Balfour Beatty has been selected to develop a second student accommodation project for The Texas A&M University System, this time at the main campus in College Station, Texas.

The project is a collaboration between Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions who will be lead developer and Balfour Beatty US Construction business, based in Dallas. The project is expected to cost in excess of £125 million (US$200 million).

The Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions team will work with Texas A&M University to finalise contract details and reach financial close over the coming months.  Upon final approval, the project will be developed through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on a long-term ground lease that will be managed by Texas A&M University Housing and Residence Life.

The proposed development will incorporate approximately 4,000 beds featuring both apartment and traditional residence hall designs. Also included in the plan is a community support building that will house dining services and other amenities for the university's west campus population.

Student accommodation is a growing sector with around US$1 billion of new projects coming to market in the US and a pipeline of around £1 billion of new projects anticipated in the UK.

This project will be Balfour Beatty's sixth student accommodation project in the USA, following the recently announced University of West Florida contract which has an estimated completion value of US$500 million.

Commenting today, Andrew McNaughton, Balfour Beatty CEO, said: 

"It is great to see another student accommodation project between our teams and The Texas A&M University System.  The ongoing development at Tarleton State University is on track to open in August of 2014.  We have identified student accommodation as a key growth area for us and we are excited about the opportunities in this growing market, both in the UK and US."