Brown University purchases River House for $75M for student housing

RIVER HOUSE at 1 Point St., Providence, was acquired by Brown University for $75 million to be used for graduate and medical student housing. / COURTESY BRUCE T. MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY
RIVER HOUSE at 1 Point St., Providence, was acquired by Brown University for $75 million. The building will be used for graduate and medical student housing. / COURTESY BRUCE T. MARTIN PHOTOGRAPHY

PROVIDENCE – Brown University is increasing its student housing footprint in the city.

The Ivy League university announced that it, through a subsidiary named River House Holdings LLC, has purchased River House, a 174-unit residential building located at 1 Point St. The building, built in 2019, will be used to house Brown graduate and medical students.

Brown paid $75 million for the building from River House Project Owner LLC, university spokesperson Brian Clark told Providence Business News Thursday, and the property sale closed Thursday. According to city records, the property is assessed at $23.7 million.

Clark said the purchase comes at a cost significantly less than what it would have been if Brown built a residence hall from scratch. He said River House is already home to some of the university’s students as well as renters not affiliated with the university.

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Brown said the building, which has a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, will have the capacity to house 270 students and address a student housing need that Brown graduate students have expressed for years. The university also plans to adapt River House’s current rental fee structure, originally developed for a commercial rental market, to align closer to the students’ needs.

Clark said this acquisition will not impact the university’s plans to build two new residence halls in the Brook Street area of Fox Point as those plans are distinct from River House.

“That [Brook Street] project is for undergraduate students exclusively, which River House is for graduate and medical students,” Clark said. “Both are intended in part to alleviate the impact that the demand for off-campus rental units has upon local neighborhoods in Providence.

Additionally, through the River House Holdings LLC subsidiary, Brown will assume the tax stabilization agreement that was in place with the property’s current owner The university said that that this was the best way to honor property tax commitments to the city.

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.

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