Commerz Real Acquires 142-Bed Dublin Student Housing Complex from Harrison Street for €31 Million

German asset manager Commerz Real has acquired Stoneybatter Place, a 142-bed purpose-built student accommodation complex in Dublin, from Harrison Street for approximately €31 million. Savills represented Harrison Street in the transaction. The deal adds a second Dublin asset to Commerz Real's open-ended Institutional Smart Living Europe Fund, which targets student accommodation and micro-apartment complexes across European university cities.

Deal Details and Property Overview

Stoneybatter Place, located on Manor Street in Dublin 7, was completed in 2023 and is virtually fully leased at the time of sale. The five-storey building offers 142 bedrooms alongside shared amenities including learning and lounge areas, a gym, rooftop terraces, and social spaces. At approximately €31 million, the transaction implies a per-bed price of roughly €218,000.

Commerz Real agreed to maintain confidentiality regarding the official purchase price. No cap rate or loan details were disclosed in connection with the transaction.

Mezzino, a student living operator active in Ireland and Great Britain, will continue to manage the property following the change of ownership. Mezzino also operates Grangegorman House, a separate Dublin student housing asset acquired by the same Commerz Real fund in 2025.

Second Dublin Asset for the Institutional Smart Living Europe Fund

The Stoneybatter Place acquisition gives Commerz Real two student housing properties in Dublin 7, both within walking distance of Technological University Dublin's Grangegorman campus. The fund previously acquired Grangegorman House — formerly known as Swuite Grangegorman — for €22.35 million. That 128-bed asset, completed in 2018, was fully let at the time of acquisition and has since been rebranded and operated by Mezzino.

The Institutional Smart Living Europe Fund now holds five assets in total: two in Dublin and one each in Frankfurt am Main, Seville, and Vienna. The fund invests on behalf of professional and semi-professional investors.

Commerz Real, the real assets subsidiary of German Commerzbank, cited the long-term positive fundamentals of the Dublin market as the primary driver of the investment decision.

Dublin Student Housing Supply Constraints

The transaction comes against a backdrop of significant structural undersupply in Dublin's student housing market. Savills, in its 2025 Development Land Market Review, estimates an excess demand of 25,000 to 30,000 student living apartments in the Irish capital. Separately, Ireland's Ministry for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science projects a 19 percent increase in the total number of students in Ireland through 2034, according to its Projections of Demand for Higher Education 2025–2045.

Stoneybatter Place benefits from proximity to Technological University Dublin's Grangegorman campus, which is within walking distance. The property is also connected to other higher education sites and Dublin city centre via two tramlines and several bus routes.

Transaction Advisors

Savills Ireland acted as broker on behalf of seller Harrison Street. No buyer-side advisors were disclosed in connection with the transaction.

Sources: Commerz Real press release