Centaline Adds Sai Ying Pun Tower to Hong Kong Student Housing Venture for $43M

Students in upper floor rooms may have their studies enhance by view of Victoria Harbour (Image: CBRE)

Centaline Investment has acquired a second property for its Hong Kong student housing platform, with the firm planning to launch dedicated investment vehicles targeting a sector poised to benefit from an academic influx from mainland China and other points around the region.

The investment division of local property services firm Centaline Group said last week that it is has acquired Bonham Residence, a 96-key serviced apartment building near the University of Hong Kong campus, with public records showing the company paid HK$335 million ($43.1 million) for the Sai Ying Pun property. 

Centaline Investment plans to spend HK$65 million converting the former YWCA residence for use as student housing with the goal of opening in September next year, chief executive Kavis Ip told Mingtiandi.

“Student housing represents a resilient and high-growth segment in Hong Kong’s real estate landscape,” said Ip. “Driven by the influx of non-local students, we see tremendous potential for investors to capitalise on stable returns and community impact.”

Close to Campus
With the 1998-vintage building located about a four-minute walk from an entrance to HKU on Bonham Road, and about a five-minute walk from the Sai Ying Pun MTR station, Centaline plans to refit Bonham Residence to accommodate approximately 170 to 200 beds for operation under the company’s CampusOne Communities brand. 

Centaline Investment CEO Kavis Ip

Based on the current 96-room configuration, Centaline is paying about HK$3.49 million per key for the property, which it purchased at a 16.3 percent discount from the reported HK$400 million asking price when CBRE began marketing the tower  on behalf of the YWCA in May.

Centaline Investment’s plans for the property include incorporating communal areas, study spaces, and recreational facilities to foster community, the firm said. Centaline expects to charge monthly rates starting from approximately HK$8,000 per bed.

“The prime location of this project makes it a perfect fit for student housing, offering unparalleled convenience for students attending HKU and some other tertiary education institutes, said Josephine Kong, managing director and chief investment officer of Centaline Investment.

Fund in the Works
Kong added that, “With Hong Kong’s ever-growing non-local student population driving strong market demand, this conversion project aligns perfectly with our vision to provide comfortable, affordable, and community-oriented living spaces that support academic success.” 

The Hong Kong government said in September that it had raised the cap on self-financing, non-local students at public universities from 40 percent to 50 percent of total enrollment for the 2026-27 academic year, with that coming after authorities doubled the quota from 20 percent to 40 percent in 2023.

With officials encouraging the student influx, investors see opportunities to profit from accommodating the new arrivals, with Centaline’s Bonham Road acquisition part of a wider plan to establish a 3,000 bed student housing portfolio in Hong Kong, the company said.

With the firm already operating a US student housing fund and another targeting the UK, Centaline Investment is rolling out a Hong Kong fund to be seeded with properties operated by the CampusOne student housing platform that the company introduced in May, according to Ip.

“It’s in fact underway,” Ip said of the new fund. “Also, we will be in partnership with some global funds and LPs (limited partners) to co-invest in some student housing projects here in Hong Kong as well.”

In July last year, Centaline acquired a 63-key hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui for HK$180 million and has since converted that into a 118 bed facility. With that property having been the first project for Centaline’s CampusOne Communities platform, the company is renting out beds at monthly rates starting from HK$6,355.

Other investors are also racing to capitalise on Hong Kong’s academic arrivals, with a fund managed by TPG Angelo Gordon having teamed up with local developer Wang On Properties in August to purchase the Hotel Ease Mong Kok for HK$435 million. 

With Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC backing the Angelo Gordon fund, according to market sources familiar with the transaction, the partners are planning to reopen the hotel as student housing.