aparto, the student housing platform, is today launching in Italy with two new residences, aparto Milan Giovenale covering 16,339m² and aparto Milan Ripamonti spanning 24,557 m², scheduled for delivery during 2022.
aparto Milan Giovenale is the result of a long-standing partnership between Hines and Blue Noble, through a regulated fund that targets student housing and serviced apartments investments in Italy, managed by Savills Investment Management SGR. The building will open its doors in January 2022 and is located between Via Giovenale and Via Col Moschin, in close proximity to some of the city’s most renowned universities, including the prestigious University of Bocconi. This student accommodation will offer 584 beds spanning 5 different types – ensuite, twin, studio, studio premium and apartments - available for students to book for periods ranging from a few months up to one year. The site itself will provide state-of-the-art amenities including a gym and yoga studio, a cinema, outdoor areas with landscaped gardens, a basketball court, plenty of spaces for exercising, study rooms and laundry facilities. In addition, there will be a food and beverage offering, which will also open to non-residents. The furnishings will be another distinctive feature, designed by the British firm Carmody Groarke and produced by the Italian company Cesare Roversi, specialists in made-to-measure furniture.
aparto Milan Ripamonti, opening in September 2022, will expand Hines and Blue Noble’s student accommodation offering in Italy, adding a further 700 beds. The site is located near to Scalo Porta Romana, one of the most on-trend districts in the “new” Milan which is currently the subject of total urban redevelopment and the future location of the Olympic village for the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026. The building was acquired by a regulated fund managed by Prelios SGR. The facilities on offer include: rooftop terraces and outdoor spaces, a café and restaurant, a modern gym and yoga studio, a cinema and games room, parking and bike storage, alongside laundry facilities.
Together, aparto Milan Giovenale and aparto Milan Ripamonti upon construction completion will be one of the first student accommodations in Italy with LEED Gold certification. This means both sites are designed and built to the highest standards of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency anywhere in the world. In addition, the experience programme across both sites will include sports and wellness classes, cocktail and cooking classes, and a series of entertainment evenings where participants can make new friends and have fun together covering movie nights, sports matches and tournaments.
Mario Abbadessa, Senior Managing Director and Country Head of Hines, in Italy, said: “With aparto, Hines introduces to the Italian market the international best practices in terms of student housing, with an unparalleled experience tried and tested in the UK and Ireland. This is based on the highest standards of quality, safety and sustainability, offering students and their families a unique, safe study experience in Milan, with high-value facilities that focus on the creation and enhancement of interpersonal relationships. With this launch, Hines cements its strategy of innovation and long-term investment by introducing a model in Italy that combines development and management of student housing with a range of accommodation solutions and facilities linked to accessible, all-inclusive fees that guarantee a quality stay, a unique, all-around experience and, importantly, cost predictability."
Paul Forshaw, Founding Partner and CEO of Blue Noble, said: “Blue Noble is pleased to announce the appointment of aparto to manage two of our highly prominent student residences in Milan. These projects, developed in conjunction with our long-standing partners Hines, are being built to the highest specification, offering first-class facilities alongside leading standards of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. It is essential that the outstanding quality of the physical developments with a commensurate level of customer experience. We are delighted by the appointment of aparto, an operator with a demonstrable track record of delivering an exceptional level of service.”
Tom Rix, Managing Director – Operations at aparto, UK added: “It’s a significant milestone to launch our award-winning and market-leading aparto product in Italy. There is strong demand for high-quality student accommodation across the board and aparto aims to bridge that gap by providing first-class facilities that students truly feel at home in. Testament to the amenities we provide, our expert on the ground teams who truly care for our residents, an ongoing best-in-class experience programme that runs a calendar of events throughout the year, and the quality of our accommodation means students rate our facilities very highly which is backed by our market-leading net promoter scores.”
