BERKELEY, CA – Canyon Partners Real Estate, The Martin Group, and Valiance Capital announced the formation of a joint venture to develop a new Class-A student housing community near the University of California at Berkeley campus, with construction scheduled to begin immediately and completion anticipated prior to the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. The joint venture simultaneously closed on a senior construction loan from Kennedy Wilson.
The Valiant will be an eight-story, purpose-built student housing community with 83 apartment units, 262 beds, and 1,461 square feet of retail space, designed to be amongst the best in its class within the Berkeley market. The Project is optimally located on Durant Avenue between Telegraph Avenue and Bowditch Street, one block from the main entrance to UC Berkeley’s campus. It will feature numerous curated amenities including a spacious common area study lobby, fitness center, a rooftop deck lounge with panoramic views, various gathering spaces, private study lounges, high-speed Wi-Fi, and secured bike stations.
“With its prime location, sustainable design, and experienced development team, we’re pleased to announce this exciting project in partnership with Valiance Capital and look forward to partnering with Canyon and the team at Kennedy Wilson on another student housing project,” said Stephen Siri at The Martin Group. “The Valiant will provide UC Berkeley students with much-needed housing in time for the 2026 school year, and it is well-positioned to contribute to the economic growth of local retail and dining businesses alike.”
Located in the heart of the highly desirable Southside neighborhood of Berkeley, The Valiant is walking distance to a number of local restaurants, bars, and neighborhood amenities popular among the UC Berkeley student body. The Project is also located within a 15-minute walk to the Downtown Berkeley BART station, providing connectivity to other key nodes throughout the Bay Area.
“With 15 years of local market expertise as one of the largest owner operators in the Berkeley student submarket, we are excited to build The Valiant to be the ideal student housing option in a highly specialized and high-barriers-to-entry market,” said Nhan Nguyen Leat Valiance Capital. “In partnering with a best-in-class institutional team between The Martin Group, Canyon, and Kennedy Wilson, we look forward to delivering a premier private student housing development to serve the UC Berkeley community.”
Canyon has been an active provider of debt and equity in California and continues to invest in real estate projects in primary and secondary markets across the United States. Since its inception, Canyon has invested $2.9 billion in debt and equity to capitalize $6.9 billion of total projects across all asset types in the state of California.