds

DENVER — Cardinal Group Development and PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc., announced Sept. 18 the closing and groundbreaking of three student housing developments under Cardinal Group's Heyday residential brand. The projects will collectively deliver more than 1,500 beds near major university campuses in Columbia, South Carolina; Champaign, Illinois; and Corvallis, Oregon.

Three-Property Portfolio at a Glance

The three developments target large public universities with growing enrollment and constrained on-campus housing capacity, extending a multi-year Heyday pipeline that already includes projects underway in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Heyday Columbia, located at 875 Catawba Street near the University of South Carolina, is a seven-story building totaling 409,231 gross square feet and 544 beds. ESG Architecture & Design is the project architect. Planned amenities include a pool and spa deck, an all-day coffee bar, saunas, red-light therapy rooms, and dedicated fitness zones.

Heyday Champaign, serving the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign market, spans two seven-story buildings with a combined 525 beds. The project was designed by Niles Bolton Associates and B2 Design Co, with interiors described by the developers as channeling a "Gold Coast Poise" aesthetic referencing classic Chicago social spaces. Amenities include a red-light therapy room, yoga studio, sauna, private library, game room, golf simulator, and an elevated courtyard pool deck.

Heyday Corvallis, near Oregon State University, will deliver 504 beds. Niles Bolton Associates and Krywicki Interior Design handled the design, incorporating natural woods, stone accents, and a suspended central fireplace in the lobby. A seventh-floor Sky Lounge with an integrated fireplace, private study portals, an on-site resident market, and outdoor yoga, sauna, and spa facilities are among the planned amenities.

Heyday Brand Strategy

Cardinal Group's Heyday brand is built around a boutique-scale model intended to foster community among residents. Properties are designed with custom regional architectural narratives and hospitality-oriented amenities, and staff are expected to know residents by name.

"Everything we do comes back to our core mission statement of building engaging communities where residents thrive, driven by a deep focus on hospitality," said Ryan McBride, Head of Development at Cardinal Group. "The Heyday brand stands as our prime example of that commitment in action. By keeping these developments intentionally boutique, we ensure every property serves as a stage for lifelong memories while driving long-term value for our investment partners."

The three new groundbreakings follow earlier Heyday projects already in the pipeline. Heyday Blacksburg, a 493-bed community at 501 S. Main St. in Blacksburg, Virginia, near Virginia Tech, comprises 215 units across two five-story buildings and 50 three-story townhomes and is scheduled to deliver for the 2027–2028 academic year. Heyday Raleigh, a 291-bed project near NC State along Hillsborough Street, includes 147 units, ten two-story townhomes, and 1,818 square feet of retail space, also targeting the 2027–2028 academic year.

PGIM's Student Housing Rationale

"We continue to see compelling opportunities in student housing, particularly in markets anchored by large universities with durable enrollment trends and a need for high-quality, purpose-built communities," said Soultana Reigle, Head of U.S. Equity for PGIM's Real Estate investment group. "These developments reflect our strategy of investing in well-located assets where thoughtful design, strong sponsorship and resilient demand drivers can support long-term value for our investors."

PGIM Real Estate manages $219 billion in gross assets under management and administration as of June 30, 2026, and operates from more than 30 cities worldwide. PGIM overall manages $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of the same date. The firm has identified student housing as part of its broader U.S. "Living" investment strategy, citing demographic and enrollment resilience as key demand drivers.

National student housing fundamentals provide context for the timing. Stabilized occupancy for the 2025–26 academic year reached approximately 95.1%, among the strongest performances in recent years. National trailing cap rates for student housing stood at 5.43% as of early 2025, compressing from 5.83% in the fourth quarter of 2023 as interest-rate volatility eased. Average cap rates for 2024 transactions were reported near 5.7%, with more recent data from advisory firms placing rates in the 6.0–6.1% range.

Cardinal Group's Expanding Platform

Cardinal Group Companies, headquartered in Denver, oversees more than 110,000 student housing beds and approximately 13,000 conventional and affordable housing units nationwide. A May 2026 company update placed the platform at more than 117,300 student housing beds and 57,000-plus units across all housing types. The firm added 23 communities totaling more than 4,600 units and 9,500 beds in the first months of 2026 alone.

On the investment side, Cardinal Group reports having deployed more than $1.7 billion of equity across more than 35 student housing and conventional multifamily transactions, representing more than $4.2 billion of assets under management.

Cardinal Group was founded in 2006 and operates affiliate companies across management, investment, construction, consulting, and marketing functions focused on multifamily and student housing.

Sources

Cardinal Group Development — Official Announcement, Sept. 18, 2026