(MILAN) - aparto Milan Giovenale, owned by “Living 2.0” Fund, managed by Savills Investment Manager SGR SpA and invested into by Hines, a global real estate firm, in joint venture with Blue Noble, an international real estate investment manager, has opened in the heart of the city. The development of aparto Milan Giovenale was led by Hines Italy as development manager and is the Group’s first in Italy. Bank Unicredit financed the project and the management of the scheme is entrusted to aparto.
Managed by aparto, the international student housing platform, fully owned by Hines, aparto Milan Giovenale is its 15th operational student accommodation asset in Europe and covers 16,000 square meters with c.600 beds. aparto Barcelona Pallars will open in September to mark aparto’s launch in Spain and its 16th site.
With its Italian debut, aparto revolutionizes student housing by creating an inspiring place for young people, hosting students via a flexible system of medium-long term stays. This is a place where they cultivate their potential, enrich each other, and develop their soft skills living as part of an international community.
Students are welcomed by state-of-the-art facilities with communal spaces designed for study and leisure. There is a gym with the latest Technogym equipment, a yoga area, laundry services, a cinema, games rooms and equipped outdoor spaces. aparto also creates development opportunities for its students with a series of innovative partnerships that provides them with a first-class living experience. The main partnerships are Taldeg which has created art installations in the communal spaces, Technogym which provides students with training facilities to support wellbeing, Unobravo for mental health support services to students and, at the same time, specialized training for staff. Apicolturaurbana has installed beehives on aparto Milan Giovenale’s roof to help preserve the city's biodiversity.
aparto Milan Giovenale has welcomed c.400 international students since January 2022 and by the start of the academic year in September it is expected to be home to 600 students. The site itself was created from the redevelopment of the former La Rinascente department store. aparto Milan Giovenale is located in a prime area a few steps away from Bocconi University, between via Giovenale and via Col Moschin, and benefits from a good network of travel connections to the city center and the other main Milanese universities.
Designed and built according to the highest environmental, sustainability and energy efficiency international standards, aparto Milan Giovenale will be the first Gold LEED-certified Italian university residence. This is part of aparto’s ongoing ESG commitment.
Mario Abbadessa, senior managing director and country head at Hines in Italy, said: "It is a source of great pride for us to celebrate aparto’s arrival in Italy. With its strong European experience, aparto has made outdated infrastructure, poor quality finishes and gloomy environments a thing of the past by developing a new model for student housing based on quality amenity provision, a first-class experience program and fantastic facilities.
“This project allows us to present Milan with a modern, sustainable building that will enrich the social fabric of this part of the city, become an incubator for young talent and mirror what students, and parents, seek today and tomorrow. aparto Milan Giovenale also captures the full essence of Hines’ values, which place social responsibility at the heart of everything we do."
Paul Forshaw, Founding Partner and CEO of Blue Noble, said: “It is very satisfying for Blue Noble to mark the formal opening of aparto Milan Giovenale, the first in a series of developments in Italy with our local partners, Hines. Exceptional standards of amenity and sustainability have been provided at aparto Milan Giovenale offering students a first-class, modern and welcoming environment in which to study. Investment into sustainable and socially responsible projects is one of the key principles for the Blue Noble business and with aparto Milan Giovenale setting new benchmarks, we are delivering on our goals.”
The furnishings for aparto Milan Giovenale were made in a partnership between the English studio Carmody Groarke and the Italian company Cesare Roversi, designed to meet the needs of students.
About aparto
aparto is the Hines student housing platform with 16 sites in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Spain, with another property due to open in Spain. Its objective is to become Europe’s main student accommodation operator, with special focus on cutting-edge facilities and specific attention to management of individuals’ health and safety and links with the local communities. The brand ensures a person-centric residential experience thanks to the many facilities provided by each single site and the hosting of events and opportunities for networking open to all. For more info, visit https://apartostudent.com/it.
The entire student life experience is based on three core values:
- Service - namely cutting-edge facilities and a sector-leading experience programme, with expert friendly staff to provide residents with the best student experience in their new home-away-from-home
- Belonging - to a community of like-minded individuals in great surroundings that promote health and wellness
- Community - providing direct links with the public and local facilities to share ideas, create memories and host joint projects
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 285 cities in 28 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management valued at approximately $90.3 billion¹. In addition, Hines provides third-party property-level services to 373 properties totaling 114.2 million square feet. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,530 properties, totaling over 511 million square feet. The firm currently has more than 198 developments currently underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a foundational commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include offices in 17 cities as well as a presence in 60 cities in 14 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management valued at approximately €24.5 billion and provides third-party property-level services totaling 4.3 million square metres in Europe, in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Visit www.hines.com for more information.
- Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of 31 December 2021
About Blue Noble
Blue Noble LLP (‘Blue Noble’) is an independent, full service real estate investment management company, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’). Blue Noble was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced real estate professionals, previously from HSBC Alternative Investments Limited.
Blue Noble offers specialist real estate investment management globally for both private and institutional investors through club deals, separate accounts and funds. Blue Noble has a substantial and diversified asset base along with significant equity capital to deploy.
Visit www.bluenoble.co.uk for more information about the firm.
