Podcast: Student Housing with Henry Morton of Campus Suites

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Today’s guest is Henry Morton, and as President of Campus Suites, he is the perfect person to talk to about student housing.

Henry describes how student housing has changed throughout his career, along with major differences he sees between the US and Canada. He explains his vision for student housing and talks about challenges faced in the space.

Topics covered include:

  • The evolution of student housing.
  • Why Henry shifted from the USA to Canada.
  • Why student housing isn’t like an apartment building.
  • Amenity inflation and “tricked out” suites.
  • Challenges of financing in the student housing sector.
  • The demise of “chopped up houses” accommodation for students.
  • Markets that have gone from underserved to overdeveloped.
  • The role of community assistants at Campus Suites’ properties.
  • Expectations that students want in the US versus Canada.
  • Henry’s philosophy on the proper suite structure.
  • Rental prices on both private and shared units.
  • Better treatment of units in Canada when compared to the US.
  • Safety issues that Henry has seen over the years.
  • What lenders want to see before providing funds.
  • The differences between the provinces.

More about our guest:

Henry Morton has previously (co) developed, or is developing over 14,500 student housing and conventional bedroom units and 200,000 sq. ft. of retail development in nine States and four Provinces with a value of over $1.25B.

His property management company simultaneously managed in excess of 4,500 leases and a total of some 17,000 leases. Projects developed by him have won awards such as the Portal of Excellence and, additionally, as “The Top Apartment Community” in Florida, and the National Association of Home Builders Pillar of the Industry Award – Student Housing for The Varsity in College Park, Maryland. Communities developed by him have won awards in virtually every market in which he has developed and/or managed.

In addition, a recent project developed by him is the winner of the service delivery category of the Canadian Council of public Private Partnerships – a national organization. He was also named a Pioneer of the Industry, an award given out to 25 individuals who helped to establish the modern student housing industry in the U.S.