After putting all the numbers together, and doing all the research, we discovered a number of problems to feasibility:
* 1,500 sq. ft. is the smallest unit size allowed
* city requires that only 2 unrelated adults live in a unit; this density is too low for the project to remain viable
* students typically only rent for 9 months of the year further decreasing income generated
* after discussion with Kirk, the director of development from Highland Park, they declined any interest in forming a Municipal Management District as, "We do not help private developers" was their position. We do not believe they fully understand how a municipal management district would work in their favor.
* another approach we considered was the EB5 visa for foreign investment funds, which did not prove to be viable.
In summary, for this project to work, the owner would have to contribute all of the land to equity, and we would have to charge very high rental rates to break even. This coupled with the 965,000 equity requirement leads us to believe that regular apartments would be more suitable for this project. An entirely different site that is more favorable for student housing should be considered.
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