Cottonwood Group and Shawmut Design and Construction form real estate partnership in the education sector

Boston, MA Cottonwood Group and Shawmut Design and Construction  have jointly formed a strategic partnership through which the two groups will join forces to expand their combined real estate capabilities and portfolio in the education sector in the United States.

The new partnership will further strengthen and enhance Cottonwood’s development capabilities with academic real estate by allowing the firm to tap into Shawmut’s solid and time-proven construction platform, deep regional expertise, and extensive industry sector experience. Collectively, the partnership will be able to offer investors turn-key solutions to education real estate investments, from sourcing, acquisition, financing, pre-construction, construction, fit-out, operations, and ultimately, disposition.

 This partnership will be targeting opportunities in such primary markets as New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., but with an initial focus on New England, and eventually expanding nationally. Michael Schumacher, formerly senior vice president of development services at Cottonwood, has joined Shawmut on June 8, as the New England commercial division lead and will be charged with the development and growth of the sector. Schumacher is expected to be a key leader in setting up the partnership for success.

Together, Cottonwood and Shawmut will be well positioned to capitalize on opportunities from the growing demand for top-quality academic real estate assets throughout the nation. As a respected leader in the education sector, Shawmut, named Top Education Contractor in New England by ENR, brings not only construction management services but its extensive preconstruction capabilities to the partnership, allowing for enhanced advisement upfront, providing an added level of value to clients.

Alexander Shing, Chairman and CEO of Cottonwood Group, said, “We are very excited to be forming this strategic partnership with Shawmut, which attests to Cottonwood’s focus on unlocking value in the academic sector for our capital partners. It will also provide an added level of certainty to execution on the Cottonwood platform’s ability to acquire, finance and develop any education related real estate properties nationally.”

“Combining forces with Cottonwood is an exciting new value proposition for our client bases,” said Les Hiscoe, CEO of Shawmut. “This strategic alliance will allow us to deepen our collective real estate portfolio, as well as double down on delivering exceptional client service with precision, care, and best-in-class expertise.”