Kajima Student Housing and Griffin Capital Partners complete the development of a 795-bed Student Depot purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Kraków, its largest residential scheme in Poland since the partnership entered the Polish market in 2019. The main contractor for the scheme was Erbud and the scheme was developed by property developers Echo Investment. The construction of the 11-storey, 25,000 sqm building took 17 months.
“We are proud to have completed our largest residential scheme in Poland in the premier city of Krakow. The demand for this high-quality offering has been excellent and this underpins our view that the occupational fundamentals for PBSA in Poland are strong.”
Stephen Young, Senior Investment Manager, Kajima Student Housing
The building has been fully let upon completion, with around half of tenants coming from the domestic market and half from abroad, particularly Spain.
The Student Depot project on Al. Pokoju, 1.5km from the centre of Kraków, provides studio and shared rooms, collegiate and quiet co-working spaces, common kitchens, a gym, an entertainment space, a games area and movie zone. The building also has a 120 sqm west-facing terrace overlooking the centre of the city. Each room includes energy-saving software, with electricity in the building sourced from a 100% renewable energy provider.
“This has been an incredibly popular scheme with students making reservations while we were finishing the building, and the fact that it was fully let out before the start of the academic year demonstrates how important it is for Poland to have top-notch student housing. We believe that comfortable accommodation combined with well-equipped co-working and co-living spaces is an essential component that affects student performance, and we will continue to offer first-class student dormitories across Poland.”
Jolanta Bubel, CEO, Student Depot
In 2019, in partnership with Griffin Capital Partners, Kajima Student Housing acquired Student Depot in Poland. Since then, Kajima has expanded the Student Depot platform with the aim of being the largest PBSA provider in Poland. Currently, the platform operates 3,200 student beds across the university cities of Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Lublin, Wrocław, Łódź and Gdańsk, and has another 2,000 under construction or secured.
“Interest in private student accommodation in Poland is growing. This is driven not only by the real estate market situation but also by the benefits that come with this type of housing. Young people are offered not only modern rooms but also attractive common spaces. For their parents, the facilities’ security and the fees’ constancy remain equally important. We also see that the growing number of international students in Poland positively impacts the market. I firmly believe that the PBSA market in Poland will continue to thrive, and Student Depot will play a leading role in this process.”
Marek Obuchowicz, Partner, Griffin Capital Partners
