Charme at Main and Lincoln

Charme at Main & Lincoln is a 294-unit, 686-bed Class-A purpose-built student housing development to be built adjacent to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, at the intersection of Main Street and Lincoln Avenue. Rising ten stories on approximately 2.0 acres, it will be the first high-rise on the Urbana side of the university, built after the City of Urbana revised its zoning ordinance with the developer's direct input to accommodate the project's density. The site sits a half block from the sponsor's prior development at the same campus and adjacent to the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science. Construction commences in Fall 2026 over an approximately 30-month build, with delivery in Spring 2029, ahead of the August 2029 academic year. The investment is being made through a limited partnership structure with an anticipated closing in October 2026.

Why This Opportunity

• Premier campus location: Positioned a short walk from the Siebel Center for Computer Science and the University's engineering core, surrounded by the college town's restaurants, cafés and retail. Residents will be able to walk to class rather than commute, while the upper floors will offer expansive views of the campus and downtown.

• Structural supply shortage: No on-campus beds have been added in eight years, while enrollment has grown by nearly 6,800 students, all of whom must be housed off campus. On-campus housing operates at full occupancy, and the newest purpose-built properties maintain 94-100% occupancy. Even after the full proposed pipeline delivers, the market is projected to remain short by approximately 4,100 beds.

• Top-five national market: Urbana-Champaign is ranked among the top five U.S. college housing markets. The market was 89.9% pre-leased as of August 1, 2026, 5.6% ahead of the same week a year earlier, and tracked purpose-built properties recorded 96% market occupancy at the end of September 2025.

• Growing student population: Enrollment reached a record 60,848, with full-time undergraduate enrollment up 14% since 2018 and 3,391 students added in the last two years. Undergraduate retention of 94% far exceeds the 78% national average, and 85% of students complete a degree within six years against 64% nationally.

• Market-leading product: Fully furnished, hospitality-designed interiors with a fitness and wellness center, sauna, golf simulator, movie room, co-working lounges and private study rooms. Fourteen floor plans run from one-bedrooms to five-bedroom townhomes with two-car garages, layouts unavailable elsewhere in the market. Every unit is configured with bedroom-to-bathroom parity, which the market study identifies as key to achieving the targeted rents.

• Proven sponsor at this campus: The development partner's prior project, Gather Illinois, sits a half block from the site and was sold in February 2022 to London-based Global Student Accommodation at $63.0 million, or $173,077 per bed, at a 4.45% cap rate. The subject property is underwritten to exit at a 5.25% cap rate.

• Institutional management: Cardinal Group Management, which manages more than 117,000 student housing beds across over 40 states, will be appointed property manager. Cardinal has ranked among Student Housing Business's Top 25 Managers for more than ten consecutive years, placing third nationally in 2025, and crossed 100,000 beds under management in 2025 having grown entirely organically.

• Third-party market validation: Providential Student Housing, engaged to assess the market, concluded the property would lease to 95%-plus occupancy once stabilized and command some of the highest rates in the market.

• Sponsor alignment: Buligo Capital and Rael Development are expected to invest approximately 8% of required equity alongside limited partners.

• Projected returns: 19.0% IRR and 2.3x equity multiple over a five-year hold, at a 7.1% stabilized yield on cost. This is a ground-up development, so there is no current income during construction and distributions are expected to commence after the Year 4 refinance.

Deal Structure

• Total project cost: $134.1M ($456K per unit, $196K per bed)

• Total cash equity: ~$35.0M

• Investor equity: ~$25.0M [inferred from the Year 0 partnership cash flow less the transaction fee, confirm]

• Minimum investment: [needed from Buligo]

• Construction loan: $76.6M from Kennedy-Wilson, three-year term with two additional one-year extension options, one-month Term SOFR plus 3.30% subject to a 6.55% floor, interest-only throughout the initial three-year term

• Mezzanine loan: $22.5M from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, three-year term with two additional one-year extension options, 12.5% compounded monthly and accrued, minimum principal multiple of 1.20x

• Refinance: both facilities expected to be refinanced with long-term debt at stabilization at the end of Year 4, modeled at 5.50% and interest-only for the full term

• Distributions: no distributions may be made until the mezzanine facility is repaid in full, so distributions to investors are expected to commence once the refinance has completed

• Sponsor co-investment: Buligo Capital and Rael Development investing ~8% of required equity alongside limited partners

• Stabilized yield on cost: 7.1% (Year 4 proforma NOI over total project budget)

