Landmark Properties Breaks Ground on 625-Bed Student Housing Development Near Appalachian State University
BOONE, N.C. — Landmark Properties, HC2 Capital, LLC, and Peninsula Investments Group have broken ground on The Retreat at Boone, a 625-bed, cottage-style student housing community being developed near Appalachian State University. The June 3 groundbreaking marks one of the first new off-campus student housing developments in Boone in roughly five years, according to the firms, with delivery planned for the 2027–2028 academic year.
During the ceremony, The Retreat at Boone presented a $10,000 donation to Casting Bread, a local nonprofit that addresses food insecurity in Western North Carolina through a community-centered, self-choice food pantry and soup kitchen.
Project Details: Scale, Format, and Amenities
Located at 250 South Wild Cherry Circle, The Retreat at Boone will occupy a 40-acre site and offer 148 units with a mix of three- to five-bedroom floor plans, totaling 625 beds. The community will include on-site parking for 588 vehicles and a private shuttle service to the App State campus. Planned amenities span 12,514 square feet and include a resort-style pool, fitness center, golf simulator, skate park, computer lab, Jumbotron, and a variety of indoor and outdoor gathering spaces.
"Boone's purpose-built student housing market has seen no new supply since 2021, and lower density product hasn't been introduced in well over a decade," said Chase Powell, Senior Director of Development at Landmark Properties. "The Retreat at Boone was designed specifically for that gap — delivering a cottage-style living experience that gives students more space, more privacy and a genuine connection to both campus and the Boone community through a private shuttle service."
A Supply Gap in Boone's Student Housing Market
The project enters a market that Landmark characterizes as supply-constrained. According to the firm, no new purpose-built student housing has been delivered in Boone since 2021, and lower-density product has been absent for more than a decade.
The Joint Venture: Landmark, HC2 Capital, and Peninsula Investments
The development is being executed through a joint venture among three firms with established student housing track records.
Landmark Properties, headquartered in Athens, Ga., with offices in Atlanta, New York, and London, describes itself as a fully integrated real estate investment management firm specializing in development, construction, acquisition, and operation of residential communities. The firm reports more than $15 billion in assets under management, a portfolio of over 115 residential communities, and 74,000 beds under management. Landmark also reports an active development pipeline of more than 50 student and multifamily projects under construction or near-term start, with an estimated value exceeding $10 billion.
HC2 Capital, LLC is a Dallas-based real estate private equity firm focused on the acquisition and development of institutional-quality multifamily and student housing assets. Founded in 2016, HC2 reports a student housing portfolio of more than 3,400 beds across flagship university markets, including The Retreat at Boone. The firm also specializes in EB-5 financing, providing senior and mezzanine debt for qualified projects. No public disclosure has confirmed whether EB-5 financing is part of the financing structure for this specific project.
Peninsula Investments, headquartered in Miami, is a private equity real estate firm focused on student housing and residential projects in the U.S., as well as residential developments in Latin America and the United Kingdom. In student housing, Peninsula reports investments in more than 40,000 beds across more than 14,000 units in 21 U.S. states and the U.K.
No total project cost, financing terms, or yield targets have been publicly disclosed for The Retreat at Boone.
Representatives from Landmark's leadership team, project partners from HC2 Capital, LLC and Peninsula Investments, associates from Casting Bread, and local community members attended the groundbreaking event.
Sources
Landmark Properties — The Retreat at Boone Breaks Ground; 10K Donated To Nonprofit (June 3, 2026)