Development Ventures Group and Parallel Form Strategic Partnership

Two of the nation’s top student housing developers will work on projects together around the country, starting with a development next to Baylor University.

ORLANDO, FL, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Development Ventures Group, known as Deven Group, has formed a strategic partnership with Parallel, as two of the student housing industry’s top developers combine forces to execute forward-thinking, high-quality projects around the country.

With their combined resources, the two companies will rank among the country’s leading student housing developers. Each of the companies continues to operate separately, but will prioritize the partnership’s joint venture projects, positioning the duo as one of the most active and agile development teams in the sector.

“Parallel and Deven have capitalized nearly 3,000 beds this year, so we have a strong understanding of the student housing market,” said David Pierce, a principal and co-founder at Parallel. “We’ve created a cutting-edge investment criteria framework to identify and execute promising opportunities. For the select few projects that don’t roll into the partnership, both groups will be free to transact separately.”
The partnership’s first joint project is a 265-unit, 631-bed student housing development planned at the corner of James Avenue and 5th Street, steps from the Baylor University campus in Waco, Texas. The transaction will break ground in April 2026 and deliver in summer 2028.

The seven-story project will offer a mix of studios to five-bedroom accomodations and will include 14,000 square feet of amenity space, including a resort-style pool deck and sky lounge. The project is strategically planned with a higher mix of studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms to serve an unmet demand that currently exists in the market.

“We’re very excited about this partnership, joining forces with one of the industry’s most respected student housing developers,” said Thomas Cunningham, CEO of Deven Group. “Our partnership is just the start of a major pipeline execution strategy implementing a predictive analytics approach to create a clear investor advantage. With Brad Caldwell of our team driving Deven’s efforts, we have a shared investment thesis with Parallel that allows us to identify and enter undersupplied or early-stage growth markets. This has produced a robust pipeline of differentiated opportunities, providing our investors with a competitive advantage over other opportunities in the sector.”

Parallel, based in Austin, Texas, has long been known for its award-winning developments as one of the leading student housing developers in the nation. Parallel has developed over 4,000 student housing beds across the country, with another 1,170 student housing beds under construction. The principals of Parallel have transacted on more than 40,000 beds and $3.5 billion in total development over the past 20-plus years.

Deven Group has achieved substantial growth in its student housing portfolio over the past three years, with over $300 million in development started this year. The roster of projects includes new developments near the campuses of the University of Central Florida, the University of Virginia, and the University of Mississippi. The Orlando, Florida-based company has also built a proven track record of profitably divesting assets at stabilization through strategic transaction structures.

Parallel spent more than a year conducting an international search for a programmatic general partner. After evaluating opportunities from institutional investors, family offices, other development groups, and friends and family options, Parallel engaged with Deven Group.

In an era of consolidation in the student housing space, both groups recognized the advantages of joining forces to execute developments. Deven Group brings a deep bench of development execution expertise coupled with institutional balance sheet strength, while Parallel leverages a long record of delivering best-in-class, award-winning student housing assets in major markets.

Teddy Leatherman, Managing Director of Capital Markets for JLL, played a key role throughout the process—including making the initial introduction to the Deven Group—while Ryan Lang, head of the student housing team at Newmark, led the search for Parallel.

About Development Ventures Group (Deven Group)
Development Ventures Group, known as Deven Group, is a developer and owner of student housing, mixed use and hospitality projects across the United States. Deven Group, based in Orlando, Florida, is a subsidiary of Kajima USA and the Tokyo-based Kajima Corporation, a construction and real estate company with annual revenues exceeding $25 billion. With a focus on high-quality real estate assets, a reliance on a deep analytical approach to investing, and an enduring commitment to integrity, the Deven Group’s mission is to develop, invest in, and own projects that offer superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, visit the company’s website.

About Parallel
Parallel is an Austin, Texas-based real estate development firm specializing in delivering complex mid-rise and high-rise urban infill multifamily and student housing developments on time and on budget in some of the nation's most competitive markets. To learn more, visit https://www.parallel-co.com/.

Kyle Parks
Parks Public Relations
kyle@parkspublicrelations.com

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