• Underwritten exit cap rate: 5.25% on forward-year NOI

• Partnership vehicle: Urbana Buligo LP (Delaware LP)

• Partnership ownership: Urbana Buligo LP holds ~75.7% of total projected equity

• Offering: 506(c) Reg D, accredited investors only

• Anticipated closing: October 2026

• Loan agreements have not yet been signed; any change to the loan terms may affect the forecasts presented

Promote Structure

• Carried interest: 30% above a 9% IRR to investors

• Fully back-ended with no catch-up: the sponsor participates in profits only after investors have received their preferred return

• Acquisition fee: 2.0% of total development budget, paid to Buligo proportionally to its ownership share

• Development fee: 2.7% of total development budget, paid to Rael Development

• Asset management fee: 1.0% per annum of equity, beginning in Year 4, paid to Buligo proportionally to its ownership share

• Administration fee: $15,000 per annum

Business Plan

This is a ground-up development rather than an operating acquisition. Value is created through five sequential stages:

• Construction: An approximately 30-month build commencing Fall 2026, delivering in Spring 2029 ahead of the August 2029 academic year. Construction period interest is capitalized, and construction loan interest of $4.3M is funded by the construction loan itself.

• Pre-leasing: Student housing leases a full year ahead of occupancy, so pre-leasing will commence roughly 18 months before the August 2029 opening. The market was 89.9% pre-leased as of August 2026, giving well over two years of leasing data before the property comes to market.

• Lease-up to stabilization: The market study concluded the property would lease to 95%-plus occupancy once stabilized and command some of the highest rates in the market, supported by bedroom-to-bathroom parity in every unit and a product mix with no direct comparable in the submarket.

• Refinance: Following stabilization at the end of Year 4, ownership intends to refinance both the construction and mezzanine facilities with long-term debt modeled at 5.50%, interest-only. Repaying the mezzanine facility unlocks distributions to investors.

• Exit: The deal is underwritten to a five-year hold with a sale priced at a 5.25% exit cap rate on forward-year NOI.

Property Details

• Address: 901 W Main St, Urbana, IL 61801

• Expected delivery: Spring 2029

• Units: 294

• Beds: 686

• Rentable area: 270,810 SF (921 SF average unit size)

• Buildings / stories: 1 building, 10 stories

• Land area: approximately 2.0 acres

• Zoning: High-density mixed-use

• Parking: Structured

• Unit mix: 91 one-bedroom units across two plans (469-552 SF), 107 two-bedroom units across five plans (713-888 SF), 8 three-bed/three-bath (1,053 SF), 83 four-bedroom units across five plans (1,384-1,644 SF), and 5 five-bed/five-bath townhomes with two-car garages (2,431 SF)

• Bedroom-to-bathroom parity in every unit

• Average market rent: $1,494 per bed ($3.78 PSF)

• Community amenities: Fitness and wellness center, sauna and spa-inspired wellness areas, golf simulator, movie room, entertainment lounges, fireplace social lounge, co-working lounges and study spaces, private offices and meeting rooms, rooftop social gathering areas, leasing lounge, coffee and mail lounge, package room, locker rooms, and structured parking

• Unit amenities: Fully furnished interiors, hospitality-inspired finishes, custom-designed furniture, modern cabinetry and millwork, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washer and dryer, electronic access control, and premium finishes and lighting

• Property manager: Cardinal Group Management

• Anticipated closing: October 2026

Competitive Context

Charme at Main & Lincoln is underwritten at $456,252 per unit and $195,536 per bed. Twelve student housing transactions since 2022 averaged $414,801 per unit and $163,655 per bed, though that set spans a range of vintages and markets, from a 2012-built Champaign asset at $108,291 per bed to new 2025 delivery in Austin at $244,776 per bed. The most directly relevant comparable is Gather Illinois, the development partner's prior project a half block from the site, which traded in February 2022 at $173,077 per bed and a 4.45% cap rate. The subject property is underwritten to exit at 5.25%, a wider cap rate than that transaction achieved.

On rents, Charme's projected $1,494 per bed and $3.78 PSF sit below The Dean ($1,602 per bed, $3.70 PSF) and above The Hub ($1,399 per bed, $4.22 PSF), Seven07 ($1,282 per bed, $3.69 PSF) and HERE ($1,210 per bed, $3.54 PSF). All four competing properties are within 0.10 miles of campus and were built between 2015 and 2021, and all four report occupancy between 94% and 98%. The projected rent positions new 2029 Class-A delivery between the market's newest existing product and its mid-2010s vintage, rather than at the top of the market.