Purpose-Built, Performance-Driven: The Student Housing Specialist Playbook - Patrick McBride - Co-Founder & Co-CEO - Coastal Ridge Real Estate

Jun 20, 2025

Patrick McBride, co-founder and co-CEO of Coastal Ridge Real Estate, discusses his journey from starting a small venture with college friends to managing $5 billion in assets. He highlights the strategic evolution of Coastal Ridge, including partnerships with family offices and transitions to discretionary fund management. McBride explains how student housing offers growth opportunities, fueled by rising rents and specific amenities sought by students. He also emphasizes the importance of vertical integration and the Midwestern values that shape their company's culture.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Early Venture Among College Friends

Coastal Ridge began as an informal venture among three lifelong friends with complementary skills.
Early backing from two family offices provided $400M to build their initial billion-dollar portfolio.

INSIGHT

Student Housing Complements Multifamily

Student housing often performs well when multifamily does not, providing portfolio balance.
Their rent growth patterns tend to complement each other through economic cycles.

INSIGHT

Supply-Demand Drives Rent Growth

Strong rent growth in student housing is driven by supply constraints and demand concentration at select large public universities.
Reduced new construction post-COVID and rising enrollments contribute to tight supply-demand dynamics.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode of The Distribution, host Brandon Sedloff sits down with Patrick McBride, co-founder and co-CEO of Coastal Ridge, to explore the firm’s evolution from a small entrepreneurial venture to a vertically integrated investment platform managing $5 billion in gross AUM.

McBride walks through the pivotal moments that shaped Coastal Ridge’s growth, including early partnerships with family offices, scaling with institutional joint ventures, and the recent transition to discretionary fund management. The conversation covers the strategic advantages of student housing, why vertical integration has been core to their model, and how Coastal Ridge's Midwest roots influence its culture and execution.

They discuss:

How Coastal Ridge began as a partnership between college friends and scaled through $400M in backing from family offices
The firm's three-phase capital evolution: private capital, institutional JVs, and discretionary funds
Why student housing complements multifamily and what’s driving double-digit rent growth in the sector
What makes a great student housing investment and how Coastal Ridge adds value to 10–20-year-old properties
How vertical integration enhances performance across living strategies and creates competitive advantages

A valuable listen for investors, operators, and entrepreneurs seeking to understand how durable real estate businesses are built over time.

Links:

Coastal Ridge - https://www.coastalridge.com/

Patrick on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-r-mcbride/

Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/

Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:20) - Patrick McBride's career and background
(00:02:01) - The origin story of Coastal Ridge
(00:03:51) - Early challenges and key partnerships
(00:06:35) - Evolution to institutional capital
(00:13:02) - Current strategies and market insights
(00:14:05) - Student housing sector deep dive
(00:24:05) - Future vision and company culture
(00:28:33) - Leadership and entrepreneurial advice
(00:31:31) - Conclusion and closing remarks