NRMCA’s Michael Wymant and Gregg Lewis exhibited the Build with Strength program at the National Multifamily Housing Council Student Housing Conference and Expo in New Orleans last week to offer concrete solutions for student housing. This annual event brings together over 700 leaders from all facets of the sector (owners, operators, investors, lenders, brokers, suppliers and university partners). The event is strategically timed to take place at the start of each new school year and serves as a platform to share the most up-to-date industry information, including lease-up numbers, new developments, millennial marketing strategies, technological innovations, new industry entrants and much more.

"Although most student dorms are concrete or masonry, this group has been building wood buildings more often over the past several years," stated Wymant. The NRMCA team met with several key developers during the event to discuss the benefits of building with concrete. The Build with Strength booth also featured Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), which had many developers intrigued.

 

NRMCA also shared case studies from other schools around the country that had used ICF’s, including Eastern Kentucky University’s latest residence halls. The ICF bearing walls were chosen to provide an energy efficient, durable structure due to its strength against storm, sound and fire resistance. ICFs were also chosen to meet tight construction schedules. Precast concrete floor construction allowed shallow floor-to-floor heights and ease of construction with a repetitive floor plan. This approach has saved the school thousands of dollars in construction and energy costs.

NMHC’s Student Housing Council are advocates for the privately-owned student housing sector encompassing off-campus student housing and on-campus public-private partnerships. NRMCA continues to work with this group to promote the benefits of concrete for student housing. NRMCA has a Concrete Design Center that can work with developers to provide concrete solutions to building projects, including those targeting student housing.