Greystar, the US property investment firm, has agreed to acquire a portfolio of more than 700 student beds in Dublin and Galway, establishing it as one of the biggest operators of purpose-built student accommodation in Ireland.
On Thursday, the firm announced the deal for Project Galaxy, which property agent Cushman & Wakefield brought to market on behalf of another US investment firm, EQT, earlier this year, with a guide price of €115 million.
Greystar did not disclose a sale price, but industry sources told The Irish Times the firm paid around €105 million for the fully occupied portfolio, making it one of the larger commercial property deals of 2025.
Project Galaxy comprises 290 units at Mayor Square in Dublin’s IFSC, and 434 beds at Cúirt na Coiribe in Galway.
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The Dublin scheme is located adjacent to the National College of Ireland (NCI) campus and is a short walk to Trinity College Dublin.
[ Greystar buys Dublin student housing scheme for around €150mOpens in new window ]
Cúirt na Coiribe, meanwhile, is located close to the University of Galway and Galway city centre.
Both properties were most recently operated under the Hubble brand and managed by student accommodation specialist Mezzino.
Greystar said it will operate the schemes under its own Canvas brand, which it launched in 2021.
The South Carolina-headquartered company marked its arrival in the Irish student accommodation sector last year with the acquisition of the Michael O’Flynn-developed Point Campus scheme in Dublin’s docklands from German asset manager DWS.
The price tag, understood to be around €150 million, made it the largest single residential property deal in the Republic in 2024, eclipsing the second biggest, DWS’s €97.5 million transaction for the 207-unit Hayfield apartment project in Killiney.
Greystar will now operate close to 1,000 student beds here.
`Build scale’
“Our growth in Ireland reflects Greystar’s long-term strategy to build scale and quality in key European markets like Ireland,” said Claire Solon, managing director of Greystar Ireland.
“The acquisition of Mayor Square and Cúirt na Coiribe represents a step change in our expansion, with the purchase of the latter marking our first investment outside Dublin.
“Together with Point Campus, these assets establish a national platform for student housing in Ireland. We are focused on delivering institutional-quality management and service, supported by our pan-European operational platform.”
Large international property players like Greystar, along with Hines and industry pioneer Global Student Accommodation (GSA), have been attracted to the Irish market in recent years amid a chronic shortage of student beds.
However, GSA said in September that it had deferred more than €500 million of planned investment in the State amid ongoing uncertainty over the sector, including rent pressure zones and changes to rules governing the lease lengths operators can offer students.
